Moss Side
Socialist Organiser1981 1981-08-06Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 6 →
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to qu by Karen THREE weeks after the Moss Side police began their campaign of repression, Moss Side CLP called for the resignation, not merely of Police Chief James Anderton, but also of the Chairperson of the Manchester Police Committee, Peter Kelly. Kelly, a Labour councillor, has given his whole-hearted support to the police's actions, actions which included driving vans at groups of bystanders, arbitrary arrests and beatings of people whose only crime was walking along the street. George Morton, the local MP, said in Parliament the week after that, 'the police were in a horrific position and their bravery and devotion are unquestioned."
Well, Moss Side CLP has decided to question them, along with George Morton and all the other councillors and MPs who supported the police. A leaflet dissociating the Party from them will be distributed in the area. Yet Moss Side CLP defeated an amendment calling for defence squads under the control of the community, and local Labour movement, as "utopian"
Revenge
We cannot let the police's thirst for revenge run riot. To that end, Moss Side CLP has agreed to sponsor a demonstration against police harassment in the area and lobby the next Police Committee meeting. Police harassment is nothing new in Moss Side: it has been happening for years.
It is more widespread and open than before, and perhaps the riots can force the Labour Party to make a stand on the issue.