Labour women vote for demo

Scan page 7

The Labour Party Women's " Conference passed an Islington Central motion calling for a demonstration for a woman's right to work.

This was despite opposition from Marie Patterson of the TGWU. She tried io incite the trade union delegates against the motion-on the grounds that its suggestion that "nothing had been done" to highlight women's unemployment was an insult to the unions.

It was hard to fathom the real reason behind her opposition, other than fear of a repeat of the aggro between the TUC and feminists on the anti-Corrie The show of opposition from Marie Patterson (supported by Mel Read of ASTMS) was useful in showing that this demand von't be easy to win, and will be achieved not by lobbying sympathetic women in the bureaucracy but by gathering strong rank and file support for the demand that the demonstration be called.

Resolutions

Islington Central women's section has resolved to keep up the campaign, and is writing to conference delegates asking them all to send resolutions to the NEC for action to be taken.

Jo Richardson Apart from anything else, the resolution is a challenge to those who claim that the Women's Conference is not ignored by the Party leadership.

Women's Fightback held the biggest fringe meeting at the Labour Party's Womens Conference. It was attended by 150 women despite the fact that Tony Benn, who was to speak, was still in hospital.

The meeting was entitled Can Labour Lead Women Against the Tories?' Elsie Broad, from the Royal Pride strike, told how she had come into conflict with the boss she had worked for over the last 15 years, joined a union, gone on strike, joined the Peoples March, and become interested in socialist politics.

She recalled how Labour canvassers had come for her vote in the council elections, seen her Peoples March teeshirt and assumed she would be voting Labour.

"I told them-when I see the Labour Party down on our picket line, I'1I consider whether I'm voting Labour"

Anti-feminism

Other speakers were Barbara Switzer of TASS and Jo Richardson MP, who in the short time left both echoed Elsie's words.

"If Labour fails to lead women against the Tories" Barbara said, "it does not deserve to exist."

At the CLPD Women's Action Committee meeting that evening, Militant emerged as the standardbearers of committed antifeminism.

They argued against positive discrimination for women, and against all the changes that had been proposed to make the women's organisation more democratic, from the bone-headed standpoint of counterposing bread-and-butter struggles to a fight to understand and overcome our oppression as women.

THE