Notvictory but hope

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Plan Swindale reviews Jim Allen's TV play 'United Kingdom', directed by Roland Joff KATH IS a housewife, end, just like he did. police forms the other charges in favour of thi The changing role of the plans for conspira mother and Labour coun- anyway she is so busy A furious row breaks out. main strand in Jim Allen's charges cillor. She and her coll- she is neglecting play, with Colin Welland tapes - the police begin playing the local Chief pull in the councillors o ment spending cuts; they Kath and Dennis is one of Constable, McBride: by one. have been disqualified and the strands in 'United iot possible for their son ing success of a handful of ernment-appointed com Kingdom*, which portrays o have a future if they are extremists in subverting minions le ahant to Arrive an episode of class struggle in town to take over the with great vividness. ystem. She tells Dennis police - unforturiately That she can't stop fighting, in change their methods.

Flapes ' theIr JaDs to ine quuuu a:

They are determined to The disqualified coun- their support to the 'Coun- Strong finally convinced that continue their resistance. cillors formE themselves „cil in Exile' her and mobilise the working into an action committee The middle class. Let inn Against the advice of a helps to build them.

from the local trade unions, ed by Rogemary Martin, tha together with suppurers Labour Mr Pranuy play- to eague, McBride is anxious official pulls out, and it and organise to prevent the 1 Committee thet she's doing son to take action against the the workers on - 10 ing out his work. NALGO all she can asking quest- pla be strong in the face of council estate, belind th their illegal' actions. Even- makeshift barricades, members run one set of ons in the House, going on tually he abandons his must face they the computer tapes on TV, talking to the press... con which the council's financ- But she is told that the rank ial records are kept, in and file elected the Labour order to ensure that coun testers eagues have defied governface a surcharge. A govMISSIULEI IS aNUu No a administratinn of: lneal government.

class n cherr uetence. Chain Aafanna Rap Dennis is unemployed. He is Kath's husband. ^ a former militant who has felt so let down by his fellow workers in the past that he now despairs of the coming struggle.

Kath is wasting her time. She can't win, and will end up taking the rap in the SLETE THAT WAS ALL PRE-BAMB WELL OF COURSE, SCIENCE YOU KNOW!

THE LAST 6 months in Spain have seen the unfolding of a gigantic public health disaster. 200 have died from the effects of adulterated olive oil, while 16,000 are recognised as suffering from a toxic syndrome (TS), a collection of ills including some or all of the following - nerve and muscle disorders leading to weakness, paralysis and weight loss, difficulty with breathing, skin damage and increased numbers of white blood that the children!

The conflict between oraer w tusuit war suwit cil workers' wages are paid, while the other set of tapes is shut up in the cells (whose normal job it is to get rid of foreign substances in the body):

Delay in identifying the source of TS may have been fatal. The Spanish Health Ministry was convinced that a virus infection was responsible and sacked one ductor who said publicly he thought it was something in the diet.

It is now generally accepted that industrial rape seed oll carried the poison that caused TS. Capitalists, who were more unscrupstrike-bound town hall.

Police attempts to seize these tapes are foiled by an angry crowd, and the tapes are spirited away.

In the action committee meetings - taped by the Special Branch from an upstairs room many groups of craae unlunists, particularly those who owe animmmil'o determined stand, pledge and trace, шии наисло, ? and now those leaders are doing nothing!

Meanwhile, Kath and oil ulous than usual, imported the oil, removed the blue aniline dye marking it as inedible, mixed it with olive and other oils and solid it as 'pure'.

This has gone un for years without trouble, but one supplier must have modified the 'refinement' process so that some of the aniline combined with the oil to form various anilides. There is a big market for cut-price 'olive' oil and millions of poor and working class Spaniards Den: ing 1 son gual cinc droI they poli doo names.

oth up nis are nearing breakpoint. Their 11 year old is stopped by security rds in a shopping pret. His mates run off, oping stolen goods as r flee, and soon the ce are knocking at the r wanting him to name *Purious row Cath, having satisfied self that her son is • I ocent, tells the police leave. Dennis argues t he doesn't want his i to grow up like the er kids on the estate -ying truant and ending in borstal. In an angry frontation with his son, ¿trands in the play: the Chief Constable adopting new methods (left), the left wing Labour councillor resisting her husband's cynicism (right), and the workers fighting the cuts by Les Hearn must have consumed the poisonous stuff lit was sold door-to-door and in street markets, as well as being used in street cafes and workers' canteens).

Luckily, only a small proportion of consumers got TS, but it is a nasty illness. The toxic anilides probably end up in cell membranes where they are found by the white blood cells. which detect them as foreign substances. The immune system comes into plax, producing more white e tries to obtain the names f the other youngsters.

Can't stop Kath argues that it is iot prepared to fight the ind in a moment of beautiul irony she bursts out, I learned all this from you n the first place"

Extremists The next time the police come - to arrest Kath verself - it is Dennis who akes a hard line against them rom blood cells which attack the cells with the anilides in them. The body turns in on itself, destroying vital tissues that cannot be replaced. The anilides then float round before sticking to other cells.

There is no cure for toxic syndrome, though the symptoms can be reduced.

The death rate is quite low but permanent disability for thousands seems likely.

Prison

Several company directors are now languishing in prison (probably the safest place for them!). Most importers claim that they sold it for industrial use only, but it's rather suspicious that imports should rise For McBride, the growtha: atate to forcing the 17=. пу-:

minte liherallv minded collcouncillors and be seen to poiso while the metal industry (the only legitimate user of rape seed oil) is in recession.

In any case, if you sell inedible rape seed oil to an edible oil company, you can't claim you don't know what they're going to do with it! Not all adulterated oils contain the poison but some have been found to contain dangerous colourings and cancer-causing chemicals instead.

Meanwhile, thousands of Spaniards are paying hundreds of pounds in medical costs (no NHS there!), while the government drags its feet. Welfare payments and death grants have only recently become available (£17,000 for a death - plus £5,000 extra for a head of household).

Barricades

The scene is set for t final confrontation. T workers decide to put the barricades. Dennis must join the struggle, a government and their sta In reply to his colleagu remark that this isn't a t McBride - ranki rob, MUDHUG IMA *They're not the sa race as me"

The point 18 cl enough: The police str the barricades and Den is seen struggling with ! a dozen cops, McBr goes on TV to declare t once again the police 1 themselves 'in the midd and to commend his n for their actions.

Hope

There is never victor Jim Allen's plays - 1 • hope for the future. day after the barricades stormed, the council and rank and file tr unionists explain to 1 reporters how much 1 have learned from struggle and how fu generations will learn question authority.

While it is undoubt true that workers l more in days of stru than in years of ( collaboration, the solt is surely not just gradı educating future gen tions. The play - so to! in many ways - could even relate the betraya us struggle at nati level to the need to col ue the fight for accc ability.

Angry Jim Allen's declarec apparently is 'to them (his audience bed angry". I'm sure once again he has suci ed in that. I wonder Michael Foot was e that night?

ned Associations of toxi victims (who demon:

with the slogan "Go ment, assassins'")

these figures are paltr The quest for justice has been ham by the judge who der ed bonds of $55,000 each of 11 victims' ciations filing "pi actions" • These victin working class and people, many depe on charity or neight help for months.

can't pay.

Comrades interest forming a Socialist C iser Science Group (≤ pronounced saus ard asked to contac c/o SO, 28 Middle London N8.

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Socialist Organiser no.66 1981 Page 11