Every Cut

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seriously suggested that Lambeth council should dig in and confront the Tory government, his fellow councillors have very much allowed him to make his left speeches and ride his hobby horse of protestconfidently believing that at the end of the day he would emerge with a package of cuts and rate increases that would keep the Tory wolf from the door.

Indeed • during the three weeks we have been publishing this interview, Knight has produced secured acceptance of a budget outlining a 10% cut in council spending, alongside further increases in rates and rents for workers in Lambeth.

Only four Labour councilLots voted against this badger from the position al oppose boet Hindi CUR with the majority of Lambeth councillors who have consistently opposed action to fight Heseltine.

From being the spokesman of the left he has become the prisoner of the right wing.

And in the process he has also, helped create an angry, reactionary backlash on the rates question-without offering any serious perspective for those workers who want both to defend local services and to oppose rate increases.

In this respect the Lambeth experience highlights all of the weaknesses of postponing and postponing a fight in order to "bury time".

The fact is that Lambeth sad an as Tade l5 IOUS SETTES LITTE me Teen Is CTOP 10:

TCWU and weakened on its economic and political policies.

Socialist Press of course has never advocated the wilful creation of martyrs or "kamikaze" tactics in the labour movement.

But we have insisted that the time honoured technique of "passing the buck" for action on the cuts is a recipe for disaster.

While Knight blames union leaders and other Labour councils for not supporting him, union leaders and other Labour councils will now cite Knight's retreat as a basis for their own betrayals.

This vicious circle can only be broken when someone takes a stad. Home's latest budget does tas if that strad is not TOWU Indeed Knight's new cuts are only one third of the amount Heseltine is demanding be cut.

In today's conditions of unprecedented hostility to the Tory government, there is a real opportunity to build a movement in opposition to both cuts and rate/rent increases.

So far Knight has retreated all down the line. If he seriously wants to build the resistance he must first show some himself. It is not too late to fight.

Insofar as Knight or any left Labour councillor takes up a fight to defend workers' jobs, services and living standards we will seek in every way to extend the action and defend them against Tory reaction. •But insofar as they act as the hirelinge of Hecaltine haveng It services and raising Te we must find ways to Incise full scale resistance to

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