Manchester Labour Party has this week provided a timely example of how the British Labour movement can aid the Irish fight for democracy, MARTIN COLLINS reports. in two events hailed by the emigré newspaper the Irish Post as a breakthrough for 'out of London cities, the City Council decided to identify the Irish in Manchester as an ethnic minority discrimination; then a City Labour Party delegate educational ference came out overwheimingly in favour of British withdrawal, Labour Committee on Ireland and adopting a series of practical measures to boost the withdrawal campaign.
The significance of the 'ethnic minority" decision will be seen in practice. Once racism is identified not principally as resulting from the colour of people's skins, but as a product of coloniai rule, then more practical work can be done to combat it.
For it is not simply a matter of trying to persuade people to live together in harmony, but also to bring an awareness to the population as a whole how discrimination has come about and attacking its material roots.
The GLC discovered much about the extent of anti-Irish discrimination in housing, jobs, health and education which had previously been hidden. It showed how repressive legislation like the PTA silenced the Irish community and break up its community organisation. It pointed to the division of Ireland and occupation of the Six Counties and attendant 'troubles' as an aggravating source of anti-irish racism. must involve the reclamation of irish culture and language, and the identification with the fight for democracy and freedom in that country.
Such loyes were held chambers on 6 July, Concerned that the Labour group's only response to a Tory resolution condemning the Brighton bombing had been to praise the fire fighters and emergency services and warn that under the Tories they would be cut back still further the Labour Party decided a firm policy was needed.
They circulated along statements, an essay by record on Ireland, a statement by advocating drafted by Tony Benn showing legislatively how it might be accomplished.
150 delegates heard Bernadette McAliskey explain how people in Ireland experienced British oc. cupation and point out how the miner's strike had shown the longer Britain remains in Ireland, the more repression first ased in Ireland would be practiced against its own working class. Michael O'Reilly a representative of the Trade Unionists for Irish Unity and Independence and an anticoalition executive member of the irish Labour Party explained how Irish working class and that the fight for socialism was tied up with scrapping it.
After workshops WalCu 'perceptions of Labour's front hench spokesperson on Ireland, Stuart Bell to present the official line. For the LCI Ken Livingstone argued strongly for withdrawal. He said that a future Labour government would be forced to use repressive methods if it tried to maintain direct rule. Having thought through the problem of Ireland in more detail than anything apart from local government, Livingstone said that he had come to the conclusion that withdrawal would have to take place not 'within the life- time of the next Labour Government', but within the first couple of days of office.
As the presented their thoughts on what Labour's policies should be, one after the other argued that present policy of 'unity by consent' was inadequate.
It failed to deal with the lovalist veto which past Labour governments had to bow down to, allowing a minority of Irish people to block the democractic right of the majority to decide how they wanted live. measures were put forward to combat the use of the PTA, to promote Irish organisation, to campaign on Labour's policy against strip searching, plastic bullets and no-jury Diplock courts. Delegations, visits and exchanges were advocated as part of a process of clarifying the Irish point of view and building awareness.
With the Labour leadership pledging 1986 as the year we get our Irish policy sorted out, the Manchester decisions are a model for .how.tD.ensure that the conclusions of such discussion gdope. immediate, unconditional withdrawal as the only way to guarantee the right of the Irish people to decide their own future.
accordingly against policy-making conaffiliation to the Ine sell-idenurication of the Irish supported by a delegate in the Council with Labour Policy Geoff Bell on Labour's Irish withdrawal a Bill partition had divided the looked at British it was the turn of more than 30 workshop sub-groups Practical campaigning