Poll Tax
Crunch period both sides of the border
Six months into Poll Tax implementation in Scotland and six months away from its introduction in
England and
Wales the need to build a united democratic movement against the tax could not be greater.
The task facing the anti-poll tax movement is enormous - but not impossible. The Poll Tax is a central element in the Tory offensive against the working class, bringing together a number of strands of Tory policy. It is the culmination of a ten year attack on local govemment and local democracy; it makes a further shift in the burden of taxation from rich to poor, it undermines a basic gain of the working class in a bourgeois democracy - the right to vote - as people attempt avoid the tax through not to registering to vote.
The massive unpopularity of the tax - especially in urban areas
- is clear. At one recent wardbased meeting in Tottenham over
100 working class people white,
Conference
'Which Way for Socialists in the
Unions?
Sheffield Polytechnic Student Union,
Pond St Sheffield (opposite BR station)
November 11 & 12
11am-5pm Saturday; 10am-4pm Sunday
Workshops include:
Defiance not Compliance - anti union laws
Private Vices, Public virtues - fighting privatisation
Positive Action and Organising for Change - women!
and black people in the unions and much more
Delegates £10, individuals £6/£4. Credentials from
The Socialist Conference (TU), PO Box 118,
Chesterfield, Derbyshire
UP DATE black, young, old turned out to express their anger and commitment to refuse to pay. However this anger still has to be organised into a genuinely mass campaign of non-compliance. Even in Scotland, with nearly 1,000,000 non-payers, only a fraction of this number are active in local canpaigns.
If the movement is to succeed the maximum unity in action has be developed, with an authoritative leadership that can coordinate action. the national conference for all anti-poll tax groups called for November 25th (initiated by Terry Fields MP) at Manchester Free Trade Hall provides the opportunity to build such unity and leadership.
Unfortunately, events leading up to Nov 25th could undermine the success of the conference as supporters of Militant at a local and national level have behaved in a sectarian manner, counterposing themselves to already existing anti-poll tax groups and seeking to organisationally control and dominate moves towards
MILLER NOT BAYES
Scotlish demonstrators: now the warrant sales begin a national federation of anti-poll tax groups.
Whilst there is general desire in the movement for unity, Socialist Outlook would argue that the movement's structures have to be built up from grass roots level, reflecting the political plurality and diversity of the forces involved, which we recognise as a strength, not imposing a schema for organisational structures from above which has been Militant's approach.
Those forces within the anti-poll tax movement committed to building a campaign based on non-payment, non-collection and non-implementation came together in a national meeting on September 3 originally called by the Socialist Movement. Sup porters of Militant who had already set in motion the Nov 25th conference were present and and whilst the Sept 3rd meeting (characterised by the numbers of non-aligned activists present) voted to support the Nov 25th conference, there was a heated debate between Militant supporters and the rest around ques tions of democracy and seatarianism.
The Sept 3 meeting also illustrated the diversity of the currents and groups which are within a non-payment framework. This diversity can and does strengthen the movement, contributing to its dynamism and creativity. It has also provided a positive experience of socialists, anarchists ansd libertarians working together.
However, the movement has to be more than democratic and non-sectarian - it needs to have a clear labour movement orientation at all levels of the campaign. There has been a tendency for
TOLE THE MILLION CREE MILLION PAIN NOT NOB PAYERS SONY COITECT
RONT PAY | local anti-poll tax groups to concentrate on building up community resistance and not making a high enough priority of making links with workplaces and unions.
There are exciting developments in some of the unions.
Inner London CPSA is taking one day strike action (as we go to press) in support of workers refusing to cooperate with passing on information about claimants to CCROs. The disnip tion caused to the registration process by the national NALGO pay strike shows the potential of workplace action.
Within the anti-poll tax movement socialists need to highlight the importance of such workplace action in defeating the tax. Our slogan isn't one of simply Don't pay' - but the three 'd's' - "don't pay: don't collect; don't implement'. In many ways, non- collection and non-implementation will be much harder to build than non-payment. The full weight of the labour bureaucracy.
who continue their violent op position to the non-compliance strategy, and the employers will come down on workers who do take action against the tax. The stronger the non-payment movement, the more confident workers will be in taking on their own misleaders and bosses. But the anti-poll tax movement has to be working now at rank and file level in the unions as well as making demands and putting pressure on Labour local authorities, local and national trade union leaderships, and the
Labour Party to actively oppose the tax, not the movement against it.
Jane Connor