•• SOUTH LONDON anti-racists, mobilised by the huge 44 per cent vote for fascist candidates in ine Depurora focdi Dy election, nave taken up incicences or stone throwing aimed at Asian workers at the United Glass Factory in the area. Mass leafleting of local railway stations has been followed up by a lobby of the General Manacement Committee of the local Labour Party.
Success came with the passing of a motion pledging the party to campaign against racism. It is the responsibility of militants involved in the campaign both inside and outside the Labour rary to nont for is imprementation.
•• SO THAMPTON could be me venue for the National Front's conference in September, according to information obtained by a local branch of the National Union of Public Employees. This would appear to confirm a report given to the June meeting of Southampton Trades Council, which was told that the NF had asked the rory counci for permission to hold a rally in the City Guildhall. The meeting decided to notify its opposition to any NF meeting in the city to the council.
At the next meeting of the two local trades councils, Southampton and Totton, NUPE delegates will demand that the labour movement puts its action where its words are and mount a picket of the hall if the Tories allow the NF to hold its conference in Southampton.
•• SOUTHALL saw a 1,000-strong demonstration last Saturday organised by the International Socialists and supported by the Southall. Youth Movement which marched to the place where Gurdip Chaggar was murdered for the ceremonial burning of Robert Relf's famous racist sign. unis was an opportunity, as sonn Rose of the IS correctly pointed out, for gaining wide publicity. The question was, though, publicity for what?
IS see the alternative to Labour as IS, so any objective needs of the class struggle are subordinated to gaining publicity for themselves. Nor was there any attempt to aid the process of political claritication wice nas becun in ne SYM. IS's slogans of 'Enoch Powell, bastard' and 'Disembowel Enoch Powell, Smash the National Front' may be popular, but they avoid the political Tasks controntine revolutionaries.
in contrast to me demonstration was the 100-strong meeting organised by the IMG the night before, with Tariq Ali speaking.
Besides re-iterating the reasons and need for black self-defence, Tariq also pointed out that one important focus for anti-racist campaigns are elections.
The National Front are now threatening to stand 318 candidates in the next general election and so gain equal T.V.
time with the main parties. One of the suggestions made at the meeting •• CAMDEN trades Council nas deciared its total and absolute opposition to racism - and at its meeting on 20 July it adopted a fighting policy capable of meeting the racist offensive head-on.
It applauded those sections of black workers who have set up defence squads, *considering this 'an essential weapon to drive fascism off the streets'. The meeting decided * to campaign against racialism and support anti-racialist and ant ascis to set up in cooperation with local community groups defence committees to guard against racial assaults;
*to alert the local labour movement to the particular problems of discrimination and unemployment facing black WOrKerS *to campaign for the abolition of all immigration controls.
Communist Party supporters wanted to amend the resolution or take it in parts, but this was not allowed. Sid Gregory from the Post Office Engineering Union argued that 'every country has the right to decide [about immigration controls]. Under socialism we miant want to KeeD Tascists Out •.... Are we going to establish vigilante groups? This is treading on dangerous grounds."
But as an Asian delegate pointed out in reference to immigration controls: "A lot of words are said about internationalism, let's see some."
TOBI Burning Relf's sign in Southall last Saturday was the standing of class struggle candidates in the local elections, opposing racism and putting forward Photo: LAURENCE SPARHAMUFL)