"We cannot vote for these policies'

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supporter of Camden Labour Left interviews Camden councillor and the statement he signed with nine other Camden councillors and the Graham Shurety Phyl Turner about way forward in the What conditions prompted you to write your public statement [reprinted on page 4]?

We have reached a point in the Labour Group where unity has -broken down. Camden's Labour Group has always tried to find some kind of unity in the face of the Tories. But the policies now being put forward are so anti-working class that those on the left simply cannot vote for them.

Auditor

They are being carried not necessarily because those on the right or centre of the Party support them, but bècause of the external threat of the District Auditor and the courts.

So on their part it is a matter of self protection and expediency. There is now no middle way : local government. We cannot on principle move to the leadership's position and there is no way they are going to support uS.

There is a split which has to be made public. The statement reflects that and must now be used to organise around. What impact do you think this stand will have in the Labour I hope that the three CLIS In Camden will reaffirm their support for the policy of the Camden Labour Party Borough Conference and call on the rest of the Group to support it.

Whether any, of the Labour Parties will go so far as to call fight against the cuts in Camden. on those who don't support it to stand down is hard to saythere is always in a crisis like this a tendency to back away from the implications of such a fight over leadership positions.

There will be a lot of people who will be saying that however much we dislike it the Tories would be much worse and for God's sake don't go over the cliff.

In the statement you call on all sections of the labour moveWhat course do you see that struggle taking?

Ăs well as pulling the Labour Party behind us it is important that the left take up the fight against the right wing at all levels in the Party. I am chairman of the Policy and Resources Group which has the task of drawing up the Party's policy on finance for next year's council election manifesto. That manifesto must challenge the government's right to impose their reactionary policies on workers.

Risk R

As such it will inevitably involve the risk of councillors being forced into an early confrontation with the government. It will therefore play a major role in determining what sort of candidates stand in May 1982.

Up until now there has been little participation of the left in the process of policy formulation. This must change. As regards the struggle of tenants against the Council's rent and rate increases, I expect sporadic rent and rate strikes, but these are extremely difficult to organise and sustain.

For example, once the Camden Council had caved in against Heath's Housing Finance Act, only a handful of tenants were prepared to put their livelihoods in jeopardy and remembei, unless there is a strong mass tenants' movement, tenants as individuals are placing themselves at risk. This was the situation in 1972 when the Council itself was saying "we will not require you to pay that increase [i.e. we will not evict you for non-payment] even though we have been forced to implement the Bill." That will not be the position today.

Fluid situation

The position of the unions is very confused at the moment. I honestly don't know what the outcome of their present positions will be. It appears to be a very fluid situation.

It looks as though the national leadership of NALGO has undermined the possibility of a fight back.

If we get to the point where NUPE rejects the Council's proposed productivity scheme and it is imposed on the workforce over the head of the union there could well be a confrontation between the NUPE membership and the Council.

It's UCATT's position which is the most damaging. If the Council don't get a take-up on voluntary redundancy (which given the ludicrous terms they are offering, they won't do) there are going to be a hell of a lat of blokes sitting around doing nothing.

At the moment, however, the refusal of UCATT's rank and file leadership to support the March 4 strike very much weakens the opposition to Shaw (Camden's Labour Council leader) and Co. I hope that the UCATT mass meeting on Wednesday changes the stewards' position and brings them into united opposition.

I hope I haven't sounded defeatist in identifying these problems. What we do as a minority group of Councillors is of course important. However if we take a stand publicly encouraging rent strikes, for example, we could be done personally so it's important that if we were to do that we have the support of the labour movement.

We have to give a lead, we have yet to discuss what political position we should take into the rate fixing meetine on March 4. That position must come out of discussions with our friends like the Camden Labour Left, the unions, tenants associations. In the end I don't think we can avoid going out on a limb.

IN BRIEI ONE MOTION the Scottish TUC seems reluctant to debate at its forthcoming congress comes from Moray . Trades Council. Tucked away at the end of the list under the heading Miscellaneous', ", it declares:

"This Congress instructs the STUC to initiate a campaigr for a General Strike, in order to bring down the Tory government and replace it with Labour government committed to socialist policies."

The STUC plainly want to separate this motion from that tabled by the GMWU which appears under the Economic section. This calls, unlike the other motions, not for pressure to reform the Tory government but for "a radical socialist Rates Trial sub (UK).

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Six months.... . £10.00 Write to: Socialist Press, BM Box 5277, London WCIN 3XX. programme pursued vigorously by the next Labour government."

FOLLOWING a successful fight to keep Fosse Road Day Nursery open, the Leicester Nursery Campaign is now focussing its attention on the Beal Street Nursery in Highfields which is threatened with closure.

The campaign is in an early stage, but already local tenants and housewives have lobbied councillors who came to look at the nursery and a further lobby and public meeting is planned for next week.

Press sociaLisT REINSTATE PRESS XAVIER! CONWAY Longbridge: now sell out •RIGGED INQUIRY' WON'T REINSTATE THE EIGHT!

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After a good start to the month, an absolutely disastrous week last week with only €20 received at the office. This LS

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ment to support you in the struggle against council policy.