Womens Fightback Op

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ATTACKS ON OUR conforming to the ideal family who lace unh mutuat support for single parent and female headed lamalies teches tram election ictivites endren aren't ex.. • a DIMI Organise loss and See that• Security vinous harassment trom Sextal «uls. against privatisction, etc. and draw them into the (ampaign INSIDE:

Why we'reeratine went to (with an entourage of counciliors in tow) had never been visited before. A Day of Action was held, one of many on various topics, with visits to workplaces where lots of women work, including the Rediffusion factory. The Day of Action was followed up with a women-only public meeting.

A women's dayschool was also held during the campaign, with Val Broom and Barbara Castle speaking, and workshops.

Here, having a woman candidate meant that issues, for example, mentioning Labour's pledges to improve abortion facilities, which had to be fought for elsewhere, could be 'taken for granted' Abortion went in the election address, and Val stressed Labour's commitment to remove VAT from sanitary protection in newspaper interviews, even if the paper did miss that bit out -twice!

But such a campaign would have been impossible without the strong organisation of women on the ground, within a well organised Party.

In some areas, such as Manchester, where Party organisation was weak, women were called in to be the backbone of the wards' campaigns.

Experience in the election shows that we haven't reached the end of the road... We've MP for Congleton, is described by the Observer as "extolling thrift, kindness and family values". One wonders which of those she found most use for as joint master of the South Staffordshire hunt.

And Marion Roe, MP for Broxbourne, "makes no apology for the fact that I stayed at home to look after my children." As wife of a bank director, perhaps she had some choice in whether or not to lead this life. She also thinks "being militant about women's rights only retards the progress of women." We'll see.

reached the first rung of the ladder, by getting the conference policies into the manifesto, but in this election it's been left to women to make anything of them: they're still token, fringe commitments, they haven't been brought into the centre of Labour's campaign.

Where women are a force in the local party, they've been able to do that: if we combine those forces, we can have the same impact at national level. ' One forum we must use to do this is the National Labour Women's Conference. Originally scheduled to be held in Cardiff, the conference was 'postponed' when the election was announced. We must make sure it isn't 'postponed' until next year to General Committees and wards can be done by both delegates, and the opportunity to go to Conference as 'an éxtra woman delegate' can gain women the confidence to stand for delegate next year.

Rules The entitlement comes from Clause XVI (4) in the Rules for Constituency Labour Parties:

"In the event of women's individual and affiliated membership of the Party exceeding 1,500 an additional woman delegate may be appointed."

And that's where the difficulties usually come from: calculating whether your Labour Party has those 1,500 members.

The number of individual women members is usually easier to find: your CLP Membership Secretary should have the necessary records. If not, you'll have to build up the picture from the Membership Secretaries of the individual wards.

There are two kinds of affiliated women members.

Most affiliated 'socialist societies' (that is Co-operative Party, socialist health or education associations, and so on) will have women members: so get in touch with someone in the society who can tell you how many.

Women will also be affiliated through unions. A union branch secretary may be able to tell you to add to your total.

Or, a union branch secretary can add up the number of women members in the branch, and divide the total up over the constituencies which the branch covers.

The number of 'extra women delegates' is increasing, and it's now time to start campaigning for the rules to be made easier.

But once there, what are we to discuss? The positive discrimination measure on delegates must now be extended to resolutions, with a renewed campaign for the right of the National Women's Conference to submit five resolutions directly to Annual Conference.

National meeting Briefing groups July 3, 11.30am, Hall, London

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RIGHTShe Women poses hen in the foretont of gained.

against the Tories. that we keep up the fight to its promises to women make sure a Labour government delivers or crumbling welfare state The family, 1e women, should substitute for a

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