THE TORIES have Labour Councils with a dilemma. Should tHey book-keepers? After all, the Labour Government asked them ment cuts. If cuts are rejected, how • services be paid LOVE HeLl funds trickle?
answer Labour councillors like Ted Knight is 'socialism on the rates'. This strategy of rate increases is both reactionary and a tactical disaster.
Labour councils tend to be elected in working class and inner city areas. Domestic rate increases working class tenants and residents hardest.
The way in which rateable value is assessed results in highest rates for.
subsidises local services through the method of the rate support grant. This is partly assessed on the basis of the rateable value of the area with high levels receiving less support.
So, despite the fact that some inner city areas are in greatest need of subsidy. Working class gel stune wattever baey turn: they pay higher rates and rents and receive relatively less government support for services!
need to answer his objections.
confronted system. Rents and rates Thatcher's frozen and to impleservices.
for will Cuts bankruptcy before 1980 is out.
will hit and insurance comoanies.
Interest
By governmenl - those The answer will not be found by administering the present rate support should be the Government challenged to provide adequate funds and calend SOLa think Supporters of Ted Knight object by asking 'where will the money come from to pay for these services?' True enough, a freeze on rates, rents and COUCES Will Loans One response is to challenge head for on the stranglehold of finance capital over local government. Councils have to raise funds for building from banks . ror this they have to pay interest on the debt by payments to nearly 45 per cent of Islington's total The April - 1980 total outstanding debt will be f401 million, an increase of £260 million in 6 years. With Thatcher's increase in interest rates, things can only get worse.
Soon more money will be spent on lining the finance house coffers than on services for the working class. Just what the people of Islington could do with £401 million!
But this payment of interest is inadequate by The financiers will not take will be withheld, councils with the problem of paying wages, building materials and other things needed to keep social services afloat.
Banks will attempt to regain their "investment' by action through the courts to claim council property, or freezing TACT current stopping wage and other payments.
Government will respond
calling in the commissioners and the by mobiising une workers movement. social services skies. We don't get anything without a fight.
As a start, Labour with the backing of local of non- Parties, need to link up with the local council workers members who will be in the firing line when councils go bust.
This trade facing Party cooperation needs to spread to other unions, and support built up in the labour movement so that there is a rapid response when the courts and LOIHESSONCE act council. In the past miners have taken action defend account Scargill has promised the industrial support of miners to fight the cuts.
by Opposition will through local struggle. But it cannot rest there. Many Labour counciliors These attacks can only be resisted strength The money for because won't fall from the solutions.
councillors. the way Labour unions. Its tell and Labour sure chopped, against the striking nurses.
gathe sector much lo evervone's surorise we won. The leadership of the Labour Parties. got a clear majority — muca to its creat feeling.
end of the year.
revering to possipie resignations what they will do at the end of the year. Labour in office.
them out, is wut salte have tied themselves in knots over the funding of local services. This is they try LU. find local Socialism is not possible in one borough. The root of our porblems is society's resources are allocated. These decisions are taken at Government level.
Local Labour councillors cannot unravel the knots without linking up with a labour movement challenge to the Tory Govenrment. This has to go hand in hand with a fight in the trade unions and Labour Party to make that, once the Tories are Labour Govenrment comes up with something better than Callaghan's version of cuts.
Unrealistic left rhetoric? Not at all. The miners strike brought down the last Tory Government: Just think *combined by public workers, miners and car workers could do to Thatcher. resolution supporting cuts being carried out. There was a very bitter struggle in the GMC and council called a delegate conference of all four constituency The motion passed at the Norwood Labour Party GMC went up to that. and there were two motions saying cuts should be resisted but there should be rate increases, and tere was a molon supporting une culs. The majority of the councillors fought for the position of implementing cuts, but again we It has to be said that the council leadership - reversed the decision to carry out the cuts when they saw the grass roots The council is not carrying out the programme that we were before the cuts. but if is felt that this will lead to a large deficit at the We lost one battle however, in that the last GMC took out the part of the resolution We regard that as very important. Quite a lot of mones was saved by the council during the period cuts were being implemented but it's not certain The council leaderships position is that in law the deposit will have to be found out of the rates and we think that what will be proposed are big rate increases and perhaps some cuts.
My opinion is that the issue is not whether, as some put it, it is better to have a Labou council implementing cuts than a Tory council, and that what we have to do at all costs is keep This is a false argument
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CLAY CROSS UD.C. WILL NOT IMFLEMENT THE ACT
as the reality of cuts, whoever carries y Soçialist Challenge 29 November 1979 aze 7