It is this social layer which the Alliance is directly appealing to, and on that basis seeking to build up its support among broader layers of women. It is taking advantage among women away from the which has completely failed to updale Its strategy on women and is still stuck in the mould of appealing to the housewife' rather unal WULACE. The Tory party manifesto had made some adiustments in poncy lo lake alcount of the female child benefit directly to the woman, rather than shifting it to the husband's wage packel which was their previous proposal - a policy shift initiated by the -vative's own However it offers no other policy although it has sent Edwina Currie and Emma Nicholson on a speaking tour of groups of female 'yuppies', or 'high flyers' in Tory terminology. Hidebound The Tories may be feeling the same pressure as the Alliance, but they appear incapable of making the kind of shift in policy that would allow them to retain their old unrivalled dominance of women's votes It looks likely that the shift of women's votes away from the Tories is set to continue through this General On the of the shift its upto promotion of key personalities.
to the Labour leadership, WUlllai. mediately brings Womens Organisation. vole. It relals a The paid NEC in the women's section -Betty Boothroyd because they Conserorganisation.
specific points or view women, limited support vi callsallull.
unle Women like Bellos, leadership. The This hand strategists are clearly mesmerised by the efficient manipulation of the media by the Alliance, and would like to imitate female However there is a proviso. the women have to be acceptable their which imup against policies and positions of the Labour women elected to the Labour - currently women like Gwyneth Dunwoody and al t not there sense regresca! dicated women. They represent the right wing, Electorally they are a liability from all The women ine party leadership would like to promote, like Joan Ruddock and Harriet Harman, have no position in the party, and only the and even this support would crumble if they were imposed as Diane Abbott, Linda Joan Mavnard. Ann Pettitor. Audrey Wise, who have a broad base of support in the women's organisation, are totally unacceptable to the party result that the Labour leadership has both made the decision to promote women and then failed to do it in a way that would really contradiction runs through • ruled out bv the commitment to increased conventional arms spending and an assault on capital to raise the finance is totally excluaca So minimum wage policy stays in, given no priority, and a large section of the working class thinks Labour will introduce an incomes policy that will cut Instead of having tremendously attractive policy Labour wakes risks losing out.
Comprehensive
Finally, the increased impact women on all political parties by the that all manifestos contain a commitment to full scale breast and cervical cancer screening. , However only Labour has a comprehensive health policy. Its proposals for women's health this time have a clear source of funding - by cutting out public subsidies to private health care.
should vote Labour also has the only policies which even begin to address the needs of the great majority of women. But until the Labour Party puts forward a clear and comprehensive policy based women organised within the labour movement, and which does not depend on playing one section of the working class off against the other - then there is a real danger that the Alliance will: reap the rewards of women's revolt against the Tory party.
Socialist Action 29 May 1987