Sinn Fein vote holds
The local government elecbons in the six countes which were held on 17 May can be seen as a victory for Sinn Fein. Despite losing 19 seats, their share of the total vote dropped by only a tiny fraction - from 11.8% to 11.3%. In addition many of the seats which they Tost were lost by a very small margin.
To have achieved this despite the strenuous efforts of the British state and its agents to undermine their clectoral strategy shows the depth of the support For Sinn Fein in the nationalist community. The lengths which the British government were prepared to go are also a sign that they recognise the extent of that support - and of Southwark Community Resisrance Against tbe Poll Tax (SCRAP) - one of the first campaigus set up outside Scotland - started in October 1988. It was formed largely because there was no effective campaign in the south London borough to stop the Labour-run council implementing the government's poll tax legisla-
It quickly became obvious that most Southwark councillors were not prepared to stand up alone against the Tories and that we could not rely on them to fight for us. We ngreed that a mass-campaign of noo-payment and non-implementation by council workers was the most effective way to combat the poll tax.
We have argued that the poll tax stands or falls by whether people pay it or not, Our meetings regularly attract 20-30 people, and he composition will be recognised by many activists in the campaign: supporters of Socialist Chelook, Labour BriefingSocialist Organiser. Militant (sometimes), and Socialist Workers Party (sometimes), as well as people who define themselves as anarchists, and people in no political party.
Our discussions have always centred on how we can grow oulwards from this activist core to be how much they fear it.
The mediu ban on Sinn Fein, which was only lifted during the election period because of the overriding authority of the Representation of the People Act. had the potential to be extremely damaging As it tumed nut, it seems as though the main effoct of the ban is to deny people in Britain and elsewhere information on the situation in the six counties and on Sinn Fein's political positions.
The people of the north know well enough what is going on in their own streets and their own council chambers. This fact, together with Sinn Fein's own efforts to counteract the ban through their publicity department, has minimised the damage done. More strenuous efforts will come genuincly representative of the community in which we we based. Our strategy has been to encourage council tenants and other residents to organise local poil tax unions on their estates, and some successes have been notched up. with meetings in tenants halls community throughout the borough. A number of signficant tenants" associations have now endoried the campaign, and we have had successful public meetings.
Our whole world was violently shaken up however with the ques. lion of registration. Thia became a five issue when Southwark coun cil decided to send out the registrafion forms a month carlier than they were required to do. In a rare display of 'socialist" they tried to intimidate people into registering early.
Our weekly Saturduy stalls weretransformed. People came up and asked us what to do with their form. Could they be fined? Did they have to register in 21 days as it said? How could they pay? What rebate if any could they get? Our stall became a centre of information. Very often people had already been to the official" South wark against the Poll Tax stall 50 yards away, and been told to sign Labour's protest petition and go
We designed a poster, produced stickers and advertised our campaign. Our slogan became
+ Ш have to be made to counteract thie effect of the ban in Britain
The decision by Sinn Fein, at their last Ard Fheis to allow their candidates to sign the 'Declaration' against violence was clearly a correct one. However, a number of seats were lost by the Republican movement when supporters of 'Republican" Sinn Fein refused to sign the Declaration and therefore were not allowed to stand.
Apart from the efforts of the British goverment to reduce Sinn Fein's electoral support, candidates also had to contend with the response to IRA blunders over the past few years, The Enniskillen tragedy was undoubtedly at least partly responsible for Sinn Fein losing control in Fer"Delay it, don't pay it" and we encouraged people to throw their foms in the bin. Southwark coun cil, in their haste to do the Tories' dirty work for them, had unwittingly given us a huge propaganda coup - and on top of that, legal advice had assured us that the council could not prosecute anyone at that stage who didn't
Even now, Southwark council ouly claim at beat a 50% retum of the formas - so much for jumping
Registration not only galvanised us in public work- it also threatened to rip apart the cumpaign internally. There were two basic positions - which have probably been reflected in other campaigns, On the one side were the SWP and Militant supporters, who argued that registration was not the key issue, it was got pos sible to build a mass campaign, and we should leave it until a campaign had been built against non-payment which we could then come in and exploit.
Many of us, including Socialist Outlook supporters, saw this as a defeatist and politically wrong assessment of the campaign, and argued that non-registration was an important tactical question in the overall framework of building a mass campaign of non-payment. This of course could take many different forms, including delaying registration and burning poll
Another factor in explaining the result in the existence of local pacts between other parties - including the SDLI and the Allance - against Sinn Fein. Agreements to give each other their second preference votes -Sinn Fein supporters vote only for their own candidates - led to Sinn Fein candidates being knocked
There is also some evidence that nationalist voters were turned away at the polling stations becausc of a change in the form of identification needod.
Overall the result was an encouraging one for Sinn Fein, and the onus is on them to keep up the momentum for the Buropean cloctions in Junc.
Jean Reilly tax forns publicly.
There were disagreements on the tactics, but the vast majority of SCRAP opted for the second course, leaving SWP and Militan comrades to re-consider their attitude to the only cfcctive campaign in Southwark.
The registration issue has without doubt caused disruptions in SCRAP but it has been a necessary part of claritying the debate. We now have a number of taska to carry out in the next phase of the campaign. These include;
• Buikling the regular newsietter Community Rexistance News' throughout the borough:
• Participating in the huilding of a lively and active South Lon don federation of anti-poll tax groups, set up from a confercace in April. In the longer term we should work, together with Noth London groups, for a real cunpaigning all-London federation based on non-compliance,
• Transforming SCRAP into a truly representative campaign. based in the community, and made up of street stewards and es. tate representatives active in tenants" associations, Labour Par ties, trade unions and community groups. Our aim will be to break the individual isolation of people through a campaign to obstruct the register and organise collective action to defeat the poll tax.
Graham Topley