Birmingham Labour Briefing no. 23

HYATT HOTEL HANDOUT HORROR

otel bid inging

on £9m grant

By AOY SMITH Birmingham’s hopes of securing its first five-star luxury international hotel hinge on persuading the Government to approve a £9 million grant.

City councillors have agreed to seek Britain’s biggest urban development grant so far for the £31 million, 340-bedroom hotel proposed for the Hyatt International Corporation in Broad Street as the flagship of the company's operations in Europe and the UK.

They have been told of a £9 million gap in financing the project, planned «s a major complementary element to the city’s £106m international convention centre to be built on the opposite side of Broad Street

It has been confirmed that the hotel project is likely to be a dead duck unless that gap could be bridged by an urban development grant.

500 permanent jobs

Birmingham has already done well trom urban development grants, introduced some years ago to put a pump-priming injection of public money into private development achemes in inner city areas that would otherwise be uneconomlc and would not get off the ground.

It has secured two of the biggest grants so far. Coun Albert Bore . - £465 million for the hotel and offices being built at hopes for £9m grant

Unbelievably, yet another stor: seens Set to break over the City Council's spending plans. ‘Briefing' can exclusively reveal that the City's Labour leaders are planning to give a £2,250,000 cash handout to the international luxury hotel that the Hyatt Company want to build next to the controversial Convention Centre in Broad Street.

Undaunted by the anger generated within the party by the decision to put millions of pounds into the Convention Centre, in defiance of the party's policy to oppose it, Dick Knowles and Ecosnomic Development Chair Albert Bore have chosen to carry on down the same road. This time, however, they have tried to cover their tracks. Until the news was leaked to ‘Briefing’ by a sympathetic council employee no coun— cillors appear to have been informed of the ‘handout’ plans. There has been no discussion of it in the Labour Group of Councillors, let alone the District party.

The council's gift is towards the £31 million that Hyatt intend to spend on building their 5 star luxury executive hotel. In contrast to the neighbouring Convention Centre, which the Council leadership still claim ‘ordinary Brummies’ will be able to visit and make use of the recreation and ieisure facilities, the Hyatt Hotel will be an unashamed and exciusive playground for the wealthjest of the western world's business executives. News of the decision to ‘levy’ the City's ratepayers by giving over two million pounds to the

Continued on page 2...

INSid@. cece ccc eee eee cee eee Anti-Apartheid Solidarity... Summerfield Caucus...Fascist

«..,continued from page 1.

Hyatt group was neatly disguised ina press release from Albert Bore's Economic

Development Committee. They made the claim that the contribution to the hotel was from the Tory - government's

coffers, in the form of an ‘Urban Develop—"

ment Grant amounting to ‘£9 million. What they did not reveal - and until now has been kept secret even from

Labour Councillors - is that a quarter of the Urban Development Grant actually comes from the City ratepayer and not from central government at all.

The ‘Urban Development Grant‘ (UDG) system is a relatively new form of ‘assistance’ to the inner city, dreamed up by the Tory government who uneasy at the success cf the City Partnership (ICP) scheme, devised by Peter Shore MP when he Environment Minister in the last Calaghan Unlike Labour's ICFP system involves giving grants to private who or build in the The system aims to prop up the sector land econony by giving grant aid towards private initiatives that it is claimed woul@€ not otherwise be profitable. To take an example - supposing it costs £1 million to build a new factory. The building company and its property investors will want an extra 20% (£200,000) as a standard developer's Profit. (20% is the usual investment profit margin.) Because of the decline in the inner city economy, it may only be possible to sell the factory to a manufacturer for £1 million ~ exactly what it cost to build but not allowing the building and property development company a profit. In these circumstances ue developer would not go ahead because no profit would be made. But, the Tories‘ UPG grant system allows a cash handout to be given to the developer to top up the money to a lvel sufficient for what is termed a ‘reasonable profit’ or the investment. This is exactly

were Inner first

was

government. the UDG

schene, cash invest grant private

inner city.

what is intended the case of the Hyatt Hotei. Hyatt lain that the hotel, as it stands, would not make a profit and that they would met build it unless they got & grant they could use tc make the deve:opment profitable. The LG grant neney, including £2,250,000 from the city rates is intended as the amount of handout necessary tc make the profit ifficiently large to entice Hyatt's inte going ahead with the venture.

'Briefibg' would like te know: how can Labour councillors be so easily deceived by their own leadership? How can we sit back and ailow our hard pressed city coffers to be syphoned off purely to create profit for international capitalist gangsters like Hyatt? How is it that none of this has ever been discussed - let alone approved - by the District Party whe are supposed to create policy?

These scandais have to stop. have to fight to

And stop

party members them!

ANTI-APARTHEID ACTION BY TEACHERS

In recent weeks, supporters of ‘Briefing in the National Union of Teachers (NUT) have been able to initiate various solidarity actions with teachers in Birmingham.

The events organised were the result of

decisions of the NUT executive and general meeting to affiliate to the local anti-apartheid movement, the Trades Council's Black South Africa Solidarity _Committee and sending a delegate to the Anti-Apartheid Trade Union Conference. The Trades Council's solidarity bulletin, ‘South Africa Frontline', is also cirSculated at

general meetings and to schools.

On 11 June, the NUT Education Committee held a well attended meeting with a seventeen year cold school student on the schools* struggle in South Africa. An English-born teacher who had taught in the Bantustans also contributed her experience.

In a very impressive speech, the schocl student, a member of the Students of Young Azania Youth Organisation of the Cape Action League, told how

many schools had been taken over by students. With the help of progressive teachers, the curriculum had been reorganised along revolutionary lines. Students studied the French and Russian revolutions and their relevance to the situation in South Africa today. Pop songs, after

word changes, became songs of protest.

Repression was often severe. Not only were students being beaten and whipped by the police but also some teachers, The student's own mother was forced to teach a classroom of empty desks at gunpoint.

Several teachers were encouraged to celebrate the anniversary of the Soweto uprising as a result of the meeting. £25 was collected for the students of young Azania.

The Socialist Teachers Alliance is holding another meeting (see advertisement) and a Black teacher will be touring iocal schools on 9/10 July. He will be appealing for funds for imprisoned menbers of the Western Cape

Teachers Union and explaining the repress— ion and struggle in South African schools.

Public Meeting Education and Revolution in South Africa

Speaker: Black South African Schooi Teacher

Wednesday 9 July, 8.00 p.m. Martineau Teachers Centre Bristol Road.

Unions against apartheid

Severa? hunéred leaders of the indepenGent trade unions in South Africa have been detained. The statements of the trade union federation COSATU cannot be published under the Emergency provisions. ANC leader, Oliver Tambo, has called for trade unions in Britain to enforce 'sanctions' themselves.

Your union all or

might take of these actions:

* not handling any goods from or destined for South Africa.

any

ensuring your company or department does not place any orders with firms with South African connections.

* if your firm has South African connect-— ions, shop stewards can press management for action to secure the release of trade unionists and their freedom of movement.

ios

* puild support for trade unionists who are taking action and pledge to defend those who may be in the front line of the boycott.

The Trades Council can help you to do this. They can provide speakers, videos, information, useful addresses

and details of what has been done else— where.

Contact the Black South Africa Solidarity Committee of Birmingham Trades Council at:

? Frederick Street, telephone 021 236 1240; or telephone:

Pat Tough: 021 708 0823 Or 021 706 4732 Sue Thomas:021 554 3188

Andy Chaffer (also for the Anti Apartheid Movement: 021 471 4312.

Hockley, Bl 3HE,

FRICAN NATIONAL —\CONGRESS

POWER FO THE PEOPLE!

NX

SUMMIEREDTELD CAUCUS ~ SOFT

PEIDAILILIONG ?

To most party members, the ‘Summerfield

Caucus! is a complete mystery. Named after its initial meeting place at Summerfield Community Centre, it seems to spend much of its time discussing

what it is and who should be in it. Now at least a statement of aims exists which many will have seen for the first time in the last issue of Birmingham Labour Briefing. But how much does it tell us about the group or its likely future? :

The background to Summerfield is clear, It began with a group of Black councillors and Black candidates meeting to discuss their future involvement in the Labour Group. Their aim was to push for serious resources for areas of immediate concern to them, and for some real power in a future labour administration. To achieve these objectives, they decided they should seek the support of other group members. They therefore approached individual councillors on the left of the Labour Group whom they considered reliable and committed to change. This brought together the nucleus of the Summerfield Caucus, consisting of Counciliors Amir Khan, Murphy, Afzal, Benjamin, Stacey, Livingstone and Stewart, with prospective councillors Manku, Spence, Bridle, G. Khan, Burnett, E. Brooks and Wells. They were soon joined by Andy Foster,

a surprising recruit to many, but now apparently amongst its most committed members.

From the outset then, Summerfield

Caucus saw itself as part Black Vaucus and part labour left. But as a Labour left it had three obvious shortcomings. Firstly, it had no programme of action to base itself on, other than a vague determination to challenge the right wing within the Labour group. Secondly, without such a programme, it had no objective criteria for deciding who should be a member and who should not. Thirdly it consisted entirely of councill-

ors or prospective councillors which meant it tended to see the focus of change as within the Labour Group. Nevertheless, the significance of the Summerfield Caucus was obvious: for the first time a group of councillors was organising to bring about a change

Labour administration and determinatior to develop a programme and broaden the thing out.

But while these key questions became the substance cf protracted negotiations, the Summerfield Caucus was faced with its first hurdle: the Labour Group

in the next there was @

BUILD A

AG,- Their limited: to replace as Chair of the

Equal Opportunities

objectives were obviously Cllr Sardul Marwa Race Relations and Committee, to make a serious challenge for Deputy Leader and Secretary of the Labour group and to push for some representation among Group Officers. To achieve any of these

things it was obviously necessary to win support beyond the Summerfield Caucus itself. They therefore agreed

to meet with Cllr Chris Kirk and others to discuss the possibility of a joint

slate. Talks with Kirk brought the Summerfield Caucus into a temporary Alliance with an entirely aifferent

section of the party based on the remnants of the last wave of ‘left’ councillors who set out to change the face of Labour

politics in the city after the 1984 elections. Those who didn’t abandon this goal soon after their election as Committee Chairs found themselves reduced tc loyal oppositionists whose fading left credentials were used to stifle change. Kirk's infamous ‘it's time to admit defeat‘ speech at this year's district Policy Conference is

@ case in point. Delivered while pushing for no vote on the manifesto commitment to the International Convention Centre, it succeeded in pulling in just enough like-minded delegates to ensure that the District Party's longstanding opposition te the project was never translated into a final rebuff for the Labour group.

THis is not to say that an electoral bloc between the Summerfield Caucus and Chris Kirk et al should never have been considered. But a temporary electoral

block is one thing and a= strategic alliance another. By what possible criteria does a man who scuttled the party's efforts at enforcing its view on the future of a project costing £106 million warrant inclusion in a@ caucus whose central stated objective is to democratise the Labour Group and to vest real decision making power in the hands of the District Labour Party? True miraculous conversions

have happened, but what has the Summer-

field Caucus's debate about programme actually revealed?

The Summerfield Caucus's programme or the ‘pledge’ as it became known,

stops short of spelling out the sorts

of socialist policies greater democracy might enable us to implement but it does list an impressive series of measures which caucus supporters say they intend to win ‘within the next twelve months’. Yet when some

SOCIALIST

members of the Summerfield Caucus argued that every supporter should sign this programme as a condition of membership, a new debate ensued. Suddenly, some of the most recent converts to the cause of democracy decided things were going just a little too far, Why this reluctance to append their names to a statement which says the party shoul ‘have the final say in determining the electoral policy and programme’?

THere is one possible answer, of course, which is that their support for these measures is a fake. After

all, it is one thing to nominally accept such a programme as a means of gaining admission to and influencing the Summer—

field Caucus, and another to be tied to it in any way. But the scope for such duplicity is in the programme itself. While it spells out what it wants to achieve, it says nothing about how, which brings us to the issue of broader involvement.

The Summerfield Caucus's targets

have no hope of being won unless the caucus takes the lead in a campaign involving supporters at every level of the party in achieving them. There is unfortunately no sign that this is understood within the caucus itself. Indeed after exhaustive discussions about ‘broadening itself out' the Summer— field Caucus has settled on admitting only those delegates to Labour Group meetings who are considered acceptable to the majority of its present members.

This decision was, of course, coupled with establishing a working party ta look at the issue of party involvement

more closely. But what does the present decision actually represent?

Talking to members of the caucus it seems that great concern is being expressed about the thing becominh too big. No doubt in campaigning to

achieve ‘as many as possible’ of its stated targets ‘within the next twelve months' attracting too much — support is the first probler to confront. Then again, perhaps the debate over size

is reaily more to do with control.

Continued on page 4...

CITY PARTY!

...continued from page 3.

LETTER

Certainly, the decision not to discuss! with either Birmingham Labour Briefing, or the Labour Co-ordinating Committee suugests that for at least some section of the caucus the involvement of already established political currents is cause for concern. Why then settle on delegates

to the Labour Group, and not all off Dear Editor,

them at that? Can this be seen as a I read with some interest Rob Pocock's

move towards broadening the caucus] analysis of the District Party AGM

out? which appeared in the June issue of Politically the answer has to be Birmingham Labour Briefing and feel

no. To begin with, it consolidates compelled to comment on at least two

of his conclusions.

Firstly, Rob writes that the 'general pattern of voting reveals the almost total eclipse of the soft-centre Kinnock-

an approach which concentrates exclusively on the caucus's intervention into Labout Group meetings. Jus. how such interven— tions are expected to achieve the caucus’s

objectives no-one has yet’ explained.| ite jieft.' This is simply not borne And in reality, of course, they won't. out by the facts. In the contest for To argue otherwise is just a local] Chair it is, of course, true that Karen version of parliamentary cretinism| McCarthy was pushed into third place which most left Labour MPs transcendeaf but it doesn't follow from this that jong ago. Secondly; the decision to the vote she got represented the total admit only some Labour Group delegates] Support that the ‘soft left’ can muster means that the process of recruitment} atymore than the vote for Maicolm Speake is in fact a means of exercising political} Tepresents that of the ‘solid left’.

control over the compositioin of the By Rob's own account, votes from caucus. You now have the absurd situation} Perry Barr and Ladywood went to Fred

Chapman, a point I wili return to below. But if this was the case, surely some of these votes could have been considered supporters of the ‘solid

where councillors who would raily Little or no support from left activists in the wards and constituencies are sitting

in judgement on whether or not such left'. If activists have a place in the Summerfield] they chose to vote for Fred Chapman Caucus. isn't it reasonable to assume that The net effect of these steps together,| ‘SOft left’ delegates might have done then, is to take the caucus further§ likewise? away from the sort of left that Birmingham Such a conclusion is supported by badly needs. But what can be done?} the outcome of the election for viceIt is time that the founding members} Chair which Rob doesn't mention at of the Summerfield Caucus explaineaf 241 in his page long article. Here just what it is they are trying tof Keren McCarthy picked up 84 votes. achieve. As impressive as a programme 65 @ of the positive votes cast. Perhaps may be, at the end of the day its authors| the situation would be clearer if 'Brief-

ing' Malcolm Speake

had had the foresight to encourage to have

will be judged by what they have actually

done to implement it. Alongside its e stood here as discussions about who should be inf Well. However, as things stand, the its ranks, the Summerfield Caucus needs§ lections merely confirmed the status

to begin to take initiatives to realise} Quo- The right wing of the Labour Group

some of its demands. Téhen, and only,g 27@ happy to run things with a loyal then, will we know just who of its opposition so iong as it knows its present members is prepared to fight] Piace-

for change as well as talking about As for Rob's later assertion on it. For the moment, however, the Summer-] the election for Chair, a much more field Caucus seems content to soft

pedal at a pace ideally suited to some

District Party AGM revisited

worrying point emerges. Rob writes ‘Fred Chapman, the long standing incumbent won again with 74 votes, picking up some unlikely support from Perry Barr and Ladywood delegates presumably repaying debts they felt they owed from other events earlier in the year.’ Firstly, Iam not aware of any Ladywood delegate having voted for Fred Chapman. But even accepting that Rob is right, ta Put it on the same level as the support given to him by Perry Barr is to obscure the essential fact. Perry Barr nominated Fred Chapman. Ladywood nominated Malcolm Speake. Given that Fred Chapman received 74 votes compared to the 56 received by the other two, this is not an irrelevant point. Ten votes cast for one of the other candidates would have necessitated a second ballot. It seems reasonable to assume that if the Perry Barr delegation backed Fred Chapman then it was them that secured his first round victory.

Secondly, I know of no debt Ladywood owes Fred Chapman whereas in the case of Perry Barr it would seem that Rob is alluding to the dispute over the Handsworth Ward selection fer the District Council elections. Perhaps, given the alleged involvement of James Hunte in this affair and his historical assoc— iations with Soho Ward, Rob considers that Ladywood owed for this too. But since the Ladywood G.M.C. nominated Malcolm Speake there is no evidence that its delegates took this view. Certainly, I know that many Ladywood delegates would have nothing to do with the ‘you scratch our backs and we'll scratch yours' approach Rob's statement not only infers but apparently sanctions.

Yours sincerely, Mick Archer.

of its recent recruits. But sometimes

progress can be so slow that it is

difficult to establish whether there EK VAC INTEL

is any movement at all. In the case aeo0 of the Suymmerfield Caucus there is

now a serious danger that it will lose

its original direction and momentum

if some of its newer members have their

way. That would be a serious loss to

the fight to construct a real Labourf{ To be reviewed in next month's left in Birmingham and could give al,7 2. 4 :

new breath of life to a discrediteaj ‘Briefing’: Villa Road Lozells

and fake alternative. Road Action Plan, the council

response to last September's uprisings. Meanwhile, comrades will be pleased to know that at least one of Julius Silverman's recommendations has been

Order Witch Hunt News Make cheques payable to: “Witch

Hunt News” . :

20p per copy Police Station has ; started its (includes postage) proposed facelift with £1 for 10 copies new windows throughout - (includes postage) installed by a white workforce: Send orders to: WitchHunt: . of course. Unemployment and News, c/o 36 Melbourne social deprivation remain at Road, London E17. the same high levels as before,

Armagh Delegation -

Women’s solidarity against strip searching

Every year a delegation of women goes to Ireland from Britain for International Women’s Day. Below ‘Briefing’ features an edited version

of the report made by Dawn de Kock,

delegate from Birmingham Labour Committee on

Polytechnic Ireland.

Back in March, over 100 women travelled

to Belfast to protest against strip searching. The delegation took part in the annual picket of Armagh jail

and then marched along the Falis Road.

On Saturday, the day after our arrival there were educational workshops. The most popular workshop appeared to be the one on strip searching. The speaker for the Prisoner of War (POW} Department outlined conditions in the prisons in the north and in Portlaoise. She compared figures for strip searching in all prisons, showing that the total was disproportionately higher in Armagh than in men's prisons. Men are strip searched every six months on average, whereas in Armagh about 45 strip searches are carried out each month on 20 - 25 women.

Other repressive tactics were noted. For example in McGilligan, where prisoners serve the final stages of their sentences attempts are made to break down the Republican prisoners' social structure to prevent them becoming involved in further political activity after their release,

The brutal use of the PTA was revealed in an incident reported by two women who planned a holiday in Scotland for a party of children. They arrived at Stramraer with the children at 7.30 pm, They were questioned under the PTA until 11 pm, stripped and thrown into a cell, One of the women who was pregnant was told she might suffer a miscarriage if she was further mistreated. This plea was ignored. The NCCL is currently investigating the case.

The focus then returned to Armagh for the talk on strip searchimng which began in November 1982 after two young offenders were caught in possession of the keys to the courthouse door. Reports began to filter in that remand prisoners were being strip searched before and after court appearances. THose resisting were forcibly searched: Catherine Moore was pinned down by 14 warders.

The Northern Ireland Office continues

to claim that strip searching is a necessary security measure. This is untrue:

* women are searched before and after court appearances even though they don't leave a top-security van during this period and have an escort and RUC armed guard.

“ strip searches often aren't carried

out at visiting times when the security risk is greatest.

* some women are strip searched on their release. * strip searching is not a thorough

method of searching and does not involve a body search.

Age has no bearing on who is strip searched -— neither young girls nor old women { including one 72 year old

who could hardly walk) have been spared this ordeal. Physical condition or iliness is not a mitigating factor - menstruating and pregnant women are

regularly strip searched and denied sanitary protection. One woman with a history of gynaecological problems

which required surgery was strip searched on arrival back at the prison, one hour after the anaesthetic had worn off.

But the main purpose of the searches is humiliation. They take place in a@ cubicle in the reception area with @ curtain that only reaches the waist and often facing a window. Derogatory comments are often made. The woman in then made to crawl over the floor to pick up her scattered clothes. Most of. these searches are carried out on remand prisoners, supposediy innocent until proven guilty. Women, who are acquitted have often endured up to 100 strip searches while on remand.

In the afternoon we went for the last picket of Armagh jail. The women are now in Maghaberry. Outside the prison, the rally was chaired by Maura McCrory. Ann Marie Quinn, an ex prisoner, gave a detailed description of the searches and spoke of the emothional

effects of such treatment. Other speakers were Dodie McGuinness and Noleen Anderson,

sister of Martina Anderson, She brought solidarity greetings from Martina and Ella O'Dwyer in Brixtor Prison. Christine

Perks spoke on behalf of the delegation

and, finally, Jim McAllister, Sinnfein elected councillor for South Armagh condemned the degrading portrayal of

women in society and the belief that women have achieved ‘liberation’ because they have won the ‘right’ to appear

on page three. ; On the Sunday, the delegation assembled

at Beechmount Leisure Centre to march to Andersontown, Ann Marie Quinn spoke again and Gerry Adams, in addition to condemning strip searching, underlined the responsibilities of republican men in sharing in child care which allows women to become more active.

Finally, there was a meeting at the Falis Road Women's Centre, allowing women to share their experiences. One particulariy encouraging aspect of the meeting was the support by women from the .mining communities. It was through the miners’ strike that these women came together in solidarity and

have become a powerful element in women's struggies everywhere.

Gerry Adams -— underlined the responsibilities of Republican men.

se,

The Aekta Project, or Clothing Industry Action Research Project was set up in January 2985. Its job is to investigate and research developments in the West Midlands 'new' clothing industry and to campaign to improve the wages and working conditions of the clothing workers. This pamphlet, prepared by Raghib Ahsan, reports the work of the project so far and outlines some of the typical cases that have been dealt with.

The clothing industry in the region has developed since 1977 against 4 backdrop of growing unemployment and a sharp decline in prosperity. Now the industry employs 20 - 30,009 factory workers in the region along with many homeworkers. It is now a bigger employer in the area than the motor manufacturing industry. But the mainly Asian workforce has a majority of women workers who are new to the labour market, unfamiliar with traditional labour practices and open to exploitation. Few are in unions.

The report makes it clear that the Wages Inspectorate, who are supposed to ensure the legal wages and conditions laid down by the Wages Council, have been severely deficient. They have not ensured workers have received their minimum entitlements and have allowec employers ta flout the law.

This already poor situation is further threatened by the Wages Bill currently before Parliament. No longer will the Wages Council be able to set a minimum amount of holidays, nor will it cover workers under 21. In April the Government announced it was going to reduce the number of Wages Inspectors by 40%, leaving just 71 inspectors to cover the whole country.

All this means a particularly ba deal for Black workers, for most 0! the country's one million Black worker: are in industries covered by the Wage: Council. The operation of the Wage! Inspectorate, as the pamphlet shows is another instance of the phenomeno: whereby, whatever the intentions ma’ be, supposedly equal treatment of worker does not produce an equal or just result.

The pamphlet concludes with a serie of suggestions for change at both govern ment level and at the level of th Wages Inspectorate.

The pamphlet costs £1.50. For mor information contact:

Aekta Project, 346 Soho Road, Birmingha B21 9SE, or telephone O21 S54 8747

AEKTA. saz Rea

PROJECT

BAD BOSSES LET OFF THE HOOK:

{HOW WEST MIDLANDS CLOTHING WORKERS HAVE BEEN LET DOWN BY THE WAGES INSPECTORATE.

i | | Price £1-50

‘Briefing! meets regularly on the second Monday of each month. Phone for details of venue etc.

August ‘Briefing’ will be out on Friday 1 August.

Deadline for articles ane adverts etc. is Friday 25 July. When you send your article please enclose any pictures or illustrations you think may be useful.

“Bem

“ticles and letters sabour Briefing’ to:

‘Birmingham Labour Briefing, 42 Thornhiy: Road,

Farvinghas 62! 551 9174

fr telepnone

FASCIST ATTACKS

In March this year, Birmingham Labour Briefing carried a short report on the increase in fascist attacks on socialist bookshops in Birmingham. Since then, further attacks have taken Place and the Daily News has carried

an article reporting on them. For this issue, ‘Briefing’ spoke to Bob Smith from ‘Birmingham's Other Bookshop about the present situation:

“Since Christmas of last year, there have been a whole series of attacks on the outside of our premises which have forced us to turn it into a bit of a fortress. Entry has also been forced on three occasions when shelves

have been overturned and stock damaged.

aey Books and the Star Club above it have also been attacked. They and Friends of the Earth were recently broken into and cash was stolen from both premises.

Chief Inspector Birch of Digbeth Police Station was quoted in the Daily News as saying he thought these were ‘isolated acts of vandalism' but that

he ‘does not rule out a political motive'. Yet fascist graffiti is regularly scrawled

on these premises and in the breakins at Key Books and Friends of the Earth fascist symbols and slogans were daubed on the walls. I have personally

received death threats from the National Front through the post and by phone. Maybe the police will take this business more seriously when someone is murdered

or our premises are burned down. It is the same response that the Black community has gotten for years. Fascist and racist attacks are presented as simple acts of 'vandalism'.

It is obviously important that socialists in Birmingham respond to these attacks. I strongly suggest to people who want to get involved in anti-fascist activity to get in touch with the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism at the Trade Union Resource Centre, 7 Frederick Street, Hockley, Birmingham B31 3HE."

More information on the activity of fascist organisations can be found in ‘Searchlight’, a monthly anti-fascist magazine.

Women’s Action Committee and trade union women

Labour Womer. Actior Conmittee has a thriving West Midiinds regionai organisation with about 65 members.

On Saturday 7 June, the West Midlands

Women's Action Committee held a meeting to discuss women in the trade unions. Two active women trade unionists (from

NUPE and TASS) came to talk about women's organisation in their unions and the struggles they have experienced in seeking to promote women's issues.

Certainly it was made very clear to WAC women present that we need to understand the difficulties trade union women have to face in combating their male-oriented buraucratic structures.

There was a lengthy discussion about

the division which emerged at Labour Party Women's Conference this year. The majority of the trade union delegations at the conference refused to participate in the approved shadow

THERE'S SOME

/ A RRTER ANGRY

NY! WOMEN WANT To

SEE YoU ABOUT

“THE. WOMEN!S CONFERENCE...

Womens 7 CONFERENCE? WHAT WOMEN?S 2 CONFERENCE..# NEVER HEARD OF (T....

for on the party's National Executive

elections the five women's seats Comm ittee. When the NUPE resolution, which called for a process of consultation about women's representation and was thus a step backward fron previous demands passed by Women's Conference, was defeated, the gap widened between the trade union women and Labour Party feminists.

WAC is campaigning constitutional demands for women ain the Labour Party, but these demands

cannot be seer in isolation. Certainly

for specific

in West Midlands WAC we to meet women in trade important part ef our work.

see the need unions as an This meeting

was, hopefully, the first of many such meetings. The next WAC meeting will discuss

the block vote for women at the National Women's Conference. It is on 12 July, 10 am to 12.30 pm, at 50 Clarence Road

Moseley, Birmingham B 13. For further information, contact Jill Ambler on 449 2528 or Teresa Davies

on 449 5875.

WITCH HUNT IN WEST BROMWICH

The Chair and Secretary of West Bromwich West LPYS have been suspended. All the signs are that the right wing

is intent on going for their expulsions. George Law ( a well-known right winger) claimed they had admitted to being 'members' of ‘Militant'. Paul and Ian, the two members in question, were asked

to leave the General Committee meeting and the local party executiver are making enguiries.

These days, anyone in Sandwell who

doesn't slavishly follow the hard right's narrow dogma runs the risk of being a ‘Militant member'. The3y are likely

to find themselves facing discipiinary charges in the establishment's drive to ‘sanitise' the party in the wake

of Kinnock's Conference cali.

C'lir B.R.Taylor (Sandwell)

PICKET

SHELL

(Organised by Youth Against Apartheid. )

12 hour picket of the Shell garage on the Moseley Road, Sparkbrook (opposite Runcorn Road}.

Wednesday 30 July from 7 am to 7 pm.

Sheil Oil is one of the largest investors in. Apartheid. Its presence in South Africa directly aids the Botha government and the white racist regine,. Demand that Sheli withdraw now from south Africa

and Namibia !

RE-INSTATE KEVIN SCALLY AND AMIR KHAN

The campaign to re-instate Kevin Scally and Amir Khan continues. It holds meetings every Tuesday at 7.30 pm at the Unemployed Centre on Stratford Road. All Labour Party members are welcome to attend either as individuals or as representatives from affiliated bodies. For more information about the campaign, contact Bernie Wilde on 236 8323 (daytime) or Amir or Gina Khan on 449 8350 {evening}

Meanwhile a model resolution for conference calling for the re-instatement

of Amir and Kevin has been circulated to constituency parties throughout the country. Ladywood CLP passed the model resolution as its resolution for national conference. Selly Oak CLP amended their resolution with other resolutions on the witch hunt. The next task is for other CLPs to send in amendments to these resolutions. The ciosing date for amendments for

resolutions for party conference is 15 August. The resolution, proposed by ASTMS

Birmingham District Branch reads:

* Conference believes that the party

must remain a broad coalition of various shades of opinion and that tolerance should be extended to those who hold minority views.

Conference welcomes this tradition of tolerance, which extends back to

the election of Harold Wilson as 1963. Conference notes:

1. that. while the majority of the party disapproved of James Callaghan’s televised denunciation of the party's nuclear defence -policies prior to the 1983 general election, he was not subject to disciplinary action;

2. that a large number of Labour Party MPs have criticised one or other aspect

leader in

of party policy without being subject to disciplinary action.

Conference does not necessarily approve of such public dissension but also notes: 1. the rejection of the appeal against expulsion from Birmingham Sparkbrook CLP of Cllr Amir Khan and Kevin Scally. Cllr Khan was expelled for calling a meeting to discuss the formation of a Black Section. Kevin Seally was expelled for appearing on a television programme and criticising the constituency party;

2. that both Khan and Scally are

standing party members who ahve years of service to the party.

Conference believes that these comrades have not been treated fairly or consist— ently and calls on the NEC to readmit them to membership.'

long given

rROOPS OUT MOVEMENT

PUBLIC MEETING

Thursday 10 July,

7.30 pm.

DIGBETH CIVIC HALL

Speakers: Lily Fitzsimmons (Sinn Fein Councillor)

Maire

O'Shea

Labour Councilior Chair:

Geraldine Egan (President,

Birmingham Trades Council)

Meeting for those wishing to go go on the annual Troops Out Movement delegation to Belfast on the weekend of 9 August:

Thursday 17 July, 7.30 pm Digbeth Civic Hall, Lecture Room 3. (Supported by Labour Committee on Ireland.)