DESPITE THREATS national executive, several constituency parties look likely to go ahead lion or.
perlismentary full partici tion Proi didate firmiy in the na (reprinted belos) points w up to the Labour Party decide whether or not shoutine themselves i the Cent south, a sate Labour seat, party has decided to short-list three ection activists - Sharon Atkin, Keith Vaz and Paul Boateng avilt who is retiring at the end of this But the purty is corrently selecting their candidate without the participation of the local black section.
One of the three candidates, Sharon Alkie, correctly poits solidarily with the black sections cam.
mign Is wore, important than one ar Your selection by Lewisham East as candidate hasn't been Dementar accepted as omical Dy Labour's national executive. Can you explain why that is, and what your own view of the Lewisham East's decision is?
In an effort to highlight the position of black sections and of black people in the Lasoul Lewisham decided to include its two black section delegates in the selection process. The NEC representatives told us that would be in breach of party rules. Nevertheless, at three successive general committees, the position was upheld.
The situation now is that because those two delegates were at the selection meeting and also because the local parly accepted a nomination from the black section, my candidature is not official. We've not received a communication to that However, reading the press — it's the only way we ever get to hear about what the NEC's doing — we gather they're likely to take a long view on the quetion, and seek to get a timetable for the selection of an official candidate for Lewisham East.
The black section has been a campaign I've been associated with for the • 6: 3 :! two black members of pr Said: One black MP la black prople, we are going to solve the lion as well as it into what Teny Ben organisation attemp the interests of the their allies by voice is given resi That beach people ute anone way 10 policies and its public black people's intereste ся t be just multi-t There the difficulty of Net scat for didates for parliament. That is a rea threat to what Russell Profitt calls the Knock and the institutionalised racism throughout the parly That is why black sections' the selection process has been blocked It is also why every single socialist in the Labour Party has the clementary duty Laurie to support defend the actions of the Party black section. means today supporting Russell Profitt and the correct stand of Lewisham Bast constituency. - Resolutions protests should flood the NEC und parly conferences.
CAROL, TURNER discussed with RUSSELL PROFIT, the Issue surrounding his selection.
East paper effect.
Russell Profitt question was discussed, we were winning votes by massive majorities: 37 in favour, 5 against — that's the type of votes we were winning.
What was also interesting was the Cent. She arliament is of right to black secLy because it is a ques.
amental relabour Party that The position is still delicate. tha within people are antong Where's on- within our community.
uring that the want a compromise?
rest of Labour's Not merely do black didate, we're satisfied with the cedures, that candidate.
Mrs are beating Thatcher. recism But the campaigning with its new candidate? is reflected few months.
01 Neil Kin- Zelle more jobs part in east.
more jobs wihin the constituency provements.
Labour Party in more contact tenants' and residents' care facilities, and so on.
precisely where anti-Thatcher socialism.
talking In those terms.
particularly the miners' dispute.
black people in the campaign?
La personal It became a became That whole process has energised the party and made it more determined to fight for equal opportunities issues in a more direct way than was ever the The party has put itself on the portant that The NEC could close down the party it they wished. They could block any attempt to bring about a change in Lewisham, and could also stoo us taking on Thatcher and the real challenges that exist Do you think the NEC is likely to go for that sort of confrontation, or would it Soundings from Walworth Road suggest they are trying to find a way of dealing with the issue. Our position is clear: we've got a parliamentary canproand we'll continue backing I don't know what the NEC's going to do about that, but that's the position the party. which this GC's taken. The overwhelming feeling is that the party's got to sort out those rules so we can get on with So, is Lewisham East going to start Yes. Three central issues in this constituency will be picked up over the next Firstly, the question of into the Employment has never been particularly bright in Lewisham, especially in the The party will be involved in a campaign to highlight the need for Secondly, we've got an ageing housing stock in East Lewisham. We need to demand that action is taken to improve housing and the management of nousing estates, and at the same time to explain the reasons why the Labour coun cil is being forced by a Tory government to cut back on the housing imThe third campaign we're going to wage is a community-based campaign to defeat the local member of parllament. The Tories have alienated so many groups with so many different ac tions they've taken over the last few years. I think it's quite important that we see a broad-based campaign emerging to defeat Thatcher, by getting the WILL associations, young people, people who need child Those are the three things we'll be working on, taking the issues to people constituency so tnev can see the stands. But in doing that we've got to prepare clear policies, we've got to project that a vote for Labour is not just an doing things It's a vote for It would help us tremendously if the leadership of the party actually started munity. simply clobbering local parties like East Lewisham and ducking a number of central questions that have been posed, Given that Lewisham East has chosen to fight for black sections' rights and has chosen a black candidate, is there going to be a particular emphasis on l'd emphasise that the Labour Party can't just be a multi-racial party, it's got to be an anti-racist party - the ditference being you've got to say it's imblack people define for themselves the features of the struggle that's taking place and are actively involved in overcoming the resistance to race equality which exists in this coun try. That means that through the campaign which has already begun we've got to bring more black people into the work of the Labour Party.
In talking about the number of groups who have lost out through the recognise that at the bottom of every economic and social pile you will find large groups of black people. In taking this stand it's very important we set out to work consciously and deliberately with black people in the constituency. The black section is involved in raising the issue within the party and at the same time raising the case for more activity to bring more black people into One's got to be realistic however, and recognise that the record of the Labour Party on the question of race and equal opportunity means it's very, very hard to convince many black peo- that ple that it really is worthwhile joining the party. That's the question we wil have to face in getting out on the streets and recruiting more people Instead of just talking about doing things for black people, as the Cail didate in East Lewisham I hope we'll be and that the whole party's profile on the race question will be much higher, placing that within the context of the economic and social forces which operate in the comWe've had situations in the past where there weren't black candidates in winnable seats or safe Labour seats. The party tended to duck the issue of race and immigration at election time - it rather hoped to sup in quietly That's not going to be my style.
I intend to be sure that whatever platforms we take include black people, whatever questions we raise have black perspective. There's no questio of us not being up-tront on this ar longer.
You mentioned the miners' strike as a example of the Labour leaderhsip n doing as much as it could. One of ti rather special things about the way A thur Scargill led the miners' strike wi the alliances he made with all sorts ‹ people. The strongest was with wome Dul inere was & siganical number • black groups who organised as blac people to support the miners. Are the any lessons in that for your own can paign?
Yes I'm certain there are lessons to l learned. The National Mineworkers has always been at tl forefront of struggles for trade unic rights in this country. It's always tak a sharp view. That has helped th union define who its supporters ar and at the same time to seek allianc with groups who are also on the fro line. So it's quite natural for the NU to make connections with women at black people.
The role of the miners' wives duri struggle also helped create alliance for women's rights generall There was a community of interes developing right throughout dispute.
With the full support of the trad unions and of the Labour Party could have seen an uprising of intere overcoming the Tory government at bringing them down. That wasn't t case. but it doesn't mean that all t connections made during that strugg need disappear During the miners' strike the fa that there are a number of black mine in this country emerged, particularly the Nottingham area. And they certai ly weren't the ones who were at wo during the strike A lot of black people could see th the struggle the miners were waging which was basically a struggle agair institutionalised power in this count was their struggle. And a lo mineworkers also found out that t way authority responds to challenges simmat in each case When previously they saw what w nappeming to me black community lu probably didn't make the connectio But through picketing and in their cor - the use of massive force overwhelm unionists th could see that this is a brutal state, centralistic society which uses whatev power it can to deny rights to disadva taged groups or those who are out change the fundamental orientation power within this country.
I think that lesson is not going to lost on this generation. And I certain none we can maintain the tinks a develop them for the future One of the few major British unio which backed black sections at par conference last year was the Nation Union of Mineworkers. That is an i dication of the understanding with that union of these sorts of question Let's develop what you're saying abo power relations. Tony Benn calls f the refounding of the Labour Party, which he means labour has got rebuild itself based on broader sectio working moveme than just organised labour - bla