crunch Local Neil Kinnock - wouldn't you like to dent his shield? Now, he says, the answer is almost government under the Tories and certainly — not for much longer. Socialist Outlook), DAVY JONES future for town hall socialism?' asked the question, "Is there a International (a predecessor of reviewed eight years of local In the March/April issue of Denis Doronikolex
in local authority spending, Socially, the measures will break up working class The Torics aim to deepen the divi- SOCIALIST OUTLOOK ad 3 Saptamber/October 19B7 communities in the inner cities by splitt- ing up council housing estates, raising rents in the inner cities, weakening the local government trade unions, and drastically cutting scrvices to those most sions in the working class ideologically (and the next, which they anticipate) they plan a qualitatively greater series of he poor to the rich, from the working tionary poll tax, and the continuing curs macks on local government than the Economically, these attacks will lead to a major redistribution of weald from class to the capitalists — notably through the cxtension of privatisation, the reac- past eight years" financial squeze. local government sperling. The Tories: THATCHER MADE it clear on election night that one of her few regrets of thr quately deal with Labour councils and gramme to radically restructure local government and remove any possibility if Labour aurhorities implementing pro- gressive measures. In this term of offic first eight years was her Cilure to ade- are now committed to a far reaching pro-
----- pull-quotes on this page ----- Southwark council leader, Anne Matthews, and Lambeth council leader Linda Bellos, demonstrate the benefits of a united Labour campaign - against homeless people with this squat-proof door
• encouraging tenants to opt out of • breaking up the Inner Landon Edu- schonis triopi out of local cducation au- than 1110m for 1990/91, which is mone As the councils lirace themselves for • oulawing any torm of political cam- council estates, and massively raising reintroducing accounting or tinkering at the edges of huge cuts in jobs and services will bridge • privatisation of whole areas of coun • ending contract compliance methods scicction by the back door by allowing Islingion, for example, faces projected on no growth, of more than its entire current annual expendi- crcative these deficits are meaningless. Only these cuts, the government are following up with other devastating attacks: exercIser, paigning by clected councils. anit these projected "gaps". cation Authority. council house rents Efficiency. of local municis. thority control delicit, Hased TOWN HALLSOCIALISM cal services freeze: termination of all temporary con- compulsory redeployment: of statf, and the sacking of those committee by 31 July! The inuediacy and scopc of these attacks has at least alerted the Other Labour authorities in London, bour group to no cuts in jobs and ser- vices to the implementation of a vacancy workforce, community groups and ser- vice users in Carden that this time the and cisewhere around the country are locked in dispute chairs committed to a 'm cuts council isn't crying wolf. Manchester, and economically, winning support for individnalistie notions of "freedon' and opportunity policies. Their crowning ronghly discredit themselves in the eyes Unfortunately it seems that many of the local Labour Icaders arc only too wil- ling lo oblige. The end of an era is beginning — the era when local Labour councils were seen as being ditterent from the old style Labour or Tory cou- cils, committed in varying degrees to vices, and equal opportunities; the Tories and to traditional labourism. howeter inadequate from a Marxist onslaught on local government is not re- 'choice and fanning opposition to equal political goal is to force the relatively popular Labour local authorities to tho- of the working class by being the agency progressive policies; expansion of ser- cribeyo of a polifical alernative to the viewpoint. 1f the next round of the Tory buffed the era nE town hall socialism" for carrying through this barrage reactionarv attacks. will be over.
*the Tories aim to break up Labour's base in the inner cities' government unions will be *the role of the local vital"
31 • string up more unaccountable urban development carporations (CDCS t0 take away power from clected local an- and. finally, a massive redistriburion of wealth from the poor in the rich by the medical poll tes/community To successfully resist this daunting programme dEstructural change to local government would need a mightv, united movemen of all those threatened stract the Labour councils response to. workers THIL MOST COHERENT esplanation of in office and prevent cuts in jobs and ser- community organisations, service users, and crucially, the council workforce. In- their immediate tmancial criscs docs preciscly the opposite - pitting tenants against council workers, voltary or- ganisations against other service users, the new strategy of the Labour councils came from Margaret Hodge, Islington council leader, in a paper to the Associa- cion of London Authorities just after the election. Previously she and other soft len council leadets had accepted the dented shield strategy - better to stay create accounting, and so on) than to vices by any method raising and one scction of council ly star For properl against another: by these thorities charge. To • no more crcative accountancy "miracles' in London face deficits next year of E30 million pe more (E60m in the case of on hand. At least ten Labour boroughs chester). The projected deficis in future over how to mcct huge financial short- falls in next year's budgets, with no La- bour government to hail them out and Camlen and more than E100m in Man- усату are completely uncontrollable — watchwords of those Labour " "caring cuts" the new councils which have capitulated* Coro: Bubrita heard the apparently empty threats of Even before many of the planned Triry structural changes to local govern- diate financial crises in the later half of resort to create accountancy. These mcasures have now been all but stopped by the government. The Labour coun- cils ure now paying the price in more ways than one. First, they face the col- which were crucial in balancing this year's books, and the need in the next few vears to begin the massive repay- deals whose income has balanced the books in. Sccond, and just as importantly, they workforces and local communities have huge job losses and service cuts in past ycars, yet the councils have always ive accountancy. They are simply not Gamden In one whirlwind month the council moved from a public commit- ment are intrishueed, many Labour- controlled boroughs are Facing imme- Many Labour authorities *miraculous- Iv survived the past cight Tory years by lapso of leaseback deals with the Cicy face the crying wolf syndrome" — their somehow muddled ilrough due to creat- ment on 1 July of its entire ruling Ta- this financial ycar or for the next year. The most publicised case of an imme financial crisis September/October 1997 ments on deferred purchase diate post-clection bclieved any more. SOCIALIST OUTLOOK nº.3 the last lew years.
and the important London Bridge or- workforce-based Briging supporters Have plaved a central role in building and leading the opposition in Cannen, Lambeth, Haringey. Brent and other London boroughs, both in the umons The alternative, in Labour controlled boroughs, to Hodge's "kind curs and capitulation' is "defiance', which las never been seriously attempted except principled stance of unity of all those fighting the Tory attacks. Local com- committees against the cuis have been mablished in a number of London stewards taking a and in the council chamber. munity and council ganisation of shop IOWNHALESOCIALISM has been the behaviour of supporters of Socialist Action in Man- chester, Lambeth and Islington — relus- cuts package involving 4,000 voluntary: redundancies. And in Tambeth. Linda Bellos introduced a curs budget for the 1987/88 financial ycar, and has voted against no cuts motions in Labour group discussions in next ycar's budget. More Hodge explained that there were threc options: defiance, 'which has been tried, failed and discredited': resignation, which irresponsibly leaves the way upen for the Tories to do the cutting: or stay- ing in office and using all our resources and imagination". And to be more pre- cise, this latter meant that services must take precedence over trade union inte- rests or even jobs. Surprise, surprise; risk confrontation with the government. After Labour's clection defeat there is no pretence of a commitment to nu cuts; rather jobs and services are to be defen ded by being cut! By almane La- bour council, rather than a Tory onc.
position of all chose facing Tory attacks surcharged Jered the financial effects due to labour movement collections) but jobs and ser- vices were protected just as well, if not Dehance may seem unrcalistic ser dangerously uncertain, lan the alterna: live is absolutely cortain to lead to huge means a strategy of maximising, locally and nationally, the broadest united op- by Liverpool and Lambeth. It succeeded onc ycar for Liverpool in extracting more government cash. In the sccond (though they have not yet personally suf- better, than by the "creative accounters". services and jobs Were councillots year ing to vote for a "no cuts motion in the Denis Doran/Natas Newham refuse collectors - how secure are their jobs? have no great sympathy for the Hodges/! in turn will undermine any capacy tor united resistance to the next round of Tory attacks. Having done the Tories' dirty work for them they will tail victim to the Tories" social engineering in the inner citics and their own new unpopu- The Labour and union leaderships Blunkets and other former local govern- aster for Labour in local government. It is already leading and will increasingly lead 1o Labour councils implementing terrible cuts in jobs and services, which Margaret Hodge optod for the third This line is a recipe for complete dis- larity, and be discarded at the polls. course of action.
scrvices through a (deficit) budger to vice users — into a campaign of mass ac- diwn, on some or all of its proposals, ment. It entails a unitrol campaign of minbilisation to establish thr real social needs of the borough/ city and the de- mand for the council to expand jobs and! ernment cash and/or the cancellation of the huge debt repayment charges which concils pay cach year. Links can be min lo force the government to back vidual councillors bur on mass involve- ary sector, community groups, and ser- meet those needs, lorded by extra gov - council workers, tenants, the volunt Such a stratogy relies not on indi and to grant more money. but also within the Labour group has been split exactly down the middle all summer over how to respont ing a 'no cuts' stance. In Camden, nine councilors opposed the drastic measures intrriduced by the council, supported NALGO's resistanie, and were sacked Manchester district party debate on the tions calling for no cuts in jobs and ser- Bur there is growing opposition to the suicidal line of the council and union Ica- derships. primarily from within the groups themscives. In Haringey, the to the crisis, with 20 councilors support- council's financial crisis, and in the twe London boroughs characterising mo- vices as "divisive" their own jobs by culling mickey mouse. tremely divisive jole — TEWE officials advising stewards in Brent ro defend sALCO jobs, and NUPt officials in Greenwich puttng forward a named ser- Ics of NALGO posts to be cut in order tri ment lefts' However hard they try to present thomselves as born again new realists' they are deeply distrusted by the labour hureaucracy, who will be only loo happy to see them discredited and dis- carded. Even in the local government urinns little more than token opposition to the Tories can he expected from the union hierarchy, Already in london re- gional bureaucrats are plaving an ex-
raised for the defence ind extension of users and coumiil workers" control of muniry is vital for council workers to sense the support trey need to take the industrial action which will undouberdly prove necessary to stop the Tory attacks. Patient explanacion and consistent poo paganda on the extent of the council's SOCIALIST OUTLOOK 3 Secember/@ifober 1997 Toeirs, especially teachers an parents defending education. Demands must be local democracy and accountability with the expansion of community, service made with other groups involved in similar and related struggies against the Building Mrong links with the com especially NALG0, the response has been quite encouraging with a mumber of NALGO branches, and jot umon pum- miters in Brent, Islington and Lambeth mitted in opposing next year's curs council opposition against the cuts las bad an important effect in stimulating and supporting the key resistance of the mising opposition within the community from their group positions: In Lambeth, eight councillors opposed the 1987/88 hudger. The existence of a minority cuts burger and eleven are now com council's own workforce, and in legiti Within the unions at local level In Manchester Graham Stringer ted 32 the Labour graup into proposing a huge NoR Is D just the solt Jet who have ideologirally collapeed into overdly rac- tionary and divisive policies on local government. Former hard lett? figures such as Bernic Grant, Graham Stringer and Linda Bellos have all gone down the me Grant MP, now in the Campaign kroups led the Labour right wing into voling with the Tories to defem the La- bour group's moton opposing cue in jobs and services proposed by the new thumane cup road. In Haringey, Ber- Council leader, Stove King. defend their own john.
movement over the next few cars. It back in locd government will therctore will provide a key test for all currents on ing a class struggle current in the labour movement. Failure in the smuggle will be a central issue for the whole labour the lett of their seriousness abel build- bring "town hall socialism' to an end. TOWNHALL SOCIALISM Breaking the resistance of the public Tonies srategy. Organising the ligin- to the line of the union Icadership has to be built up in co-ordination with local unions to choir plans to slash government is to be repelled, opposition public spending is a key plank of the struggles and campaigns: ies planned attacks on local government and with greatstress un their continuing vices", while their tbree year fancial plans will in fact decimate them, in order to persuade council Many Incal councils are cynically intro- ducing their financial curs piccomcal, financial crises and the rope ofthe Ton commitment to defending jobs and ser workers that such a responso is needed be necdod will
33 (spurings) personal archange Despite opposed northe connel's plans. Camilen union coxit, and NSTMS (representing home nep shop stewards now opposing live council's espressed derans to peritect. frontline sorous, the bogueless peronni Workerson SAtCO are Being thrace Lousing list. In the firs caxe, officers in sweethear deal with the council deas in unit drains closed doc to lach of salt. their funding, service ur jub is young to straighr in the press with allegations of overwhelmingly not to cooperate with Hol un uller. Even this rare sonness for are threatened with doute locision Leafership and right wing coumcillon hate received a hostile recepdon when disadvantaged ancE oppressed sections her sexuality. Clearly, a witch dunt is mectings and community groupe why go, and refuse tu debare with the nine suffered abuse and threats because of and branch Ebraties of thic communaly: is avcrohelmingly scovices departments are operate a borough-wide campaigo against this council policy un sexual harassment. Cos: SEP, however, lus opied hira deposed chair öf the gay and leshian the leadership is now in doubt, with Other serrime in housing and siçial threatened with disciplinary action consequetensif the cacancy frocee Right wing councillory are going The slunrary sector. providing alcupung toresplanto workplane The second allegation undermined collumse P'ne hase arcady been underway, with anti-lesbianisti a council's House stock und ollet formalaced to sell old parts in He commitee of queuc jumping the fix under-fives is on the point 6t town hall, and arrasing the now the councillor concerned having abandlument of the manifesto. and subsegacal rounds of cute their branch leadership as de Labnur Arifing "freemasonry the gay and lesbian unit were organisations) have all voterl oForkout, pay docking, mad Labour Brezy lus intilled u wurkers in Camden funded many services to the test councillors uppused to the start to burt Cliches. reduced service. Camden - a test case straegy, and are under pressure from a service. They have been removed from luntary redundancy schemiccare now for lurther cuts as insurance against the Workers have already been arked as a marhion: for dismantling council and crisis lies witfi the cosmeil. The soft lefr This group is enthusiastically calling Nine Labour Briefing councillors have have cobbled together an docbuntint s begun to attack the busis of its support has gonnas far as sating publirly that Camden NADGO, the building workers million ors tinancel gar, and anger coulition of old and new righr wingers services and jobs and to fight for local constiation will Labour parles, the voluntary stor services i rearly in engaged in amicable discussions with July in an attempt to bridge a budget redundancies likely betore the end nt: Tony Dukes, Jeader of the council, consistenly opposed cuts in jobs and marResto commemont to manitai vacancies cans the loss of ovor 900 alace. wid tinagers being aned tes deficit of Cil million. There was no worklore, or the wader cunnunits; The Labour group was clected on 4 comporary will will not he renewed. per rear rits. Farly reimmens and: Camden's Labour council agreed a ds, and the contracts af some 300 conmittee positions on the basis of packags of curs at the beginning of result Overwue has been cur, and presented this uncharge as resulling cüneil housing have heen soverles operation until consultation Can be the latter organised as the Lafour advertising themselves as Camden will empis be a smokcecocent he part uf the blame for this financial but repairs and moderation to prepace budges for 3; 20. and e0 demorrace, The council has now arranged, Wich a nhouttail of E=0 the distrein auditor in the spring. standing orders, despite inaction in preparion with.compulsors against those right wingers who in the Dotouch A ficeze on all The council learlership havr. Coordinating Coumittee and district auditor. Mr cart stage the worktorce unions will have to carefully select the tacties to. by Evadon Bridge and Carden Natot Is a grai example of the iniciatives lice the next wave of Tory anacks on stuckwell come brough privatisanon.of will actuall have i maority for de- their members jobs ar the expense of tonally, despite an acute awareness of refuses to adopt a national policy af to lull their stall into a lalse sense of security and to neutralise any effective respond to the councils' anacks and to mixinuse the unity and strengch of their opposition Regional and narional ini- ratives will be crucial for demonstrating. tie depth of opposition to the linarsal carback». Tt may only be a minority in rach borough or ciry, but regionally and nationally dial aggregato of minorities initially proposed by Anging and ralled One thing is absoluely clear as Wc Incal government the mle of the local goverument unions wil be certail in defeating them. In most buronglis will wither be Tory councils where the main local goverment acroices. or Labour authorities applying: in one was or mother, the Tory cuts. It is likely that onty d tiny minority of Labour councils rides on defiance. as the experience af liverpual shows, chis cannot proced withour the continued support of, and with, the local govern- some promising signs at local level. ma- tinally none of the local government which can defeat the Tory arrack. As we and tower officials are trying to detend SAIGO workers. But even NATGO na- the potentially disastrous effects of local government privatisation on its half- million local government membership. position to government policy — fine in itselt but not a policy capable of winning anything. If the new Tory attack on local could be a powerlil fee. The planned London conference against the curs, Junce. lven where a loboureruncil de- It has to be said, however, that despite unions have anything like a strategy pointed our above, in some places NUPE strike action. Instcad it proposes pubili- city and winning public support in op- SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 3 September/October 1997 maci apposition. ment unions: needed city
THE SEXUN abuse of children, like all other forms of rame, de not essentially about sexual desire o frustration. It is about the abuse ol power by a luther-ligure (a father on ans man farher): The positing of children, and especially giris, in the lamily is one of power- normal families which are not ahosive as well as ones wuch are. and as long as fallier-figures have this power the posibility of child sexual abose will remain. The pro: blim of powerlessuess is not reversed by the mehral establishment and social scrvices who bas the postion of power enjoyed by a Hose power structures exir in when dey "deal with