Plod councils!
In Clay Cruss the councillors took Incir responsibilities to the working people who elected them (for the Labour Party burcaucrats, roo scriously). Clay Cross decided that it was not going to implement the provisions of the Housing and Finance Act no matter what pressares were broug ht to bear and it resisted right till the very CIU.
If Labour coancils up and down the country had followed thoir example, the Act would have been a dead letter and the Tories compelled to netreat from their onslaught on tenanis.
The Chay Cross council, apart from tefWATCO CATESIACEERLUUTEACAREaEaI other mcasuros in the same vein.
This council, in startline contrast to most Labour counciis, dishod out free milk to school-children, employed exminers or workers sucked after partictpating in strikes, distributed free TV sets to old-ave pensioners. and incrussed the money avallable for old people's wardens It regularly organised meetings where it discussed and defended its actions, and thus pained the support of the entire That is why the Labour party rightwing has been so hostile to the actions of the Clay Cross 11.
While not dating to launch a frontal baucon ie costel, tayironment зос retary Anthony Crosland has nonethelew acfused to lift the surcharges levied apainst the councillors.
Instead he has argued that the Labour Party and trade unions should launch a special fund drive, Why? Because if the example of the Clay Cross councillors caught on, it would seriously embarrass the Labour Government, and all those who are trying to make the workers pay lor capitalism's cnss Peler Heathtield, the Derbyshire Arca secretary of the NUM, lold Red Weckty:
T am extremely concerned at this hackpeddling by the Labour Government. They are openly Routing the decision taken by the 1973 Labour Party conference. Are they now saying that the Hous ug ruane net saowa tare bocn aoocp l ed hy the Labour Government?
Former Clay Crass councillor David Skinner has appealed to constituency Labour Parties and trade unions net to Pura spo pony saro be cotrcrcs sy The tighr over Clay Cross is not over, and further explosions can be expected al the Labour Party conference in a few SINCE FEBRUARY the Labour Government has forked out abouted £850million to try to an increase in homelessness there were over 15,000 homeless families in London last year, a third more than the ycar previous - private housebuilding is at its all-rime low for the past 10 years.
This is because it is not housing need that decides whether the property boys are going to build or not. but profitability. As recent figures show, profits in the building industry have been falling off, and it this which explains the total fatlure of the industry to meet the country's housing needs London Brick Company's profits fell from E5.6 million in the fiest half of last year to El million in the same half of this year, British Land made a loss of E398,000; Stock Conversion and Investment Trust's profits were down from [1,784,000 net to L1,289,000;
Wimpey's cut down their house building by 25 per cent on last year's total, and increased their profit by investing their cash elsewhere, BRIBING PARASITES This makes clear the neanung of Labour sioan of t500 million to the building societies and E350 million grant to local authorities to stimulate more building. It amounts to little more than using the taxpayems" money to bribe these anti-social parasites of the private building industry to increase their output!
The homeless aren't the only ones to suffer from these cutbacks by the building tycoons, Building workers now expect unemploy ment in the industry to go up to 100,000 this winter.
The solution is not to hand out more cash to these moncybags, but is to be found in the opposito diroction, The building industry must be taken out of private hands (and let's not talk about compensation years of protit making is more than enough compensation), and placed under the control of the working class All new building should be planned by the organisations of working people themselves have the most to gain hy abolishing homelessness and uncmployment. That's the way to set about solving the housing crisis, RENTS Labour's "freeze" on rents is also totally inadeguate for the big job that noeds doing on the housing problem. This "trecze" comes atter a period during which rents rose even fuster than other elements in the cont of living. Rent reduction are needed. never mind a "froeze' But how cae rents be redueed to a level that work ing people can afford when even a temporary rent "freeze" has landlords closing down their rented property and selling to more dalously high in some areas - E30 Camden) be brought down, when this sum hardly covers the interest to build the dwelting?
land speculation*.
white paper Land makes clear, the differently.
Basically, Lahour's scheme
is to have local councils buying up land that the present owners want to seil at 'existing use value' (Le. not what it might be worth if plans for development - building offices or homes on it allowed for).
The councils would then sell this land to the developers at marker laize.
The Labour proposals would thus close the door to the private property racketeer, only to open it apain to the capitalist state.
will continue to pay rents based on those prices. Home buyers will also land on which their house has been built.
that the profits made by the stateall 'public' economic operations of che capitalist state, this one will be used to subsidise the capitalists. The people who FINANCE HOUSES mortgage companies, and building building in a stranglehold.
high is because of the enormous amounts ol intercat that are exacted available for building alions, so that their acumulated wealth can be put to good uso.
How can council rents (now scanweekly for four bedrooms in 'caring' hospitals, PARLIAMENT on the money the council borrowed Labour's clection manifesto promised to nationalise development land and end 'the expensive disgrace of But, as the recent Government Zlem. fine print in this pledge reads rather collaborate with it are appear lo be.
Land will continue to change hands at market prices, and tenants have to pay the market price for the Nor is there any reason to believe Apart from the expropriation of all rented housing, together with land needed for devclopment, the working class will have to turn its attention to the financial institutions. The banks.
sucicties hold both private and council One of the reasons that rent is so by the finance houses on capital made These institutions must be brought under the control of workers orgunisworking people, according to a democratically decided plan, in essential building such as housing, schools and How can such sweeping and necessary measures be carried through? The nature of those measures that tation by the state machine already give some indication of the uselessness of depending on Parliament and the state apparatus to solve the probThese bodies were created by capitalism in order to protect private property. To solve its housing problems the working class has to attack private property and privilege, not No wonder, taen, that the Labour measures described above, such as Labour's ciaim to be taking develop anent iand into public ownerhip. are not at all what they may at first So what is the purpose of Labour's proposalsy In part, of course, they reflect the impact inside the Labour Party of the struggle against the cities Tories" Housing Finance Act-parcicularly around Clay Cross as well as a host of local housing struggles in Britain's decaying cities.
But their main signaficance is as part of Labour's answer to the growing militancy of recent years-the In an effort to dampen down wages milicancy, and so rake the beat off the capitalist class, the Labnur leader have been forced to amnmise a wide variety of social retorms relating to housing, education, the health service, equal opportunities for women, and so on-in retum for "voluntary' wage restraint This has some short-term advantages tor them. It enables them, instance, to portray those striking for pay increases as selfish and greedy-"We are fighting for socialism, but all you want is more mon But in the longer term it can only backfire in their faces. This emphas is on the 'social" side of the contract will tend to open up a debate on such questions in the broad ranks of the labour mosement. And the utter inadequacy of the Labour Governments proposais here make it possible to begin very quickly the fight for an alternative programome.
EVICTIONS
The way ahead lies in developing those struggles that workers themselves have siready begun to take up -tor instance, the struggle against all evictions, such as those being planned by the Labour-controlled Greater London Council agrinst 250 squattens and tenants in Maida Hill.
If successful, these evictions will involve the wanton destructions of dwellings and ofher amenities to make way for 'redevelopment" schemes witich have never been discussed or agreed to by the local working class or lenants This also means taking up vigorously the detence of those attacked by the property speculators, such as the Islington tenants who lave been hauled before the courts for picketing the premises of estate agents Prebble & Co. And it must inciude solidarity with homeless people and students who occupy for their own use, good houses left shamefully empty in all our major Some trade union members are already beginning to associate themselves with tenants and squattors. Recently. local firemen refused to collaborate with the police in an eviction in Camden 1own, London However there is much campaigning and organising to be done before there will be sufficient unity and agreement on the necessary measures nut, forward in this urticle
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ISS UDU NOT THE ACT
'stimulate' more housebuilding. It certainly needs it! Despite
turried-speculator will accruc to the benefit of the working class. Like
the Labour Government is able to legislate in Parlament for implemen-