[KEN Livingstone gave new heart to Labour activists…]

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KEN Livingstone gave new heart to Labour activists with his speech over the weekend calling for defiance of Tory laws that will slash local services and local democracy.

- been pressurising Labour councillors in "We're not going to stab them in the back, but we'll have to tell them that if they can stick with us, then they should", said David Blunkett, twin star along with Livingstone of the local In an interview with Militant last week Liverpool council Deputy Leader Derek Hatton also indicates, unmistakeably, that Liverpool has been coming under pressure.

The argument, once again, is that we must buy time. Labour must keep its powder dry for a bigger struggle in 1985, when rate-capping and the abolition of the metropolitan What action will be undertaken for that bigger struggle remains vague: "to spell out options at this stage is merely to give a hostage to fortune", , writes Blunkett in Tribune.

But whatever the action, another year of Labour-administered cuts, rent rises, rate rises, and squeezed real wages for council workers cannot be a good preparation for it.

Socialists must argue for Labour to fight now.

This is the text of a leaflet issued by Socialist Organiser at the Labour Party local government conference on February 3-5. RATE-CAPPING and abolition of the metropolitan authorities will be defeated only by industrial and tenants' action.

Tory dissidents and public opinion may be factors in the situation. But they will certainly not sway the government. If the labour movement fails to deploy its own strength, then it cannot NALGO has resolved not to co-operate with the abolition of the GLC and the metropolitan authorities. To carry through this policy it will have to be prepared to move from non-cooperation to positive industrial action when the government responds by legal action or victimisations. But if NALGO does carry the policy through — and if other unions can be rallied to support it — then the government can be defeated. Labour has to build on No amount of votes and speeches in council chambers can defeat the government. But council Labour Groups can play a crucial part in an overall labour movement fightback. They can give a lead for the formation of a fighting united front of council workers, other workers, tenants, and local communities.

To do so, Labour councillors must be arms of the local labour movement, and not, primarily, adminstrators of the local state. If Labour councils cut jobs and services, and increase rents this year, hoping thereby to avoid being selected for rate-capping next year, they will undermine the whole basis of a coherent labour movement fight against the Tories' plans for local governWorkers, tenants, and working class communities will only support Labour councils if the Labour councils support them. The hostile attitude taken by many Labour councils to the recent residential social workers' dispute has done great damage to the possibilities of a united fight against the Tories.

Another round of big rate rises this year will be no better Although a large chunk of rates does come from the well-off, big rate rises also hit heavily at many working class families and at small shopkeepers, people whose support Labour needs. Fine principles about local democracy will sound unconvincing to them if what they mean in practice is bigger bills for the same, or What Vidya Anand of the London Labour Party Executive has said about the GLC goes for many other authorities: "London Labour should stop cuddling up to the London Tories and the SDP, stop trying to form a 'popular front' against Mrs Thatcher. This is not the way. It will lose us credibility with our own supporters... The building of a rank and file movement in the unions ... is far more important for the defence of the Labour GLC than the non-partisan, 'non-political' fronts...

Liverpool City Council has given a lead. They intend this spring to take a stand on no cuts, no rent rises, and no rate rises, and to confront the government with a demand for more money. Other council Labour Groups should support them and take a similar stand. For years Labour councils have raised rates or squeezed services with the argument that the time for confrontation has not yet come... perhaps next year! This argument is In fact many other councils are better-placed to take a lead in confronting the government than Liverpool is. Labour has majority of only 51 to 48 on the City Council: it will only take a couple of Labour councillors losing their nerve for the confron tation policy to be lost. Council deputy leader Derek Hatton says in this week's Militant: "For one or two reasons it is possible that la Liberal/Tory budget could be pushed through the council] particularly if it became clear that the movement was not preBut those who dismiss Liverpool's fight now, saying that it is a sham, or mad ultra-leftism, are only helping to make the odds against it worse. Labour can well do without such cynical wisdom. A fight is long overdue: Support Liverpool. Support council workers and tenants. No cuts, no rent rises, no rate and ineffective affair, because it takes no decisions and has no direct influence on Party policy.

This year's conference in Nottingham on February 3-5 was somewhat different. This was both because of the great crisis facing local government services as a result of the Tory attacks, and because of sharp differences over tactics amongst those present.

Many leaders of local authorities were represented there and numerous councillors.

As one delegate pointed out, Labour local authorities cover 56% of the population of the country.

It should be emphasised that the great majority of those present were certainly not opposed in any very clear cut way to cuts, and had implemented a great many.

Outside Sheffield and London many 'old guard' groups have actively sought to stick to Tory 'guidelines' and to keep their heads down in the hope that the attacks on their services will simply go away.

One campaign going on at the conference reflected this most graphically. A group of women from Wakefield were gaining support for their opposition to the closure of their day nurseries by the administration of Sir Jack

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