psep Socialist Challenge, PO Box 50, London NI.
ist Challenge Ken Livingstone Hall opens at 6.30pm with displays on women's movement; anti-nuclear struggle; Irish liberation struggle; struggle of youth; Polish crisis; El Salvador and Turkey Buffet available-with rolls, cakes, tea and coffee.
14 May 1981, Page 6 How L 'FAR LESS than was forecast' and a 'disappoin!ment for Labour'. ments after Labour's sweeping gains in the County Council elections last Thursday.
meter with unusual vehemence after midnight on BBC 1, insisted that the swing to Labour was only around 4 per cent in London, and 5 per cent in the rest of the country.
This ligure was course a fraud. based on a comparison with the 1974.
General Election, nor with the last County Council These were typical press comEven Robert Mackenzie, operating his swingoGreater. London seats contested. labour wow 50 gaining 21 from the Tories. In anybody elses lerms but those of the Tory press, this is what would normally be called a "landstice' Knight But the result in London was full of lessons. Labour didn 1 win such a crushing victory as might have heen expected hecause the Tories were able 1o strongly mobilise their vote in the suburban The ()T the Tories, waged aroun the slogan of Keep Lon don out of the Red, ind predicting a Marvist diclalorship if Labour won was certainly successful in the middle class vole.
This campaign was waged extreme viciousness by london's only evening the New Standard. The Stan dard in particular waged a below-the-bell campaign against Lambeth Council leader Ted Knight, who was defeaied in Norwood.
Soc Dem Knight suftered only from the Standard campaign, but also from the intervention of 'Social Democrat' right winger Stephen Haseler who by laking 3,000 of the voles. •mainly L.abour, Hour's GLC victory deprived Knight of vicLorY the Standard weighed in again the day afler the election with the astounThe meses oul: 'The l.efi out' gloating over Knight's defeat and predicting that right-winger Andrew Molntosh would be elected Labour leader of the GI.C.
Livingstone In fact, left-winger Ken Livingstone was elected decisively - 30 votes to 20 a few hours after the Siandard hit the streets. Livingstone himself gained a sweeping victory in Paddington, with a 12.4 per cent swing to defeal the Tories.
The . results revealed nation-wide class polarisation. The decisive proletarian areas swung to Labour. But in county shires the Tories were able 1o keep up their VOC Battles Now the scene is set for a battle royal between the Labour councis and the government. The Tories have been quick to suggest that Environment Minister will introduce legislation to prevent high spending by the county The only way to carry through the radical programme tare reduclions, house building and Mo promisod promised Hiciesos is lo organisc a massive campaign of national action against the ¡ ones. to rely on rell and rate increases will just set for Labour defeats. ple has its sights on this target area Manic Much of the rhetoric of Mrs Williams from the right wing of the colo toma nero-growts zero-growth 'Everything dealt ess hat manic reasonableness nounces that extremism of pushing or pulling a door to open it, but moderately persists in attempting slide into the wall to which it 's his Williams starts from the point that rapid or even steady economic growth is no longer possi ble. Old style politics wer about . PronusI: more: 'Now, however, the ver foundation of the debate is shattered'.
These changes are not temporary The crisis is not one of capitalism, sh‹ is particularly clear on this point, ог гашле of 'industrialism' itself'.
Governments, we are told, cannot bring back full employment or better social services. They have to explain how circumstances have changed and what are the new choices. This means less promises and more warnings.
Cosy The hinge concept which enables her to speak radical thoughts with no radical action is • that of "decentralisation'. This is a favoured code-word for the SDP. Horam and Owen use lt lo mean market forces Williams uses it as an •talking down expectations of what any government can do in dif manner totally ferent to that used by Tory ideologues.
But it is also a way of al middle class politics a when suggests that both big employers and big labour hinder us from finding institutional solutions to the present crisis.
The book contains few specific solutions to actual problems, but rather creates an ambience oi caring ; concern. If I were not afraid of appearing extremist and wasn't partial¡ly made merry by the cosy Christopher Robin nice- ness Williams would be tempted to call her a dishonest shit.
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