'Disastrous confusion'

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for gay liberation. IF THE election in North London is typical of Britain as a whole, then the overwhelming reaction of working class voters at this stage in the campaign is one of confusion and doubt as to the intentions of the leadership.

There is no doubt that Labour's collective leadership needs to be far clearer and sharper in its presentation of socialist policies and in its criticisms of Tory policies. Failure to achieve this clarity - waffling on' , as many voters put it - is disastrous in the lace of a determined and resolute Tory party that knows what it wants and thinks that it has the labour movement on the canvas.

Callaghan's speech on defence last week was deeply damaging to Ray Davies, Labour Cardiff Central.

Altogether we've held about 17 public meetings. We've had meetings in the hospitals, we've met the CPSA branch, we've had four or five meetings with students unions, we've met teachers in schools and we've been to the art college.

We've done a lot of work in the shopping centres with the loudspeaker, explaining the various points of Labour's policy. It's been • a very, very active campaign.

Some of the young unemployed are a bit cynical about whether any party can give them a job. We've leafletted the Job Centres, and the only break we're allowing in the campaign is to send two buses to the People's March rally.

What I've been doing is to concentrate on the three important policies of the campaign -defence and unilateral nuclear disarmament; the Common Market and unemployment.

What I try and impress upon our is adept people Riahts tion. In my opinion, his actions have cost the party hundreds of thousands of votes which will be difficult to retrieve before June 9: it was all the more damaging because it lent the credibility of an ex Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party to the very arguments that have been used by Thatcher to criticise unilateralism.

Wondering

After Frank Chapple's endorsement of an SDP candidate and Callaghan's speech supporting Tory defence policy, one could be forgiven for wondering which luminary of the Labour Party will be the next to undermine the campaign.

A further difficulty for Labthat the Tories have been at convincing -ordinary that scapegoats have propeople when I speak to them is that the Labour Party policy on nuclear disarmament is just one step in the direction of peace. A nuclear free Britain is a step towards a nuclear free Europe which in turn is a step towards a nuclear free world.

If Labour had fought hard on the three policies I refer to then instead of struggling hard for survival as we are at the moment, it would have been a great Labour victory on June 9. In fact we could still win on June 9 if the Labour leaders come off the fence and start campaigning vigorously on the hustings and in interviews for the policies of the party, instead of fudging.

• I think that people aren't so much worried about the policies of the Labour Party but that certain leaders of the Party are hedging on the policies - and if world recession; women going out to work instead of staying at home to mind the kids; or the nasty trade unions.

Evidence

The power of these smear tactics is reinforced by the confident reiteration of these themes by the tabloid press: don't forget that 25% of the electorate read the Sun.

What should Labour do? We should be far clearer about what the Tories have already done to the welfare state, and the actions which Thatcher has taken to push up unemployment. We should allow the real anger of the People's Marchers to speak for us - and tell people that the only real chance they may have to change the disastrous policies attacking working people is the chance they have on June 9.

JOHN HARRIS Healey

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Labour Campaign for Gay