[FIGHT their branch to oppose the increase and…]
Socialist Organiser1984 1984-03-01Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 5 →
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FIGHT their branch to oppose the increase and stage the walkout, Councillors Hill and Bough carried out the branch policy at the December Council meeting. In January a special Labour Group meeting was called which voted with the support of the soft left to expel the two councillors.
Both councillors appealed to the Labour Party National Executive Committee and were informed that the Labour Group had acted unconstitutionally by expelling them without first consulting the Executive Committee of the District Labour The Labour Group had to retreat, and the decision was eventually to 'condemn' the councillors action bur not expel them, in return for a pledge to abide by Labour Group standing orders in future.
The 'soft left' then proceeded to de-select Councillor Bough at the branch selection meeting on But the underlying issue has not gone away. At its meeting on February 20, Stoke Labour Group agreed to cuts in next year's budget, and a... 2½% increase in rates. There was no attempt to consult the Party, and even councillors have been given no details of where the cuts will fall.
At the Labour Group meeting Councillor Bough asked for the decision to be deferred so that the Party could discuss it, but the 'soft left' sat silent! to the resolution supporting the flat-rate which effectively nullified it: the flat-rate should be continued provided this did not put the department in jeopardy under the Local Government and Land Act'.
The argument was that the department is making losses, and under the Tory Act that could mean that the council would be compelled to shut it down.
Councillor Pat Longman opposed the amendment: "I think the workers are saying to the council - we're willing to fight the Tory legislation if you are". But the amendment was carried. • The days of the Red Plag over the Town Hall are in the past, and the bust of Lenin at the door to the counci chamber looks more out of place than ever. Islington council, once the banner-bearer of the 'London Labour Left, is now set on proving itself a sober, respectable municipal adminstration.
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Sandinistas call poll in November March ternationali