(Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley Miners' Support Group) ON JANUARY 18 1994 Lancashire Women Against Pit Closures will be staging a special Open Day to 'celebrate' their year long, twenty four hour, seven days a week presence at Lancashire's last remaining deep mine colliery at Parkside, Newton-le-Willows.
Throughout this period
their pit Camp has received tremendous support from rank and file miners, the NUM and the working class in general.
Indeed such has been the breadth of this support, that it has received delegations By Jake Farrier TWO Barrow-in-Furness by-elections have recorded massive swings against the Tory-run council.
As well as suffering from the Tory decline nationally, the council did nothing to prevent the closure of the town's shipyards.
Tenants
The council's plan to hand over council housing to a housing association was rejected by a tenants' ballot. An attempt to close the town's women's refuge produced a 10,000-strong petition organised by women who hadn't previously been acragua as well as greetings. from the Navaho nation of North American Indians.
Though Parkside's workforce has now gone, the Parkside Pit Camp has nevertheless become an active symbol of working class resistance to the Tories' and bosses onslaught on jobs, services and living standards in general, representing the determination of working peoale not to be bullied into submission and to fight on regardless of the difficulties.
Machinery
The Pit Camp's most important achievement had been to prevent the dismantling and removal of much of the expensive mine machinery and the capping of the pit shaft which would have ended the life of the Colliery.
This means Parkside may still resume coaling despite tive in politics.
The electorate overturned a 250 Conservative majority in Parkside ward and massively reduced the majority in Roosecourt where left-wing Trades Council secretary Gary McDonaugh was the Labour candidate.
McDonaugh had played a leading role in the tenants' struggle to keep the housing stock in social hands. His campaign broke a "ban' from Labour's regional office against using loud-speaker vans, a traditional tool in British elections.
Now the Tories are held in power by two independents, one of whom was elected as a Labour candidate and previous Mayor! for over six months.
Untenable Lancs WAPC however, as well as the continuing support movement expect renewed attempts to close the pit for good in the very near future, since the present situation is untenable from a safety standpoint and cannot be allowed to continue.
Lancs WAPC have issued an appeal to the wider trade union and working class movement to help prevent this from happening. As well as continuing to raise money (the camp costs over £300 per week to maintain) they are asking for support for their vigil via workplace delegations, etc.
If you can help in any way then please come along to the Open Day on 18 January and/or get in touch with the camp on 0925 291799.
By Peter Purton THERE IS likely to be a vote on a proposal to equalise the age of consent for gay men in the week starting 17 January.
There will be an amendment to the government's Criminal Justice Bill launched by Edwina Currie and other Tories, backed by an all-party group of MPs, which will bring down the age of consent for gay men from its present 21 (as a result of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act) to equality with heterosexuals at 16.
This follows months of preparation and lobbying by the lesbian and gay rights organisation Stonewall.
By Harry Sloan SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 55, January 15 1994, Page 5