Where we stand

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"Organise the left to beat back the Tories' attacks!

No to attacks on union rights; defend the picket line; no state interference in our unions! No to any wage curbs. Labour must support all struggles for better living standards and conditions.

*Wage rises should at the very least keep up with price, increases. For a price index calculated by working class organisations, as the basis for clauses in all wage agreements to provide automatic monthly rises in fine with the true cost of living for the working class. The same inflation-proofing snoura apply to state benerits, granis ana pensions. *Fight for improvements in the social services, and against cuts. Protection for those services against inflation by automatic inflation-proofing of expenditure. For occupations and supporting-strike action *End unemplayment. Cut hours, not jobs. Fight for a 35 hour week and an end to overtime. Demand work-sharing without loss of pay. Organise the unemployed:- campaign for a programme of useful public works to create new jobs for the unem*Defend all jobs! Open the books of those firm, that threaten closure or redundancies, along with those of their suppliers and bankers, to elected trade union committees: For occupation and blacking action to halt the closures. For nationalisation without compensation under workers' management. *Make the bosses pay, not the working class. Millions for hospitals, not a penny for-'defence'! Nationalise the banks and financial institutions, without compensation. End the interest burden on council housing and other public services.

*Scrap all immigration controls. Race is not a problem: racism is. The labour movement must mobilise to drive the fascists off the streets. Purge racists from positions in the labour movement Organise full support for black self-defence. Build *The capitalist police are an enemy for the working class. Support all demands to weaken them as a bosses' striking force: dissolurion of special squads (SPG, Special Branch, MI5, etc), public accoun*Free abortion on demand. Women's equal right to work and full equality for women. Defend and extend free state nursery and childcare provision. *Against attacks on gays by the state: abolish all laws which discriminate against lesbians and gay men; for the right of the gay community to organise *The Irish people - as a whole - should have the right to determine their own future. Get the British troops out now! Repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Political status for Irish Republican prisoners as The black working people of South Africa should get full support from the British labour movement for their strikes, struggles and armed combat against the white supremacist regime. South African goods *It is essential to achieve the fullest democracy in the labour movement. Automatic reselection of MPs during each Parliament and the election by annual conference of party leaders. Annual election of all trade union officials, who should be paid the *The chaos, waste, human suffering and misery of capitalism now - in Britain and throughout the world - show the urgent need to establish rational, democratic, human control over the economy, to make the decisive sectors of industry social property, under workers' control. The strength of the labour movement lies in the rank and file. Our perspective must be working class action to raze the capitalist system down to its foundations, and to put a working class socialist alternative in its place -rather than having our representatives run the system and waiting for crumbs from the tables of to defend jobs and services.

ployed. *Freeze rent and rates.

workers' defence squads.

tability, etc.

and affirm their stand publicly.

a matter of urgency. the main discussions at a thinly-attended but lively meeting last Sunday, 26th, of Socialist Organiser supporters who are councillors.

The best suppor for Liverpool City Council s decision to defy the government over their 1984-5 budget, by making no cuts and no rent or rate rises, is for other Labour councils to do the same. But most council Labour groups have already decided cuts or rate-rise budgets.

The meeting decided to take up a suggestion from Manchester councillor Pete Keenlyside: if Liverpool has its credit cut off by the banks, other Labour councils should lend it money to enable it to pay wages. Such lending would probably get the councils hauled into court by the District Auditor (a government official) for 'financial irresponsibility' ', but it is the least they can do.

We also have to campaign tor Labour, councillors elsewhere simpiy to make statements of support for Liverpool. Although the Labour Party's local government committee now chaired by leftist David Blunkett, it has done nothing for Liverpool.

The play-safe budgets adopted by most of the reputedly left-wing Labour councils this year have been justified in the cause of 'keeping their powder dry' for the big battle next year, over rate-capping and the abolition of metropolitan authorities. But militant preparations for this 'big battle' are nowhere to be seen.

Instead, reputedly leftwing councils are lobbying businessmen, Tory _MPs, and the House of Lords; doing all they can to make themselves look thrifty and respectable; and drafting tight' budgets which almost certainly will lead them into confrontation with their council workers.

The meeting felt that a lead against the new Tory measures is more likely to come from the council unions than from the councils. We decided, however, to investigate whether the Greater London Council should be pressed to respond to the abolition of the May 1985 GLC election by organising its own election - with all the formalities of a regular election.

The sharpest argument in the meeting was over council workers' pay, focused on the current Building Works Department dispute in Islington.

The Islington SO group has supported the workers, but Islington councillor Alan Clinton argued that support for council workers disputes could not be automatic. Councils have limited funds and many deserving claims on them. Why should council work- WOrK pay take priority over other claims?

Camden councillor Graham Shurety took a middle pusition, but the majority of the meeting felt that the issue was not even open to debate.

Pete Keenlyside put it most trenchantly: "When trade unionists are in dispute, you support them first and think about the details afterwards."

It is fallacious and dangerous to suppose that we really control the council machine and must take responsibility or balancing the books of 'the local state' . If multiple working class claims make the position of the council impossible, then the conclusion is not that some claims must be opposed but that the Labour councillors must confront the government.

"It's not a matter of councillors and non-councillors" , said Pete Keenlyside. "It's a division between revolutionaries -whether councillors or not and non-revolutionaries."

There was a related discussion on budget-voting. Pete Keenlyside explained that he intended to vote against this year's budget NHOP JOHN HARRIS rent rise.

He did not suppose that the government could be confronted over the small rent and rate rises. But, firstly, there was an issue accountability. The District Labour Party's policy was for no rent rises. The DLP might decide that a 40p rent rise was not worth arguing about. But unless and until the DLP did decide that, the councillors must stick to the rent rise' mandate.

Secondly, the record of the council is such that within the Labour Party he could not argue for confidence in it to the extent of demanding even a small amount extra in rents and rates from working class people in Manchester.

The meeting was more sympathetic to that position than to that of Graham Shurety, who explained that in Camden Labour Party he had argued in tavour of a budget with no cuts, no rent rises, and a rate rise. It was, he though for preparing basis struggle and the best that could be gut this year.

We also discussed organisational problems of councillurs' work: some comrades complained that they were left on their own too much on the day-to-day council issues, and Socialist Organiser did not organise enough centralised campaigning.

The next councillors' meeting is May 6.