ROY Hattersley will strongly oppose Blair's capitulation to Tory education policy at a Birmingham public meeting next month. The meeting is hosted by the Birmingham Community Conference campaign. It will respond to growing attacks on social provision.
Anti-cuts councillors at the meeting will plan campaigns against Autumn budget cuts. It will develop a policy alternative to the Tories and their Labour tail-enders on the front bench. It will call for full comprehensive education, no selection, properly funded special education and full nursery education.
The Labour Council's campaign flopped last year, leading to substantial '50 million cuts in 1996. The Community Conference alms to oppose each cut as it happens.
The campaign's four local bul. enoches on citerons. pects of the welfare state. The next one will highlight UNISON's actions on jobs, sick pay and re-deployment. A 2,000strons members' meeting voted for a series of one day strikes. Only two members voted • The meeting is on Friday 14 June. Come to the Union Club on Pershore Road by 7.30pm. Neil Gerrord MP oddresses WSN conference John Lister TT'S GOT to be local or it is nothing. But it has also got to be national-and increasingly carried through at the European level."
Euro MP Ken Coates summed up the kind of campaign that needs to be fought in defence of the welfare state.
Calling for support for a European Charter against unemployment, which Mote Mork Woodfutt already has the backing of several left parties in Europe, Coates was speaking at the first annual conference of the Weitare State Network Neil Gerrard, Audrey Wise and Jeremy Corbyn led a number of workshops. Internationalism was a constant theme, speakers referre to the part lel struggles for weltare and pension rights in Italy and France.
The Network has established a strong track record of organising and to ils credit Of the 200 there, a higher proportion came from the labour movement, pensioners groups and student unions. Alec Mofadden pointed to the possibilicy of the Network becoming " genuine mass campaign".
There was a determination to organise an ongoing challenge to the demeans having no confidence to make demands, no confidence in your history said Audrey Wise.
The importance the Necwork attaches to the fighe for welfare rights under a labour goverment was underlined by the plans to organise a fringe meeting to lobby the Labour Party Forum in Manchester on May 18-19. tate a drive for trade union affliations. and a strengthened steering commit. tee was elected that reflected the broadening base of support.
ine ework conducte forward. le can become a focal point for the fight for socialist values. Labour movement bodies should affiliate now and subscribe to Action. • Contact the WSN c/o STUSU, 17 Braganza Street, London SEI7. 0171 639 5068