given the "lame duck" principte. I mesn the whole of GEC is profitable-they made a net prolit last yoar of Lo8m.and they could quite easily carry thu less protitable sections. The goveroment are, as far as we're concernod, Just giving a terte hancee to everybody lust to chop out people without any restimication agast chemn, so this is why we don't exgect any support from chem anyway -What sort of impact will the closure have ou Witham itself? Wel, we ve done soie studies or unemployment tigures, and we have, frei the DEP quoted a figure of 8.177 working peaple. It we are added to the dole queue, this would raise the total unemployment figure to 6.7%. However, If you take away the number of people who don't work in the town-the large commuter section and you add the people who commare into t he town, the wemployment figures woukdl rie to laoo wei aboro toc nadonat avcraso, and well above, in fact, the figure for Northern Ireland ...
-Which, of course, challenges the whole principle of the right to work in an area of your choice . Of course, of course. We've asked what is their idea of reasonable travelling distanoe. The DEP are very lax, taking no account of whether you ve got a caf or have to ase peblic transport, As far as the Company are concerned, they talked in terms of a factory at Wembley, which would mean travelling over 80 miles a day.
Peopie have moved into this town to live and work within • souple of miles. A mumher of people in this establishment bought houses cheaply which are subject to u resale clause of 5 years, The people have only been in them 2% to 3 yeats ut most, They are tied to these houses and they can cinly sell them hack at the price they paid for them, in which case they 'il be substantially out of pocket.
On top of that, the lose of baying power in the town would be substantial We did in fact put a circular round to the shop-keepers during the demonstration, explaining the Ibss of purchasne power, and the tact that it's no cood lod Them to be too smug, coe they 'Il lose out anyway —What solution do you see both for Witham it particular and Britain as a whole?
As far as Witham is concerned, we would like to see more industry moving into the town. We have a fast-expanding quite whete people ure going io work we don 1 know Welo maintalned that people corning into the town swells the unemployment quese and thes the lower it One company, for instance, have brought in peaple from London who came to jobs which aren't all that they're cracked un to be. They te foroed to ehnoue obs or co en the dole queue, and the more times you do chat, the bigger the pool the employers have to cill upon, which, in-ruzn. keops the wages down and creates a climate of induscrial quet. What in fact we'd like to see is a planned expansion of Wed alse Like Lo see some larger fiems coming into the town, both from the fact that they can afford to pay higher wage rates, and of course, they will have the resources to withstand any Tinancisl troghle they get into.
-The moving-in of large firms to the area depends, o purse, on the national situation; and generilly, on the fact that larger employers are laying-off thousands of This is certaialy true. It's one ching to bring lorger employers. into the uren, but you te got to change the political climate - What about the genteral tendency of British cupital to try to reduse tbe labour force and make industry more capital This is quite trae. GEC, in fact, uncressed their profit last year, yet the labour lorce went down. This has happened in suecessive yoars. Gone are the times when a compaty would use its own capital to support itself when it hit hard times. and give security to its employces. The emplasis now is sEmply ou capital profitability, perting as atuch as they car for as little as they have to fork aut for it.
-Are your proposals in conflict with this Tory governmer ind the last Labour overment Quale Irankly, we te somewhat dismaved by the similarity ot policies. A change of government, in feet, seers of no real consequence. The country sems to be run not so much on pobecal Enes as on ecanomic lines. Money falks, I'm afruid ... Every Lime a goverament goos into town, out come the coononuc "whicekids". Even if a goverment does go in with wondertul ideals they are very snon curtsiled.. With the Iwo major parties wo've got now, I don't see mach Chance ol changue tbe brescot situation.
Interviewer: Jonathan Silberman