Shouting for policies: met oy deaf ears

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Comrade chairperson, sisters and brothers, We have heard much rhetoric about the need for the Party to win back the support of the working class.

We have applauded speeches that have called for socialist policies. And the louder you shout, the louder the applause you can get.

Well, comrades, there are in this party people who are shouting louder than most others but are being ignored and prevented from pushing forward the policies that they have decided are vital for them.

They are women.

This is:

• despite the fact that we are 52% of the population, • despite the fact that we have been the ones to bear the brunt of capitalism, • and despite the fact that women have turned to the Labour Party to support them. This has been shown by the increase in women's Labour Party membership, in women's voting figures, and, most important, in women's activity in the trade unions and the Labour Party.

The activity of women has enriched the labour movement and encouraged women to become even more active. But when we get near to winning the demands which will make a difference for women - when men will have to clear out of the way to let forward women representing and accountable to the rank and file woren - then out come the old arguments, out come the old hostilities, playing on the backwardness which socialists should have thrown off and rejected centuries ago.

Socialists must recognise that women have special needs and concerns - and not just about creches.

Women have recognised this. Look at the resolutions that have been sent to Labour women's annual conference. Perhaps these resolutions reflected the concerns of women too much for those in the leadership of the movement who despise policies that challenge capitalism.

There has been some recognition in the trade unions, pushed by active women. Look at the TUC women's charter, look at the recent policy on sexual harassment. The TUC has started to recognise women's special concerns. ANDREW WIARD RFPORT ANN CROWDER (above) - the delegate from East Nottingham Constituency Labour Party - was one of the speakers moving composites to give women more of a say in the Labour Party. This is what she said.

I don't think this resolution will be carried. The present NEC is hostile to women's demands in action, and the block votes will be against us. But I ask the trade union leaders who are against change in favour of women: how far did you consult with your women membership?

And what do you mean by consultation? Telling women how they should continue to be ignored? Telling them to continue to be at the bottom of the pile when it comes to policymaking? Telling them that when we get socialism, then their darning in the long run are the pressures that ie-crofies "y... Party Urty a " to site our own demands and fall in we'll be expected yet demands will be taken up, but only on condition that they don't challenge men's position at the top?

Have you consulted your cleaning woman, Neil?

Comrades, women won't wait. We have been at the forefront of struggles - industrial struggles, Greenham, international struggles - and at the fore; front of the demands for change. The Labour Party is way behind.

The women pushing • these demands bave consulted with women. In the East Midlands we held a dayschool. We debated these issues with women. After we had discussed together as women, at the end of the dayschool not one woman disagreed with our demands. They rejected the arguments that men in labour movement have forced on them.

This composite will not achieve everything that women demand, but it goes some way to ensuring that issues of concern to women, and issues of concern to us all where women see differently to men, will not be ignored, but given a hearing as of right.

The trade unions and CLPs will still be able to submit resolutions on women's issues, but women's conterence is the orum were women can decide our opinions on policy.

What are you frightened of that you cannot allow this sort of The irma EW missiles will be arriving very soon now.

ONCE again the Labour Party conference at Brighton reaffirmed its commitment to the full programme of unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Composite 40, moved by Ron Todd for the TGWU, received overwhelming support at the conference. It contained a clear rejection of any fresh nuclear weapons and bases and an unconditional commitment to removing all existing nuclear weapons and bases, including Polaris, from British soil and from British waters.

It also stated • that the Labour Party would be committed to a non-nuclear defence strategy within the lifetime of the next Labour government.

These are key demands and they should mean that we can now campaign on consistent demands without the fear of the sort of confusion that was built into the campaign document.

Multilateral

resolution on multilateral nent, moved by the and supported by the was overwhelmingly Jan Wallcraft, a Can't Pay, Won't Pay campaigner refused to pay the excess fare required of her by the House of Lords ruling last year. She alone of those "defying the law" refused to pay the fine, even if it led -as it did — to a jail sentence.

Jan was welcomed by a small but vociferous group of friends and supporters from Highgate Ward of Hornsey and Wood Green Labour Party, other GMC members of the local party, The Labour Party confe ence stood firm on unilateral nuclear disarmament, reports Joy defeated.

There should now be no problem for the Labour Party. This is the fourth successive year that conference has voted for unilateral nuclear disarmament.

But there is a problem. Conference also passed the NEC's statement 'Campaigning for a Fairer Britain'. In the section on peace and disarmament all the old fudges and compromises reappear. This statement was put to conference by, guess who? Dennis Healey himself.

In the interests of the media and loyalty to the Party no-one spoke against it.

Hopefully, since it is supposed to serve as demands to be placed on the Tory government while Labour is in opposition, it will have no status. It will then dispark-keeper, living in a tied cottage owned by the City of London. I joined the Labour Party because I was drawn to it by the progressive policies of the GLC, especially on fares.

Do you stand by everything you have said?

Yes, I haven't time to give a political analysis and a strategic YCND Truth Kit now out.

Available from 126B St Paul's Road, London N1. GREENHAN COMMON appear like many other Labo Party policy statements. On tl other hand, it is there ready be used to oppose a clear cor mitment on the scrapping of : nuclear weapons and bases.

The NEC statement talks: Polaris being included in curre: arms negotiations. It talks of r first use of nuclear weapons ar it states that we must fight for nuclear freeze. All these a multilateral disarmament stat ments. They are the sort of wor‹ that possessors of nucle weapons use to justify their inte: tions.

It was a mistake that confe ence allowed this statement be passed. The contradictio: have to be exposed. We are still party of free discussion and the is no way that we can allow tl outgoing NEC to steamroller ov the party in this way.

Composite 39 on a norther Europe nuclear-free zone wel some way in opposing membe ship of NATO but in general wi a patchy resolution. It was we supported but the Militant res lution was thrown out by confe ence on the grounds that the NE opposed the idea of nationalisir the arms industry, and linking t right for peace with the fight fr justification for the campaig My instincts were the domina factor. I believed someone he to challenge the law instead: just talking about it. The car paign goes on!

Jan was escorted by hi friends to the nearest cafe for well-deserved cup of tea, and o back home to the continui CND

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NUCLEAR FREE JOHN HARRIS

Hurcombe (secretary, Labour CND, writing in a personal capacity)