Labour Left Briefing

October 1997

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	John Edmonds was right	“Flexibility” is a word that should make us all “shiver”. It means a low-wage, casualised economy, permanent insecurity for workers of all kinds, management tyranny in the workplace, a threadbare, coercive welfare state, and ever increasing inequality.


	Welsh victory!	Ceri Evans, Joint Yes Campaign Co-ordinator for Cardiff West CLP
	Scotland: the big crunch is to come	Dave Smith from the Campaign for Socialism reviews the thumping victory for the Yes Yes campaign and takes a look at the new political landscape in Scotland
	New London — new bureaucracy	Ken Livingstone MP calls for a London authority with more democracy — and more power
	The sleep of reason breeds monsters	Mike Marqusee, Islington North CLP, argues that the response to Diana’s death represented a retreat from reason which re-enforced the centrality of the monarchy
	Beyond Republicanism	Chris Knight argues that Diana’s death exposed cracks in the monarchy which socialists ignore at their peril
	Lifelong learning — or debt?	Helen Grayshan, co-secretary of the Campaign for Free Education, questions New Labour’s proposals and the NUS’s response
	Worse than poverty stricken	Bob Spooner, Leeds NE CLP, marks the Government’s White Paper on education
	Welfare to Work: old wine in neo-liberal bottles	Peter Frankental, Hornsey and Wood Green CLP, examines the cornerstone of New Labour economics and finds it wanting


	PiP will not suppress the downtroddens’ voice	Alistair Ward interviewed Tony Benn MP about Partnership In Power (PiP) and its effect if passed
	Labour’s unethical arms dealing	Will McMahon, Campaign Against the Arms Trade, slams the Labour Government’s refusal to ban arms sales to members of the “genocidal hall of infamy”
	Labour Reform
	Partnership in Power - sleeping partners get screwed	Christine Shawcroft, Chair of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, puts PiPs proposals under the microscope.
	No carte blanche for Blair	Pete Firmin, Network of Socialist Campaign Groups' officer, argues that the adoption of PiP would be very difficult to reverse
	PiP the unions	Leonora Lloyd, Vice-President of London region MSF
	Voting for peace	Frank Allaun, President of Labour Action for Peace
	No to private finance for public transport	An RMT activist argues that benevolent capitalim is a myth
	Labour Party notebook
	In the church where God is money	The Alan Simpson Column. Alan Simpson is the Secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs


	Dockers' international strikes again	The Liverpool dockers have done it again! On 9th September, they stopped the world’s ports. Chris Knight (London Support Group for the Liverpool Dockers) gives some of the highlights.
	Social justice, jobs, a future	The Liverpool dockers shop stewards committee have recently issued a statement to Parliament demanding the reinstatement of the sacked dockers and calling on the Labour Government to intervene in the dispute. This is an abridged version of that statement.
	Drake International
	All for One	World Wide Dockers Action for Liverpool - New Video
	From euphoria to realism	Scottish TUC delegate Manuel Cortes
	Magnet workers fight on	Lynne Fawcett, Treasurer of the Magnet Women’s Support Group
	Indonesian union congress repressed
	Trade union notebook
	Leading with the left	The Geoff Martin Column


	Teamsters strike key victory	In August, 180,000 US workers won one of the most decisive victories for years paving the way for bolder worldwide initiatives against global attacks on workers’ wages and working conditions. Jane Barrett of TGWU ACTS 1/28 reports.
	No solution through exclusion	Michelle Gildernew, member of the Sinn Féin ard chomhairle (national executive), writes.
	Resisting neo-liberalism	Dinah Livingstone reports on the second Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity against Neo-liberalism
	Have a banana	The Michael Hindley Column, Labour's MEP for Lancashire South gives a global perspective


	Southall’s tradition of solidarity	LLB interviewed Suresh Grover, co-ordinator of the Southall Monitoring Group-Unity, which draws on eighteen years of experience combatting racism and is organising a march for unity and against communal divisions on 12th October
	Re-unite the Onibiyo family: bring Abdul and Ade home	John Stewart, treasurer of the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns


	Spinning out of control	Don Rocinante reviews Campaign 1997 by Nicholas Jones


	Your letters to LLB


	LLB apology, Progress Watch, Law and order, Spun out of control, Red Menace, Mystic Meg has nothing on LLB and Virtual peace process


	Any Other Business

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LLB is an independent voice and forum for socialist ideas in the Labour Party and trade unions. It is managed by an editorial board elected at its AGM. Both EBs and the AGM are open to all supporters. We are happy to offer a right of reply to all members of the labour movement and we welcome criticisms and contributions. All the articles in LLB reflect solely the opinions of the authors, writing in a personal capacity, unless otherwise stated.
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The copy deadline for the next issue is Monday 13th October 1997. If you wish to contribute please mail us, fax us or, ideally, send us a PC disk or email.

Editorial Board: Graham Bash, Pat Byrne, Tony Dale, Liz Davies, Steve Faulkner, Jenny Fisher, Bryn Griffiths, Chris Knight, Francis Koch-Krause, Leonora Lloyd (Co-Chair), Sue Lukes, Dorothy Macedo (Co-Chair), Mike Marqusee (Political Correspondent), Fiona Monkman, Mike Phipps, David Pope, Jon Rogers, Steve Smith, Alistair Ward (Editor).
Production Team: Graham Bash, Gary Drostle, Jenny Fisher, Megan Hyatt, Louise Kawakami, Dave Lewney, Leonora Lloyd, Dorothy Macedo, Mike Phipps, David Pope, Paula Smith, John Stewart, Alistair Ward. Web site editor: Chris Croome (chris@atomism.demon.co.uk).
Contact LLB at PO Box 2378,
London, E5 9QU.
Telephone: 0181-985 6597;
Email: llb@gn.apc.org;
Fax: 0181-985 6785.

23 September 1997 - thanks to Bruno for the animated flag - web site put together by Chris