WALES has narrowly Scotland as the top priority for the Tory axe.
in regional announced week by Secretary Sir Keith Joseph, 44 of the special development areas development areas to be downgraded are in Wales while 41 are in Scotland.
But Scotland could still come out on top, thanks to the Tories' plans announced on Monday for cuts in the shipbuilding industry. These cuts will hit the North particularly hard.
Over a quarter of all unemployed shipbuilding workers are found in the North-east, whole had North as downgraded in the regional cutbacks.
Of all the regions, the North has already Ine highest rate, with a June figure of 7.8 per cent of the population unemployed.
The idea of special development and development areas is to bribe industrialists to set up factories in the areas concerned. Under the schemes, government money is available for companies' HICH buildings or new plant and machinery.
For special development areas, 22 per cent of the cost of these items is available. For development areas the figures is 20 per cent.
In addition, removal grants of up to 80 per cent of the costs incurred are TOM WOOLLEY preeted with chants of 'No cuts'.
which will hit the old and young hardest. Fortunegate Road, YW10.
available to undertaking into assisted areas. neel Said the first Industry and as a result of Labour government England assorted already unfounded areas aid profitability to the wolves by Joseph.
The hope being abandoned.
The is saying, themselves. And edly will.
REVERAL hundred people demonstrated against government cuts discuss how it would respond to central government pressure to cut incal authority spending and as each councillor arrived they were Representatives of many local organisations spoke from the town hall steps about the need to fight this latest attack on local services Represented were the NUT, Brent Pensioners, Task Force, the Drop in Club (a pre-school group), Brent Campaign Against the Cuts and many others. The Labour group agreed to meet a deputation, but NIT and Brent Trades Council refused to allow anyone from the companies moving an And if the company wants to use a government factory then it can do so free in a special development area for years, and in a development area for the first two.
The Tory cuts means that in over a hundred areas these bribes are now It is difficult to calculate exactly what the effect on employment will be the downgrading; certainly the hopes of the previous that would reduce employment in the areas concerned to average proved Many of the grants went to smail businesses employing relatively few people and the incentives had more of a beneficial effect on private sector than they had Nevertheless what the cuts do that the areas chiefly affected are now openly being thrown of attracting industries to replace the old declining ones like shipbuilding in areas such as Scotland and the North-east is finally Joseph's message is a return to the. capitalism of the 1930s; these areas, must sink or swim by without a determined fightback, sink they undoubtyet 2.67m who, office.
people people erished were poorer. SDAs downgraded: 17 DAs downgraded: 8 4. North-west Unemployment: 6.5% SDAs downgraded: 1 DAs downgraded: 4 5. Wales Unemployment: 7.2% SDAs downgraded: 20 DAs downgraded: 24 7. Yorkshire & Humberside Unemployment: 5:2% SDAs downgraded: 0 DAs downgraded: 3 8. W.Midlands Unemployment: 5.0% SDAs downgraded:0 DAs downgraded: 0 9. E.Midlands Unemployment: 4.5% SDAs downgraded: 0 DAs downgraded: 0 10. East Anglia Unemployment: 4.1% SDAs downgraded: 0 DAs downgraded: 0 Unemployment: 5.4% South-west SDAs downgraded: 0 DAs downgraded: Z SDA = Special Development Area By Tom Litterick Former Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak NO ONE has been impoverished by the Tory government and however contident we mav be that many people will be I suggest we wait until it has happened.
In the meantime we have quite enough to discuss of the Labour government's record on poverty to keep us fruitfully occupied for some time to come.
For example, in 1974, there were people on supplementary benifits in Britain. Ihese were people in official terms, are sincken anu we call rcasonably lake that figure of 2.67m as part of the inheritance of poverty received by the Labour government when it took In 1979, there are more than 4m claiming supplementary benefits, which is one way of saying that during the Wilson/Callaghan administration, something like 1.42m impoverished.
Impoverished could reasonably ourselves who these newly impovpeople are and now became impoverished and what the and the policies pursued by ete and the policies pursued Labour government Secondly, 1974 there were, approximately, 500,000 unemployed. In March 1979, almost 1.52m people play during he nelson Callin during the Wilson/Callaghan administration, a million people were made unemployed and, presumably, Thirdly, we know that three of the five years of the Wilson/ 1. Scotland Unemployment: 7.3% DAs downgraded: l DAs downgraded: 40 3. south-egst Unemployment: 3.5% SDAs downgraded: 0 DAs downgraded: 1 DA = Development Area Callaghan administration, real wages fell, which during most of the life of the last Labour government the standard of living of the working clas particularly that of working class — gol povies We know that this was a deliberate result of policy decisions made by the government.
However bad the Tories may be, they have a long way to go yet before their contribution to the sum total of human misery equals that of the last Labour government. poverty Crime Nor should we forget that every time we accuse the Tories of some unspeakable crime working class they point to the record of the Labour government by Me-too-ism' weapon and it will be brought into play against us.
If we allow our diverted into simply Tory bashing we will damage ourselves in several ways. In the first place the public, who are not stupid, will recognise it for what it ask is; the kettle calling the pot black and they will properly despise us for it. they Secondly, we will, allow the right wing -forget, controlled the last government to represent movement and to the people as the friends of the down-trodden and the people exploited there unem- Reidentify This, in turn, will enable them to reidentify themselves with the Labour Party, whose cally repudiated during office.
It will prevent us examining the PIERS HIM OUT THE paign Court.
'Criminal record that bay and government's the low-paid was reduced. They understanding taking gramme against enough.
can now simply Pathetic double edged candidate energies to be experience.
default, - who. let us no convictions. themselves the prepared policies ney empiall- Weekly® they held CORBYN - KEEP appeal of housing militant Piers Corbyn against a 28-day prison sentence passed on nim lor his part in Huntley Street Defence Cam.
will heard Knightsbridge Crown Court, Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge on Tuesday, 14 August.
'Piers' co-defendant, Jim
Patton, has his trial on 2 august Marylebone Magistrates Strong pickets are required to stop one jailing, and possibly the infamous .Tresspass Law'.
Both pickets start at 10am.
Wilson/Callaghan governments and of the individuals who made up those governments. It is subjecting the Labour record rigorous scrutiny that we stand any chance of Our mistakes anc steps to prevent repetition of these mistakes If we allow ourselves the brainless indulgence of 'ya boo we are in Opposition we will certainly go into the next election with a pro dictated by the leader, whoever he or she may be, which is to say we will be going into the next election unarmed and hoping against hope that the Tories will win it for us, with nothing to offer the people but a variation on the clapped out theme of "Jim Will Fix It'. That is not good Having fought one election as a apologising democrats and being forced to use the pathetic argument that it would have been worse if the Tories had been in power, I have no wish to repeat the It is time the party woke up to the fact that most of its unelected leaders convictions. it ure porth is nos If the party 1t must bi prepared to accept that Labour's next victory, when it comes, will be as big a disaster as its defeat.
This article is taken from Labour Socialist Challenge 26 July 1979 Page)
EVENTS advertised in this colur events column. Deadline: 5pm Friday HACKNEY SC group meeting: 'Defend Charter 26 July, 7.30pm.
Street, EB.
OLDHAM SC group meeting Thur 26 July at Arms Middition Road, West ood. hine etruggle in texales are caramers NALGO Nanonar meeung tor armin members and soclanst & nallenge supporters (by Invilaron, i tie unton. Mancheter cat 1y and Sun 16 Sept (till 2pm Sun). Pooled fare. Venue to arranged. Urther details Briefing. or rine the Centre. Britannia pub for all IMG IS CLOSE DECE •DURING THE CARNIVAL S CELEBRATING THE HERDIC ACTIVITY MANIFESTATION WA • RECENT THE SHANKILL BUTCHERS OF, IRELAND!
----- pull-quotes -----
outside Brent lown hall in Wembley, NW London, last Friday, writes Tom Wooiley. The Labour group on the council was due to meet to
Brent Campaign Against the Cuts (BCAC) to accompany them. Next meeting of BCAC, Monday, 30 July, 4.30pm at 28A
„and don't forget the Labour axe