Fighting to stop Camden

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The bankruptcy of a policy of jacking up the rates as a substitute for fighting the Tories has finally rebounded on the Labour leadership of Camden Council.

The Labour Council's commitment to 'manage' capitalism at all costs has seen them move onto the offensive-not against the Tories, but against the working class in Camden.

The combination of huge cuts in the rate support grant, the penalty provisions in the Local Government and Land Bill and now the 6% cash limit on public sector pay rises has first of all shaken the right wing in the council and then forced them to move rapidly to a position of imposing cuts.

Socialist Press supporters have been struggling to bring this sharp turn in the Council's policy out into the open.

At internal party meetings rank and file members have been told that the council will once again pass off the Tory assault via a massive 58% rise in next year's rates and a 6p supplementary rate rise in December.

Even a cursory look at the Council leader's October report to the Camden Labour Group, or the council's proposals to the October Local Government Committee, reveals that the Council are:

Fasking all departments to make contingency plans 'exemplifying' the effects of a 10% cut.

*have decided to sell council houses.

#are asset stripping by selling off surplus sites and buildings on long leases.

*are threatening up to 300 jobs in the building department by axing the estates modernisation programme.

*are attempting to force through redeployment.

Having adopted these policies the Council leadership has to impose them at the expense of the very working class solidarity that they could have called upon to fight the Tories.

Edwardes-style

Following the method of Michael Edwardes at BL, Roy Shaw, Council leader, sent a letter to all council employees on 28 October:

"earnestly asking you for in particular a flexible outlook towards change notably redeployment and less rigid working arrangements."

3OBA8 • As we go to press Andrew Bethnal (building works and services chairman) has taken this tactic a stage further by issuing a letter to staff asking them to consider taking voluntary redundancy.

This tactic can only divide the workforce (for example UCATT workers will be told that the reason they can't be offered work is a direct result of the inflexible attitude on redeployment adopted by NALGO and NUPE).

And it will undermine the authority of the elected union leadership in the Borough.

It has been followed up with management-convened section meetings pushing the council line.

This capitulation to Heseltine has met with a sharp response from three major council unions at the Camden Joint Shop Stewards Conference.

On Tuesday 11 November 80 stewards from NUPE, UCATT, and NALGO agreed on a policy of no redundancies; no voluntary redundancies; no redeployment; no cuts in jobs and services.

This meeting also set up a steering committee of the three unions to negotiate with the But the same time it THERES A NICE CUT represents a very big step forward for future co-ordinated strike action against the council.

The council's moves have also been met with a response within the Labour Party itself.

On November 2 a meeting of over 20 Labour Party members from the three constituencies in the Borough agreed to set up the Camden Labour Left.

This caucus is based from its inception on a commitment to fight the council's betrayal and has already convened a meeting on November 30th.

Through its elected steering committee it is inviting speakers from the Lambeth Left' and the unions in the borough to Janeez HAI start a campaign within the Labour Party to oppose council cuts.

Leaflet As the leaflet advertising meeting correctly says:

"all council decisions have been taken within the confines of the counci chamber, between the Labour Group and council officers ... at no stage have the leadership turned to the Labour Party outside the trade unions to mobilise opposition to these Tory attacks.

"We believe that an alternative exists to the council leadership's capitulation. This fight must include the mobilisation of trades unions and tenants associations alongside the Labour Party and other councils on Heseltine's 'hit list'. , in a direct confrontation with the Tory Council rejection of such a policy will see the labour movement in Camden-including large sections of the Labour Party itself-ranged against their policy of cuts.

This is the direction that Socialist Press supporters and WSL members have fought for and will continue to fight for.