As the person probably most involved in the negotiations with the National Office of the Right to Work Campaign, perhaps can fill in a few of the facts which might not be known to your readers Several weeks before the London to Brighton march, 1 wrote to John Deason, National Secretary, on the subject of there being a gay banner on the march. He replied that there would be no sectarian banners and that gays would not be permitted to have their own. This letter was considered by a meeting of the London Gay Workers and Trade Unionists strongly worded resolution was sent to the National Council of the Right to Work Campaign.
On 31 August at the North London Gay Centre there was a meeting of over 40 political activists from the broad left of the gay movement. One of the subjects on the agenda was the participation of gays on the London to Brighton march. I sent a reminder to elved but on very step y none was received, but we found that a very strong group their members and supporters turned up to the Gay socialis meeting - some who to my certain knowledge had never been members or attended IS Gay Group meetings.
There was an attempt to have the right to work item placed on the back of a very full agenda, but this was foiled. People from the Right to Work Campaign conditional idea that we would be able to carry a gay workers and trade unionist banner. However, it was difficult to pin them down to specifics. Their supporters attempted to confuse the Issue, and throuch lack of political experience many of the people at the meeting were satisfied with the vague promises and as a result a nanotul. then gave us a limited and made by the IS group and its supporters.
However, the meeting did not consider such facts as:
*That the decision about the banners had been made by Deason and his co-workers in the National Office of the Right to Work Campaign not by Campaign. This was admitted to me by one of the workers in the office in the absence of Deason.
*That I had been invited to attend a meeting of the National Council, but when it was obvious that I would raise the women's and gay issue, the hall that had been booked was too small and I would not be able to attend (Deason).
Because of the on/off attitude of the National Office of the Campaign and Deason's sexist attitude, march and the Campaign droppped from at least 40 to a mere Certainly. no-one could in campaign which nES elected supporters are seem merely as the tools of a small group; and where that small group encourages attacks on members of the broad labour movement. We need a Right to Work Campaign especially at this time. We need to challenge the right wing of the Labour Party, but we also need to fight to ensure that this campaign is democratic and not merely the plaything of one man or a small group of men.
In passing, I should say that I am not a member of IMG and indeed do not agree with their analysis of the world today. But I do agree that they are firmly based within the labour movement and work hard for unity little idea about. If IS came down to earth they would realise how far they are from the working class and it dON CLARENCE (Gays Against Fascism). gays to work should have been allowed on the march, Eunice Sharples (Red Weekly, 16 September) wrote: "They are workers aren't they, no different from all of us? So why a separate banner or contingent?
action.
Unfortunately the vast majority of male workers are not yet convinced of this - women are seen as working for pinmoney', and gays as not being 'normal". That backwardness must be confronted and fought politically — it is not enough to say 'we are all members of one class" That is why, within a united march against unemployment, it is necessary to draw out the specific problems of women Labour Party delegates from the Right to Work Council (see letter in Red Weekly, 22 July), has made no attempts to force left leaders who sponsored the marches to mobilise iner subDorters 1Or those marches, and largely limited its campaign for trade union support to getting financial contributions rather than ongoing The IS have led the campaign away from confronting the bureaucracy, allow ing the CP to keep silent whilst the marchers are attacked for political thug gery. It is because they see no need foi creating a genuine united front that the democracy of the campaign can be so lightly discarded.