And Christine Billington points out that, 'if we lose this one, it could spread to other factories". NEXT The next step must be for the women to become involved at all levels of the struggle. It is not just a question of moral and financial support. Now the need is toi the women to be involved shoulder to shoulder in me day lo das conduct of the strike and in ine workine our or ls long-teru 81mS appears to be the continued renovation of the Royal High School in Edinburgh. No matter what Parliament decides, the building contractors have a legal contract to rely on.
o atan teacher Devolution Bill was done in the very name of legality - the legal sovereignty of the Palace of Westminster. rigid Parlamentary structure, deprived of any tax raising powers over private capital, and comes complete with veto powers vested in their Lordships of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Concil. But the reason why the Bill had to be supported was simple. It entailed the essential core of self-determination for the people of Scotland and Wales right to elect their own government and decide their own policies example of rising English nationalism, John Bull versus little Scotia. Clearly all parties actually want to sort out a situation they see as a bit of a mess. It is Margaret Thatcher who, in arguing for all party talks, explains that 'we are all committed to devolution. It is the particular form it takes whea saussue BUILT-IN RESTRICTIONS base of the Teddy Taylors and Tam Dalyell.
Chauvinis.
despite clear indications Scotland, to sabotage the Bill.
All these right wing like Shirley Williams in its true colors. After last week's vote, the only certainty about devolution The working people of Scotland are not so lucky. The by the Labour MPs who killed the The Devolution Bill was framed explicitly to produce a It would be a mistake to see last week's vote as some When she talks about 'all' what she means is the most intelligent and politically sensitive supporters of the British ruling class in Westminster, Labourand Tory. Their real problem is how to get legislation through the Commons, which will set up an Assembly in Scotland complete with built-in vetoes and restrictions, past the frenzied petty bourgeois What is incredible is not sne contem nang mis but the serene contempt in Scottish as well as English, hold the opinions of working people north of the border. Many Labour MPs feel totally free, despite party and trade union conference decisions, of overwhelming support in factors are as nothing, apparently. against the clearly expressed interests.of working people whenever it suits them. Last week we saw the 'democracy' of Parliament so beloved of the lefts like Eric Heffer and the We can only expect the squalid deals and manoeuvres of the proposed all-party talks to make this clearer. Behind the scenes compromises and the lottery of the voting lobbies now stand out as the visible foundations of our great British To confront this sham the demand for a referendum is obvious and correct, and better still is the demand of imme diate elections to an Assembly which can then determine its own powers and constitution. For the Scottish National which has also advanced these positions, they are mere debating points - nothing will be done to organise But where do such demands point to? lt Parliament has no 'right' to decide on this question and instead it is decided by a binding referendum, worried social democrats ask themselves, what about Agee's expulsion, or abortion restrictions? Perhaps it becomes necessary, even imperative, to For these reasons the demand of self-determination for Scotland and Wales is increasingly important, as the fight for an elected Assembly confronts head on the electoral taking a position clearly and unambiguously for a referendum and immediate elections, we can ensure that it is working people, not a collection of individuals in Westminster, who start to decide what kind of political future the working class in Scotland,