'CYNICAL beyond belief' was the absolutely accurate response of the charity Youthaid to the Kinnock leadership's latest slap in the face for young people.
Sawyer's promises of a 'vibrant youth movement' Red Wedge and designer socialism, was revealed when Labour said it could not pledge even to restore the £100 million Thatcher is cutting from the unemployment benetit of people under 25.
Labour's response put the party to the right of the Liberals on this issue. These cuts — to be fully in force by 1 April 1988 — will mean a flat deduction of £6.60 weekly from young people claiming supplementary benefit. They are part of the provisions of the Social Security Bill passed earlier this year and vigorously denounced by Labour in debate.
On Tuesday, only two days prior to this statement by Labour, Gordon Brown, Labour Party regional affairs spokesperson, denounced the new 'available for work' tests already being sneaked into the DHSS. Aiming at cutting the dole figures by 200,000 in less than a year without creating a single job, new questionaires will use trick questions to ensure the highest number of unemployed people possible are deemed undeserving of supplementary benefit.
Conditions which mean benefits can be denied to newly unemploved people new provisions - include being unwilling to travel long distances just to look for work, 'restricting' the type of work you want, having dependants such as children,and being unable to make immediate alternative arrancements or not wanting to work unsociable hours. The result in a pilot study was that 361 people were denied claims, compared to 32 in of-. fices not using these questions. conditions will hit those in the weakest financial position hardest — ruled 'unavailable for work, or young people with little training or higher expectations than Thatcher thinks reasonable who will be 'restricting' Both of these savage attacks on the unemployed, especially youth, handed Labour the task of taking the offensive against the Tories by mounting a campaign against benefit cuts and for full employment, training or higher education provisions for young people. Labour had yet another opportunity to identify itself with the interests of millions of young people against the Tory government and to win the support of those 6.2 million voters who will be under 25 in 1987. Instead Labour lined up with the Tory attacks by refusing to back its House of Commons bluster with any committment to action. benefits no wonder youth who demand training and full employment have been called "impossibilist' by Kinnock — during his 'Labour Listens to Youth' tour no less! The Labour leadership's refusal to campaign for the jobs and training young people want, Kinnock's insult of 'impossibilism', Red Wedge-ism, and the clamp down on an independent youth section are parts of a consistent policy. It's one of never mind the politics, turn up the music and bring in the bright lights and we'll get the youth vote. It is a policy which will have disastrous policies youm will araw exacuy une same conclusion as Youthaid, that Labour 'want their votes, but they are not prepared to offer anything in return'.
The first step in reversing this course is for all sections of the Labour Party to oppose the attacks on the LPYS that were voted at this year's Labour Party conference and allow youth their own indepenYouth and Ireland day school Birmingham University 8 November at 11am Speakers include:
Sinn Fein, NOLS, NUR, Union of Students in Ireland, Labour Party Biack Section, Women Against Pit Closures, LCI and LWI.
The grim reality behind who come under these Without doubt these women with children who will be BRENT COUNCIL is under attack from all sides. Its