THE ELIZABETH Anderson hospital became something symbol at Fightback conference health cuts.
As Candy Udwin from the Save the EGA campaign pointed out, the work-in against the closure of the women's hospital began just two days after the 80,000-strong stration against public sector cuts in November 1976.
'Now,' she said, 'I don't feel the strength of a movement to counter the cuts which could keep the hospital open. This is the situation in most of the country,' she added. for our health has been left to local considered.
Aberdare, a campaign to stop health who supported an occupation of the AHA rapidly backed down.
formation of the Service. Now the EGA was facing the whose plan for the hospital was that it should become a charitable Fertility 'A prestigious hospital prestigious women,' speaker put it.
The experience of local campaigns lacking conterence. from 17 trades councils, and from unions which included the TGWU, NUM, NATHE, NUPE, NALGO. ASTMS — many had been involved in actions to stop cuts and closures.
The defence of the NHS was one of the themes of the conference. Confronting its inadequacies and the causes of ill-health Delegates were told of the racism in the health service, example, two-thirds of the women in East London who had prescribed the dangerous contracepWhose freedom ON 4-6 July there is a Book Fair being organised at Caxton Westminster. So what? Well, it's a book difference. organisers are those lovers of books, Aims of Industry).
The fair was to be opened by Sir Keith Joseph, but he has withdrawn. He was replaced freedom-fighter William Rees-Mogg, The limes publishers have been excluded, but by some accident Merlin Press received an invitation.
So Merlin decided to accept the offer of a free stall. However, it also decided to exhibit only one of books at the stall and distributing a leaflet to explain its choice. The book in question: Marxist Economic Theory by Ernest Mandel. Glove transfer WHEN the well-known economist David Yaffe was expelled anally Brighton branch of the International Socialists he claimed that he had been punched during a dispute preceding Garrett Saturday's against the demonNational Health for delegates CPSA, AUEW, and once. for Again, been well-woman This expulsion. This was condemned by Revolutionary months later Communist born RCG the chair, David Yaffe, assaulted by Hall, members'..
well-known AIMS (formerly in that of meetings, disruptions. (RIP).
meeting $/he LACESCOR CARMuppance THE wretched BBC, will be Police to allow Norwegian government.
Marxist Door from the broadcast producer NOTING the cuts at a workshop during Fightback's conference in London. Right: Janet Maguire, who argued that the Tories aim to dismantle the welfare state. tive drug Depo-Provera being Asian; and of the way the NHS discriminates those •of post-child rearing age at the end of the waiting lists, while young women with fertility problems are dealt with the EGA represented for ba weth-estrale, with and als clinic out-patient abortion clinic linked to roundly all and sundry (including many members of the IS).
David then left and set up the Communist Group (RCG). This suffered a split several and the Revolutionary Tendency (RCT)
Now the RCT has alleged that at a meeting members 'was punched in the face by before being • half dozen RCG The RCG says that the RCT had embarked on a policy of 'deliberately provocative disruptions' and was out to destroy its meetings.
Nonetheless physical attacks can no wav be lustitied. iiven the proliferation of sects, an agreement can surely be reached on the conduct without fisticuffs When a member of the public accidentally turns up to such a LIUSL be utterly fresh from doing a deal with the Metropolitan the cops to material dealing with police matters, and refusing to repeat or sell overseas tne excellent Law and vraer series. has now been put to shame by the The BBC management hates the UNCLEC exposing TV's racism made by the Campaign Against Racism in the Media. After in February, every presenter the campaign to save the hospital.
is the Tory government which harpene dicked up the healer ASTMS's South-east medical branch explained:
'We talked about the Labour government's Tory policies, Tory government implementing Tory policies is a very different matter.' criticised in the programme duly super-stars Robin Day and Ludovic Kennedy, who two weeks ago received the unusual accolade from the Beeb of dissociațed the corporation from any The Norwegian government takes a different view of its responsibilities. Its Secretariat of Immigrant Affairs has asked to purchase a copy of the programme to snow al a seminar I0l The Secretariat writes: 'We have conferences with the press and other media on how to handle immigrant discrimination, minority groups and 30-minute programme to meetings should write to CARM, PO Gaddafi's new friends Britain was over, a lull descended over waited to hear what their old friend and patron, Colonel Gaddafi, would think of the Workers' Revolutionary They needn't have worried. The Libyan leader didn't waste too much time on them. Instead he greeted the 'We think the Tories are closer to in matters of social values and In paper Le Matin, 25 May).
The fact that the daily News Line Their objective, she argued, was to crush trade union rights and take us back to the dismantled welfare state for the poor and private medicine for those who could afford it.
It was the fact that the trade union leadership would respond to this -while they colluded in Labour cuts — indicates their new turn. They appear to have transferred their loyalties to the Iraqi BloodBaath party. Motto of members and friends to Calais. The French port has a PCF mayor who booze-up, and a joint demo against the Common Market. A good idea? Certainly, but wait..
CP members led by dynamic London CP leader Gerry Cohen crossed the excellent, but Gerry got a bit carried away. In his speech at the banquet he blamed French farmers for high food French party has lots of farmers in it.
militant and some were even ultra left' in 1968. More to the point a few were present at the lunch. They didn't ments. The lunch ended in disaster. The evening booze-up was cancelled, unionists, and there was no joint Usage and abusage THERE are lies, damned lies, and | newspaper headlines.
Jack, plan.
South-east.
the ourselves. Swamped removal of for a of that struggle.
It the pre-NHS days of Group, Further racists' mill.
Trends The The food and drink was society, such only'.
But it's writers, Suffice commitment Such, Powell. Fightback went forward conference, NAL SO official Andren first speaker who is chairperson of the South-east Regional TUC's anti-cut campaign, had revealed SERTUC's He said that SERTUC would be calling on the TUC for a one-day national strike against the sector cuts in the autumn. th the bic failed to respond, SERTUC would organise a one-day strike in the I'm glad to hear of that,' said speaking for the while leadership remains in the backrooms talking to Tories, we have to defend "We have to develop in a practical way and prepare for industrial action against the Tories. We cannot delay on this,' he added.
While the conference voted for a plan of opposition to all cuts in public expenditure, it narrowly defeated a resolution proposed by Janet Maguire included demands to hour week, and a e 35-hour week, minimum wage, and a campaign by Fightback for the implementation of NUPE's policy against pay beds.
'When the comes, argued Ray Varnes of ILEA NUPE, seconding the resolution, won't be Fightback in the leadership We have to regard ourselves as a left current within that movement, building activity and with clear alternative policies. Otherwise we will be swamped.' • WIlt be Fightback's annual general meeting in September which considers the policies to adopt Both the geographical spread of delegates Saturday's conference and the political spectrum represented - including the Militam group, Hospital Workel Women's the Marxist and members of the Communist Party and Labour Party showed that Fightback is in position to make a strong impact on the shape of the anti-cuts battle.
information and Fightback bulletins, c/o 30 Camden Road, London NW1. unseemly regularity, is the case with statistics concerning Britain's blac population. It is the game that Powel perfected, and now the government's Office of Population Censuses anc Surveys is churning out grist to the Last month's issue of Population projected what the black population would be in 1991, and by contrasting this with the , estimated black population in 1976 arrived at a growth rate approaching a hundred per call over thal period This supposed statistic can, of course, be used to drum up racist fear numbers would be irrelevant if Britain were not a racist but since it is, anti-racist organisations are quite right to point out how such figures are concocted.
The British Society for Social Responsibility in Science points out that the report is dotted with phrases assumptions 'arbitrary assumptions', and even 'speculative assumptions for 'illustrative purpose the tendentious conclusions which grab the headline and such as the Southend Evening Echo duly obligor with 'One in 20 blacks by 1991'. Th Echo did, in fact, mention several of BSSRS's criticisms, but this didn't prompt a headline such as 'Dubice statistics aid rascists' to add that the to publish thes projections was given in Parliamenti response to a question from Enoc 1 Chalesee 5 July 1979 Page 3