When we left Preston on Monday 9 May the reception was fantastic. Workers from three factories on strike lined the road. It was a solid crush of blue overalls, smiles, cheers and applause.
What a chance for the march and we missed it. No speeches. No rally. No mixing with the crowds. Instead we hit the road for the open ACTiON the car with the loudspeaker was stopped from saying: 'Since the Tories came into office unemployment has grown by 2½ million. ' Instead it was told to just say 'the present government' and cut out any reference to the Tories.
But you can't keep olitics off the march. More ana more sugal. were raised as the Liverpool and Glasgow con tingents joined us in EcThen as we marched into Manchester city centre the shouts: "Tories Out' and the song 'Solidarity for ever' echoed through the don't trust that bunch to sort it out for us. We have to break out of the straitjacket of apolitical moral gestures on the streets combined with hollow electioneering at rallies We have to be part of a mass active campaign for a Labour victory. This means the march has to reach out to the factories, the shop stewards committees, the unemployed centres, the youth clubs and to strikes and disputes. It must mobilise them all behind the 5 June demonstration so that it can be a giganABRA voles