the Thatcher era with that strain in labour which owes more to Methodism than Marx' - Daily Telegraph. AS WE WAIT for the probable coronation of Blair as next Labour leader, the debates on the left about who to vote for r change each day, with Prescott and Beckett variously talking left or right according to their audience.
A few notable mistakes -such as Beckett failing to commit herself to the abolition of hospital Trusts whilst speaking to UNISON, and Prescott failing to state boldly his opposition to the anti-trade union laws despite attempting to be the unions' darling have done nothing to distinguish the two contenders against Blair.
More disturbing are the things Prescott Blair has said.
On full employment he wants to reduce the costs to the employer of hiring the long term employed. On industrial relations he says, in line with John Monks of the TUC, 'We need a new social partnership at work, where management and emplovees work together to achieve common aims and goals'.
And 'we need a modern welfare state which is a springboard back to work and does not entrench dependency.
What is there in this that distinguishes Blair from the Tories? Very, very little if anything at all. On the policy free wish of making Labour electable, Blair becoming leader will result in Labour once more being ambushed fare system a key theme of the parliamentary session starting in November. They will also make a promise of Tory Party commitment to full employment.
Clarke has asked the treasury to 'improve incentives at the lower end of the income scale' with proposals to tackle the 'dependency culture' and the 'unemployment trap'. Clarke believes the government would save money in the long run by providing cash incentives to. take people off welfare.
This new move by the government will be announced by employment Minister David Hunt at the TUC full employment conference held on July 5. He will offer a 'partnership for jobs between government, industry and the Last year there was much talk of the 'Clintonisation' of the Labour Party -what we are now also witnessing is the 'Clintonisation' of the Tories! With the Tories poised to steal Labour's thunder yet again the fight against Blair and the modernisers takes on greater significance.
Voting in the leadership election against Blair is crucial as an indication of opposition to Blair, but the left must continue the fight in the unions and the Labour Party for left policies.
A few slogans are not good enough. The left must be armed with the arguments to counter the Christian Democrat style of Blair et al.
Above all it must fight for the Labour Party to stand with those trade unionists taking strike action on the railways and in the Post Office, those campaigning against hospital closures and defending the welfare state, and for policies which cannot be adapted by the Tories in . the run up to the next General Election.
"HUMAN Rights Outrage" says the giant banner over the road as you approach the Campsfield immigration prison at Kidlington near Oxford.
To protest that outrage dozens of people took part in a boisterous "Drum Out" at the Cainpsfield immigration prison at Kidlington on June 25.
Demonstrators banged pots and pans, drums and other musical instruments, as well a hanging a giant "Close Down Campsfield" banner, visible to the detainees, on the perimeter fence Much to the infuriation of yellow-helmeted Group 4 security guards, detainees heard the noise and drummed back their greetings.
The day after the last demonstration there were distrubances in the prison and 200 riot police moved in to attack prisoners (see back page).
Group 4 heavies equipped with a video camera came outside the perimeter fence to ask the demonstrators to leave, an invitation which was ignored with studied good humour.
Unfortunately the demonstration ended on a sour note as one of the participants in the permanent camp outside the perimeter fence, Emma Westwood, was arrested for allegedly etching a large "Close Down Campsfield" slogan in the green paint on the front gate.
The demonstration came seven months after Campsfield was opened, to provide an extra 200 places for immigration detained as asylum seekers or for alleged infringement of the racist immigration laws.
The Close Down Campsfield Campaign estimates that. subsequent to lat month's hunger strikes when a number of detainees were moved out, the detention centre is nearly full to its 200 capacity again.
As a further sign of the government's growing offensive against alleged immigration offenders, it has been learned that Rochester prison is to establish an 83-bed wing for detainees within a month, and after that a further 200 detainee places are to be created.
New wings This comes after the news of another four immigration detainee wings at to be set up at established prisons.
Demonstrations will be held on the last Saturday of each month, to keep up the pressure and to support those at the permanent camp. The Campsfield Human Rights Camp wants people to visit or to stay to raise the morale of the dozen people who have been keeping it going and to help broaden support for Says Chris Park at the camp: «We welcome anyone who can join us whether for a few hours or a few days."
The camp is operating under threat of eviction. It is on Home office land and participants were served lat week with a 48-hour notice to quit. There will be a hearing of a notice of eviction at the Royal Courts, The Strand, London at 2pm on 7 July. The hearing will be preceded at 12 noon by a protest lobby.
People unable to join or visit the camp can show their solidarity by phoning the camp on 0374 946031, or by writing to Campsfield Human Right Camp, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxon. • Mobilise for the next demonstration outside Campsfield on Saturday 30 July, 12 noon.
A FEW weeks ago over 100,000 people mobilised for an Anti-Nazi League carnival. This of course was a tremendous step is demonstrating the support for mass anti-fascist sentiment. By contrast the recent demonstration outside Campsfield immigration prison, although symbolically very important, mobilised only around 500.
It is not surprising that anti-fascism is easier to understand than the racism of the state, and especially of the immigration laws, for many young people coming into politics for the first time.
More difficult to understand is the abstention of big sectors of the left on the struggle against state racism. Organisations like the SWP/ANL and Militant's Youth Against Racism in Europe evidently orientate to what will get more immediate support. But such short-term SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 66, July 1994, Page 3