BY THE USUAL But in the Edge Hill by-election the bookies Liberal David Alton to overturn the current Labour majority of 6,171. The Liberals already have control of Liverpool council, including wards in the Edge Hill constituency.
The rise of the Liberals in Liverpool has been explained by sociologists, political commentators "investigative" journalists. "community politics', the "whizz kid" image and une cmpnasis onlocal issues provide the usual explanations.
Liberal candidate Alton maintains this approach: "Think small' is one of his slogans.
But the Liberals Merseyside is as much to do Labour's failures as it is to do with their own image.
The final report of the Liverpool Inner Area Study, Change or Decay, published 18 months ago, tells part of the story: *In total Employment Exchange Areas lost more EGan 50,000 Jobs in the 1961-1971... there was a net loss of 31,000 manufacturing jobs in the city during the decade...
*Between 1966 and 1971 the number of unskilled manual jobs dropped by 25 per cent, of semi-skilled by 24 per and of personal service jobs by 41 per cent.* The decline continues. A total of 14,300 people lost their Merseyside last year. employs 3,200, has recently announced a total closure. Plesseys in Edge Hill is rumoured to be going the same way and has already announced 800 redundancies. And on 15 March, Akzo Chemie on Kirkby announced closure with the loss of 115 JOUS The result unemployment rate of over 12 percent and an inner city unemployment rate — which includes Edge Hill - of between 25 and 30 per cent.
So it is not surprising that Liverpool voters are not too keen on the Labour Party, particularly when DoncIes or tne which are directly responsible for many Socialist Challenge 22 March 1979 page 8 of the recent closures.
candidate DOSS VIenael through mass Condess Just a couple The Labour defended the sackings.
Coupled
conditions.
success in general housing constituency:
the Liverpool decade Decayed terraces space, narow cobbled back alleys.
cent, have been jobs in Dunlops, which estate Liverpool It the COVICHL For instance. the government has backed and encouraged British Leyland rewardes in forcing redundancies. For Liverpool Edwardes' cuts have brought the loss of 3,250 jobs at Leyland's closed Speke plant, and a further 400 redundancies at Leyland's No. 1 plant.
of words from the government in Michael Edwardes ear would have saved these jobs. Instead with the high unemployment rate are the wretched housing There are more outside toilets in Edge Hill than anywhere else in the country, and a recent report in Liverpool's Daily Post summed up the conditions in the *The first thing which strikes you about the area is just how much of it is there. All the constituency, there are enormous bald patches... Most of the houses are old of pitted brick alternate with great tracts of CIlL and the area is riddled with But the Liberal Party finds it difficult to argue that Edge Hill's housing is all the fault of national government.
The cuts in public spending, which particularly heavy in Yet Liverpool's Liberal council was not Hindu centre was recently firebombed and daubed with racist slogans satisifed with the national cuts and implemented some of its own.
A total of £3 million has been cut from the housing budget in the past two years by the Liberals. Consequently there are 50,000 outstanding repairs and 9,000 Liverpool building workers on the dole.
For the Edge Hill voters, the other aspect of the Liberal council's policy - the selling off of council homes - is at best a sick joke. Only 19 per cent of Edge Hill's housing is council owned, compared with 40 per cent in Liverpool as a whole; so even if Edge Hill residents had the money to buy a council home, which most of them don't, they would be hard pressed to buy one in their own area.
All things considered it is, to say the least, rather insensitive of the Liberals to put up David Alton as their Edge Hill candidate. Alton happens to be the chairperson of the council's housing committee.
The social and economic conditions of Liverpool and or cage particular say a lot about the policies of Labour and the Liberals.
One further statistic locates the root f the problem: 18p of every £ Liverpool tenants pay in council rent i spent on repair and maintenance; 65p of every El goes on interest payments.
other WOTUS. unemployed might get longer in Edge Hill, the housing conditions deteriorate, but the banks thrive. Or to put it another way, the banks thrive because of the unemploved and the wretched housing.
Capitalism has long since served its time in Edge Hill. ALAN WALKER is the Socialist Unity candidate in the Edge Hill by-election. He lives in the area and works for Housing Aid.
He active chairperson department stewards committee, trades council delegate, and a former member Hill of the Labour Party. He has been active in the campaign against the sale of council housing.
candidate, who presides over some of Britain's worst housing.
Unity's spells out the policies of the socialist alternative. might fight against those in the public sector. We are for an end to low pay and call for a national minimum wage of f60 per week.
trade - unionist, NALGO housing living goes up.
His boss is David Alton, the Liberal prices, election address Socialist Unity supports the the incomes policy by workers like The scrapped abortion on inequality.
P also be paid unemployed, pensioners, single pr ents, the disabled and the sick. So ma people in this area depend on soc security benefits which every year a whittled away by inflation.
Wages, benefits and social spendi should be defended against inflation automatic rises every time the cost Wage restraint doesn't stop risi it only cuts workers' livi standards and boosts profit. We call an immediate freeze on rents and rat and prices of all essential goods.
are against racism and discrimination. Hitler supporters li National Front should allowed to spread their racist poise We support the right of black people to defend themsel against racists and police harassme immigration laws must *We support women's liberation, l independent organisation of wom and all women fighting for equal p equal job opportunities and the right choose whether they have children This means free contraception a demand, free nurseries and positive discrimination favour of women to overcome years There must be an end to violer against women, in or out of the hon We support the setting up of batter women's centres and rape crisis centr *Men and women must be free
v Liverpool on the edge E HILL holding Torturers' of a hill on Tuesday.
in power. something he did not wish to speak about.
There were about 20 people on the A PECULIAR sight met the Right Honourable Tony Benn as he approached Newsham Junior School in Boaler Street, Liverpool, The cabinet minister had arrived to speak on behalf of Labour candidate Bob Wareing in the Edge Hill by-election campaign.
He had come to tell of Labour's 'achievements' after five years But the sight that met Benn was concerned striking ambulance workers. has turned out to be "socialist' policies.
Whenever, wild rumour swept the Liverpool left that his election address was going to be written by the lent inchned genera management committee of Edge Hill's constituency party. A rumour is all it The election address is a Transport House production from London and contains none of Wareing's alleged at Wareing's press conferences, the candidate begins to
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standards of political behaviour the Edge Hill constituency of Liverpool should be a rock solid Labour seat. An overwhelmingly working class area, a classic example of inner city decay, a safe Labour constituency for years.