still fighting Right wing policies, a right wing election manifesto and a right wing NEC are the likely outcomes of the Labour conference. But, argues TONY BENN, the left underestimates its strength in British society and in the Labour Party. The right wing will not have it all their own way up to and beyond the general election. The second part of this interview with VALERIE COULTAS on Poland and problems ofsocialist democracy will be published in a subsequent edition of International.
What prospects for women under Labour?
After all that women have suffered under this Tory government their demands for radical policies, properly resourced, to meet their needs, have become more urgent than ever. Are Labour's leaders prepared to deliver if they come to office or will they fall back on token gestures? A lot depends on how women organise right now, argues BARBARA GREEN. THE TORIES HAVE ploughed their way through their first term of oftice and into their second promoting the joys of family life and Victorian values whilst doing their damnedest to further isolate women economically and socially. The extreme right-wing ideas of linoch Powell and Victoria Gillick have gained ground. Playing on the tear and insecurity that unemployment and low wages bring, the 'Moral Majority' has become bolder in advocating reactionary solutions.
The law courts have been used increasing ly, not simply to crush industrial disputes like those of the miners and printers, but also to attempt to gain control of women's fertility rights. Even though the House of Lords overturned the Gillick ruling, that ruling has left its mark. The fear of young women that doctors will tell their parents has deterred and will continue to deter many from seeking abortion and contraceptive
The economic reality of women's lives has changed dramatically since the seventies. Today women make up 42 per cent of the workforce. It is predicted that by 1990 they will represent half of it. Yet the pay of women workers is between 20 and 35 per cent lower than that of men.
Since the carly seventies 2.3 million part-time jobs have been created while 3.5 million full-time jobs have been lost. Women are being pushed primarily into low-paid, part-time jobs. The growth of part-time work, far from being a positive step towards a shorter working weck for all, leads to a weakening of the whole