THE SPECTRE of inner-city revolts returned to Handsworth, Birmingham, let the world know that Thatcher's Britain still offered them no future.
In a night of revolts in the Lozells Road area of the city they fought street battles with the police, erected barricades, sacked shops and banks, nurned •ComicCid premises The catalyst for this, ad. the cording 'official sources', was 'minor'. row between a policeman ticket issued for illegal parking and no displayed tax disc.
But every other party police brutality.
CILCS Eyewitnesses state that when black criticised police handling SuIC was knocked to the ground and kicked by one of the police involved.
This was just one provocation too many. Within two hours hundreds of 0.2101 gathered at the scene. disused bingo hall was set on fire.
Firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze were mel with Stores police reinforcements were Forced down Lozells Road, youth turned their anger on the commercial buildings lining it overturned cars to restrict police pursuit.
By the morning the area was reminiscent Belfast. Thick smoke colgulled buildings, glass and bricks covered the there millions of pounds worth of damage.
the aftermath of these CYCHILS politicians alike have rushed to offer explanations Tor what occurree and to reassure property-owners CHICCUNC DIOLCCHIOR. Afro-Caribbean youth are being targetted arcady with references to drug *barbarous criminality, and claims of pusners animosity between them and the Asian community.
Keterences to the "volatile racial mix' of the area begin to suggest that intger-racial conflict is inevitable. In reality all sections of the community thatg Afro-Caribbean, Asian, were involved in many incidents. Far from divided, they Denne united by mounting unemployment and growing deprivation in SUIC city's inner area.
An eyewitness report from Mick Archer Lozells Road divides the Birmingham wards of Handsworth Aston, which in January of this year had 30.4 percent and 40.3 per cent unemployrespectively.
Amongst the figures are far worse, with many nack youngsters never having had a job.
That, HOOTE ally 'minor' incident, lies at the root of these events.
But this indefinite gravated by the deepening poverty of many of these areas. According to the city council itself 49 per cent of its *core areas, populated by 270,000 people, is in the most deprived two and a half percent oi England and Wales.
It is these problems that 3LaDOU have to provide answers the first response local MP Jeff Rooker rocked many black voters.
He went on breakfast TV to describe the events. of Monday as 'a barbarous act of criminality, and to aclena une neavy poncing of the area ask for more of it This type of response is a disgrace to the labour movement.
Black people require not more racist policing, movement which attacks institutional the ponce harassment of black But in a direci PAGE SEVEN sense, Rooker's a response is also against the most immediate interests of the defence of THe aboul movement as a whole The enormous scale of the deployment of riot police techniques munities Brixton Handsworth during year of the miners showed one thing clearly: the labour movement ignores the repression of black people at its own peril.
Instead of joining in the hysteria of the press and the Tories, the labour movement must come to the defence of the youth of against the vilification and repression they are now confronted with. Only when the labour movement has the courage stand against such campaigns. and show that it stands the black munities against racism, will it be able not only to build an alliance with the black communities of Britain but also to defend itself.
Clare Short, MP for 1C 21008H 2 Ladywood, told Socialist Action: This time police pressure seems to have been the spark, but the tinder is unemploy ment, racism, tackle those issues then we will see this again further tragic losso is the "barbarous criminality' of this govern ment's policies that needs tackled, and al labour politicians should remember that.
ACTiON SociAlist LAST WEEK's TUC revealed a fundamenSocialist Action 13 September 1985 THIS YEAR'S TUC congress was one dominated by its extremes. It was clearer
----- pull-quotes -----
Britain's streets this week. Four years after rioting' swept areas like Brixton and Toxteth, the youth of
Evening News NIGHT OF VIOLENCE