Denied proper conference abour women are still on the attack

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THE National Labour Women's "Conference" was held, at last, on Saturday December 3, in the form of a one-day rally on privatisation: no resolutions and no voting. But Labour women were in no mood to be fobbed off with a rally - even if it did include Neil Kinnock addressing us on the politically important topic of banana skins (banana skins?).

Everyone agreed that the Labour Women's Conference, originally scheduled for June, couldn't go ahead, given the General Election. But why couldn't it be rescheduled?

Party headquarters argued that the person who is paid to organise Women's Conference now had other work to do.

But the 1982 Conference had called for a proper discussion on privatisation at the 1983 Conference and papers for this had been prepared. It was an easy job to gather them together, and call a one-day school on privatisation - instead of a proper conference of Labour women.

There • were two positive elements in the response they met with.

First of all, Labour women organised to protest at this. A resolution from Chipping Barnett women's section was passed at the London Region Women's Conference at the end of November, condemning the NEC and calling for a boycott of the school on privatisation. It called on boycotting delegates to organise an alternative event.

Similar sentiments were expressed at two other regional women's conferences (at least); but it was impossible to get hold of a national women's mailing list, so London decisions were not communicated to other and Jo Thwaites regions.

In the event, about 300 women attended the school and the boycotters modified their tactics. London women (some of whom had been mandated to boycott) and others from the regions met at lunchtime to discuss tactics, and what they wanted out of the conference.

Then many women attended all the workshops in the afternoon to make these views heard and collected signatures for a petition protesting about the conference having been cancelled.

The second positive aspect of the protest was that women were not put on the defensive, but remained on the attack.

In arguing that the Conference must be held and that a one-day rally was no substitute, women did not fall into the trap of defending an institution that is in itself normally undemocratic and inadequate.

But they made the points that the Women's Conference should be able to send five of the resolutions it passes to Annual Conference; that it should be able to elect Women members of the NEC, and hold them accountJo Richardson and Audrey Wise o able; and that, most relevant of all to Saturday's event, there must be a Rules Conference, so that Labour women can take control of their own Conference. Women's under Party rules, the Women's corerent doesn't even exist!

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