[Oxford Nursery campaigners picketing Carlisle last year The…]

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Oxford Nursery campaigners picketing Carlisle last year The so-called "Leninist Faction"-five people expelled from the Workers Socialist League in January for breaches of the Constitution arising from their political support for the International Spartacist Tendency-held a public meeting in London last Friday.

Not surprisingly it turned out to be a Spartacist jamboree. Despite the fact that the meeting was an attempt to capitalise on the LF's claim to be independent of the IST, the Spartacists provided not only the vast majority of the audience-including heavies flown in from as far afield as San Francisco-but also dominated the affair organisationally.

They took photographs, and tape recordings and hovered, poised to descend on anyone from the floor of the meeting who wished to exceed the allotted four minutes' speaking time.

Two familiar and lengthy Spartacist. presentations were offered by. LF speakers Mark South and Di Parkin-each claiming that they had been "bureaucratically expelled" from the WSL.

• A WSL member was then given "extended" speaking time-8 minutes-to reply.

Even in this amount of time Tony Richardson of the WSL was able to nail the lie that the being allowed only 20 miaftes to put their views.

He pointed out that from the point they had first developed Spartacist positions they had circulated three major documents and been allocated speaking time at every national meeting of the movement-including two special conferences.

No agreement Their right to argue their positions within the WSL had only been challenged when it became clear that they had no political agreement with _our movement, and 100% agreement with the IST-which is pledged to smash the WSL.

Alan Thornett pointed out that the LF expulsion had been unanimously endorsed by a special conference:

One former LF. member, who had broken with the raction in order to temain in the WSL, told the meeting that for all the talk now of 'bureaucratic expulsion", the Faction had argued that the WL leadership was "soft" for not expelling them earlier!

The leaders of the LF had been meeting the IST, and acting virtually as members of it, since August last year, she added. This was not only kept secret from the WSL, but also from some members of the Faction itself. * The meeting, which failed to attract more than a handful of non-Spartacists, was an expensive failure which will presumably mark the end of the LF's fraudulent pretence of "independence" • Its five members must soon formally announce their membership of the IST. Tory leadership has not surprised the Oxford Save Our Nurseries Campaign, who have no illusions in the policy of persuading Important People in Key Positions-which has been consistently peddled by the CNE leaders.

Nor do they see the second amendment put by St. John Stevas as offering any promise of reprieve for the nurseries. and use the services under the Tory axe.

This campaign is being launched by the Oxfordshire Campaign Against the Cuts which is holding a conference on March 8 in West Oxford Community Centre (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) * which will discuss policies necessary to fight the cuts. spending will receive substantial support from other public sector unions.

This emerged following a highly successful delegate conference on the fight against the cuts called by. Leicester Trades Council: last weekend which attracted "45 delegates and ten observers from labour movement badies.

Resolutions were taken by •ranche. brand the Labour Party and NALGO the National Union of Students.

A motion from the Inland Revenue Staff Federation called for a policy of a total ban on overtime. And 'the local Women's Group tabled a resolution stressing the particular threat posed to women by the cuts in social service spending.

From the platform Labour MP Jim Marshall spoke on the problems of 'eadership now posed in the Labour Party.;

Jo Richardson MP concentrated on the need to fight the Corrie anti-abortion law.

And NUPE National Officer Roger Poole peddled the union's limp policy of calling on Labour councillors to resign rather than implement the cuts.

*Demanding councillors refuse to implement the cuts and refuse to raise rates or rents -instead adopting a policy of overspending.

*Declining labour movement support for labour councils that confroht the Tories-including strike action where necessary.

*A policy of occupation to prevent closure of public services, backed up by supporting strike action.

- *Fighting for strike action to stop cutbacks and redundancies and to defend manning tevels/!

*The demand for public service spending to be protected against inflation by a Sliding scale of spending.

*Calling for the accounts of public sector authorities to be opened to elected workers committees to reveal the profits made by private contractors and the banks.

*The establishment of a delegate action committee to co-ordinate the fight, drawing together delegates from the Trades Council cuts sub-committee, the three Labour Party groups and student unions.

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GMCs, trade union branches, tenants'. associations, women's