May 5 Polls
Socialist Press1977 1977-04-27Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
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If apathy was running candidates in the coming local council elections they would stand a stong chance of outright victory.
That is the conclusion to be drawn from the canvassing work which is now feverishly attempting to repair the electoral damage done by the three years of wage-cutting, job slashing and social service wrecking carried out by the current Callaghan-Steel coalition government.
'I know Labour is the only party for the working class. But why should I vote for it this time?" is the most common response.
And it is this hostility to Labour's Tory policies which, ironically, brings the near certainty that the Tories will take control of the Greate! London Council and a Such a development will herald devastating cuts in social services, health and education, and are the responsibility both of the right wing Labour leaders and the fake 'lefts' who refuse to fight to remove them.
When the question of a vote for Labour in the local elections is linked to the question of a fight to drum out the Callaghan-Healey clique, there is a widespread response among working class voters.
Unless such a fight is developed the central political question of leadership in the mass working class organisations can never be resolved.
For this reason we call clearly for a vote for LABOUR local elections-and an struggle for new leadersh ip and socialist policies to be take. 1 up in group which had a serious chance of doing anything beyond protesting at the presence of the fascists.
Eventually the characteristic noise of demonic drumming could be heard. Then the fascists came.
The police were nervous and soon outnumbered. Many individual demonstrators broke their cordons and hit out at the fascists.
The air was suddenly full not only of shouts of 'racist scum' bu also with the red glow of smoke bombs, flour bombs, eggs, banner poles and anything else that came to hand.
A number of indivídual demonstrators were arrested at this point but if there had been any kind Qi coordinated plan it would certainly have been possible to move out onto the road and prevent the fascists from marching.
The demonstrators were left feeling hoarse, frustrated and determined that next time a comparable mobilisation of the labour movement • would be organised so that the fascists did not pass.