Camden Labour Briefing, 11 April 1988

44th April 1988.

LONDON LABOUR COUNCILLORS AGAINST THs CUTS.

No one London borough can take on the Government single-handed and win outright victory, but joining together as a united front, there is far more chance of success, With this in mind, we are a group that represents 16 boroughs and comprises over 100 labour councillors who are against the class collaboration with the Tories that is being adopted by Margaret Hodge and the ALA by complying

with Central Government's demands for cuts in jobs and services.

The working class in London is being attacked increasingly by the Tories whose aim is clearly to annihilate labour boroughs that have resisted attempts to destroy local democracy. There is tremendous deprivation amongst London's poor that needs to be addressed. The reduction in Rate Support Grant over many years has meant that boroughs ere unable to provide the services needed to protect and support the increasing number of oppressed people trying to survive, For instance, in Camden, since 1980/31, no Dlock grant has been given, resulting in an

f2li Tn vermeent has stolen that

accumulated arrear of 4 massiv

oO th a (es) ~I 4 he ' ' t is) 3 . y a hy a)

money from Londoners who paid it over in the form of taxes. We demand it back so

that we can irplement cur manifestos,

Complying with Tory cuts is a gross betrayal of working class voters who supported labour in May 1986 so that they would obtain a degree of protection against further Tory attacks, With no sign of a fightsback from the leadership of any London borough, whose only concern is to stay in office to protect their om

interests, we will unite with trade unionists and London's vulnerable, in particular black and ethnic minorities, women, lesbians and gays, people with disabilities,

the single, youth, pensioners, homeless people and the unemployed, to take on the

Government and win.

Councillor Adrian States.

NEXT CAMDEN LABOUR BRIEFING MEETING : MONDAY 18 APRIL, 8pm, in the Town Hall.

Future meetings will be on Tuesday 3 May and Monday 16 Ma

it is clear that the District Auditor's report on housing maintenance is being ws:: to blame the Direct Labour Urganisation for the present appalling repairs service

to tenants. Formal assurances that the Labour Group remains committed to the principle of direct labour, have been undermined by accusations of inefficiency

and outright fraud against the workforce. Nor are these assurances easily reconcilible with demands that management should have the right to manage, when senior management in the Housing Department is notoriously hostile to the D.L.U.

and would prefer to rely exclusively on cowboy contractors using non-union lump labour with no employment rights or proper safety standards, no holiday or sick pay,

no apprenticeship schemes and no equal opportunities policy.

The drastic cutback in repairs implemented by the Housing Department has severely reduced the bonus earnings of Building Department manual workers, with the result that some tradesmen have been taking home less than £100 a week, This has made @ nonsence of the principle of voluntary redundancies, many workers having been forced to sell their jobs because they can't afford to live on such lousy wages. In these circumstances, the publicising of exaggerated and untypical figures in order to suggest that high wages are common amongst L.B.C. building workers, is a grotesque insult. This is a method traditionally used by the capitalist press to attack

trade unionists and those who resort to it, should have no place in the Labour

ovement,

Bob Pitt, UCATT steward, Building Department.

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THE LONDON LABOUR CUTS List

BOROUGH CUTS FOR 1988/89 cur AS A & OF & MILLION TOTAL BUDGET Brent “30 15 Camden . 44 28 Greenwich 12 12 Haringey 46 30 Islington 40 10 Lambeth 60 37 Lewisham 16.5 114

ILA 93 10

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL FIGHT FOR LESBIAN AND GAY

RIGHTS

Haringey Tories have played a major part in mobilising forces

of bigotry and prejudice against the lesbian and gay communities since 1986. Their policies have led not only to an increase in violence against lesbians and gay men, but also to the introduction of 'The Clause’. They are now proposing a motion (see below) for the Haringey Council meeting on April 25th which is designed to

deprive us of equal rights and to ignore the fact that we too are rate payers.

“This Council recognises the wisdom of the Local Government Bill 1987 and resolves forthwith:

(a) Immediately close the Lesbian and Gay Unit.

(b) Abolish the Curriculum Working Party

(c) To cease all measures to promote homosexuality anywhere children are in the care or control of the Council run schools.

{d) Immediately cease all Grant Aid to Reading Matters Bookshop and any other homosexual group. ~

(e) To abolish all references to homosexuality contained in the Labour Manifesto for Haringey approved as official. Council policy.

LOEBY HARINGEY COUNCIL HARINGEY CIVIC CuNnTRE (WOOD GREEN TUBS) LONDAY APRIL 25TH

6Fi. ONWARDS

ORGANISED BY THe CC-OPTH#=5 CF THe! LESBIAN AND GAY SUB-COMUITTER, wate. a8

JOIN THE MARCH ON LONDON

April 30th/Assemble Embankment at 12.00

Rally and festival Kennington Park at 3.00

Entertainment/food/drink/safe area/creche. PREBUME WERE 3 Signers/transport for people with disabilities. RETEROSEXUA A

Speakers include representatives from Women Against Pit Closures, COHSE, NUPE, NALGO.

The campaign needs £10,000

send your donation now to Stop the Clause Campaign, Oné of a set of 8 postcards produced in support of the Stop the

Claise campaign. Available from good bookshops or from Cath c/o ULU Malet St., WC1 Tel 580 9551 Tate, PO Box 647, London SW2 4JX at £2 the set (cheques

RA AV 2 ARAN ee RR eR tn Gta M4 RAL nor navahlea ta Cath Tate)

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

The LCC (Labour Co-ordinating Committee), a one-time soft-left group, who are now anongst the most intolerent right-wingers in the Labour Party, are collecting information on Labour Party members:- "Information" in this line of work is, of course, anything but. LCCers in Bermondsey for example, have furnished a profile of all members of the local G.C. in which former Labour Party General

Secretary, Jim Mortimer, is classified as a fellow traveller of Militant! @

Councillor Ken Hulme is the National Urganising Secretary of the LCC.

~0-0-0-0-0 -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 -90-0-OSOCIALISM BACK ON THE AGENDA.

Last October, more than 2000 people went = to the Socialist Conference in Chesterfield. Help to build a fighting, united left!

Now there is a follow-up Conference in April 16-17, 9.30-6 North London Polytechnic, N17

£5 waged, £2 unwaged Delegates encouraged

develop socialist policies - back on the Limited access; food available; professional creche (must be booked in advance)

. - Workshops include:

challenging Kinnock's and Roy (women who died Green politics, Ireland, Economy, Victorian

of back street abortions before 1967 had a Values, Black representation, immgration and deportations, International Solidarity,

Women for Socialism, Defend Local Services

Speakers:

waa oa . Diane Abbott, Sharon Atkin, Tony Banks,

Gill Entwhistle. Geoff Bell, Jeremy Corbyn, Paul Foot, Dave

Kitson, Ken Livingstone, Mandy Mudd, Pete:

Tatchell, Valerie Veness For details write to 23b Mildmay Road, London N1, phone 254 5582

North London. Tony Benn will be speaking

at the Conference and workshops will aim to

agenda, now that Benn and Heffer are

choice) Hattersley's leadership.