campaign would, of necessity, have to advocate breaking the law.
Labour's Scottish spokesperson Donald Dewar and party leader Neil Kinnock have spoken out strongly against any suggestion of using illegal means to defeat the poll tax.
In April, householders throughout Scotland received their poll tax registration forms. A community charge registration officer has been appointed for each regional authority in Scotland. Labour-controlled regional councils have cooperated in recruiting staff and setting up the administration team required for each registration officer.
ALTON
The second problem is illustrated by the 18 April FAB
Bad start for campaign against
the poll tax in Scotland
Regional councillors had the first opportunity to oppose the poll tax. As with cuts in services, they have chosen to implement the Tory laws. Even some Labour-controlled district councils, who are under no legal obligation, have chosen to act as agents to help collect the tax for their regional authority in return for a collection payment.
Non-compliance with the requests of the community charge registration officer can result in a £50 fine, increasing to £200 for continued offences. Nevertheless, the offical Labour Party campaign, 'stop it', has produced a leaflet, Send it Back, which explains how the process can be hindered. One million leaflets are supposed to have been printed.
However, they only went out after the registration forms had been delivered to householders, The Scottish trade unions have not taken the opportunity to distribute the leaflets to each of their members. Distribution has depended on local 'stop it' campaign groups and on the
UPFRONT
planning meeting: references were made to 'comrades' rather than "sisters', reflecting the hegemony of the far left and the absence of independent feminist layers from the campaign.
Thirdly, Thatcher is pursuing a whole range of attacks on vulnerable sections of the population. A number of campaigns have developed in opposition, with the result that activists are spread quite thinly; making the building of mass campaigns more difficult than before.
Those active in FAB are well aware that mass mobilisation was the key to winning the fight against this bill and any future attacks. Alton and his supporters will be back again.
Building the National Abortion Campaign is vital to prepare for any future attacks • VALERIE COULTAS constituency Labour parties.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) are advocating a non-payment campaign. They have withdrawn from talks organised by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) which had attempted to get a united front campaign against the poll tax.
The STUC talks had got agreement on a six point plan to oppose the tax. The Labour Party, the SNP, the Democrats and the Communist Party had all taken part in the talks.
However, the SNP then moved an amendment calling for a mass campaign based on a non-payment strategy. The talks collapsed and the SNP withdrew.
Since the general election, Labour Party leaders have failed to press home the demand for a Scottish assembly. Labour's 50 Scottish MPs are now known as the "feeble fifty'. Failure to stop the poil tax will bring about a major crisis within the Scottish labour movement • ROLAND SHERET 3
Industrial