Winsford vote for rate/rent strike

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A plan for a massive rent/rate strike in Winsford and possibly throughout mid-Cheshire has been adopted.

The audience at a rally held on Monday night agreed almost unanimously that residents should not pay the increase in rents and rates to be introduced next month.

The rally was organised by a Council of Action formed from trade unionists, Labour Party members and others to fight such increases, as well as fight cuts in jobs and public spending.

Organisation

From the chair, Dave Murphy warned a 90-strong meeting at Grange Community Centre that a rent/rate strike would have to be almost 100% supported or it would fail.

"We need an enormous amount of organisation: we need tenants' groups on the various, estates."

He said the movement had to be at least Winsford-wideand hopefully throughout midCheshire.

Past history, said Murphy had shown previous movements had failed because the support was not strong enough and one or two martyrs were left to take the rap.

Band together

Although the meeting voted by 57-1 in favour of the action, Murphy noted that about 40 people abstained.

He said that residents now had to band together into tenants' groups to get other people to join the movement.

He hoped trade unionists would be encouraged to support the action, to add industrial muscle to the fight.

It was also hoped that the council of action could join forces with a similar organisation in Runcorn.

Broader base

Peter Lawes, of the Halton Castle Rent Action Group, said his organisation was based on 3 estates in Runcorn.

"The broader base we have in a struggie like this, the more chance we've got of success," he said.

Murphy said that the problems facing workers were caused by a class war government: but he also blasted local Labour councillors. and Party leaders.

"Traitors"

It had been planned to hold the rally at the Labour Club: but the Labour Party withdrew its permission.

Ken Unwin, a member of the council of action, branded councillors such as Ellen MoGrane and Percy and Josie Tipple as "traitors" for not giving theit support.

Jim Needham, a council of action member, said Labour Party members were asked not to speak at the rally because they would be "urging residents to break the law."

A Labour Party member from the audience said he did not think councillor McGrane was a traitor, but had been put under pressure not to speak at the rally.

At a recent meeting of the Mid Cheshire Trades Council a right wing motion to disaffiliate from the council of action was defeated by a 2-1 majority.

It was then emphasised that the trades council should respond more quickly to the initiatives and requirements of the council of action!

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