DESPITE overall defeat in the general black people • Tee four black MPs elected is a momenous sicp forward for them The first responsibility of black MPs is to our constituencies, provide a service to represent the needs of all our constituents whatever their colBut over and above OLI. that, inevitably, we Will have a responsibility to black people nationally. Whether we like it or not we will be a focus for black. people.
The opposition ran a racist campaign against us. It IS urusual feature your opponents in literature to publicise them But Hackney North the SDP even put out a leaflet with a picture of me on it. that es used the theme that was dangerous CuCus. Their election address carned a simple message: we De the artebil an ep Diane Abbott out parlament.
They made no bones COL L a onc icve lil Tories were talking about CALICIINI but U1 another level it was about I was supposed to hate whites, to be anti-Semitic, to be anti-Royalist The opposi1uc1101 tion blatently used the race card against black candidates. it i had nasty Bernie Grant had an even worse Despite the proDisanda, Abbotte Bernie Grant, Diane Boateng Keith Vaz were elected for Labour.
The: last black candidate wio lat witha Serious chance of winning David Pitt Clapham. He lost the seat, make it a lot easier to black candidates to be selected and win seats next time round.
Overall, fought a good, profes. sional campaign. But it cưne cn oo be Too much time was spent betore the the left in the did Dal Ly.
And we failed to convince people that had economic policies, distinct from those of the SDP, that could actually deliver the things we promised.
There is no doubt that Mrs Thatcher ilas victory on the level of ideas. She had been able to promote individual comthe DCLILIVCHCSS market over the collective values that Labour stands for The criticism of the London ettect. Hacery the press by right wingers in the labour Paralike, is quite wrong. The differences aeR u geographical. The fact is that in the Labour Party the differences on this are between right and left.
I hope that the black MPs will work close'v with their local Black Sections we al have them - and with Black Section nationally and black campaigns nationally, always remembering of course that our obligations to our constituents have to come first.
I hope that the black MPs will be able to work closely with the left of the DalILV But there are some unresolved questions on the left as to the exact rela. tionship between race and Hopefully the black MPs will be able to belp the left resolve them. Having black MPs taking part in the left at the parliamentary level, as at other levels, can only strengthen the left. seats, leaving only 10 Conservative MPs government in Scotland.
Labour achieved 42.39 per cent of the votes cast -an increase trom 34 per cent in 1983. In some seats, the swilg lo CaDOUI Was high as 13 per cent. The average swing was 7.32 per cent.
The Conservatives won only 19 per cent of all Scottish votes cast. Despite the of SaCICI tionally, some pleasure was felt as Tory heads rolled in Scotland.
Michael Ancram lost his seat in Edinburgh South with a swing to Alistair Darling showing a clear rejection of Ancram's introduction of the poll tax plan in Scotland. John CorAeX Fletcher. ANS d McCurley, John Mackay, all went. A total of 11 Tories lost their seats.
The Conservative Party in Scotland now have the lowest number of Scottish Never. a.ves anOnS those who held on, there We.le SOlC sc Shaves Defence secretary George Younger had his 8000 majority in Ayr slashed to 182.
Labour was clearly seen only party which astte could advance a national solution to the attacks that nave been Diact against Scottish people over The C CEL cals SNP, which had conducted its campaign on the basis of a Tory victory and by putting itself forward as the party of Scottish government, did not significantly alter ils posiion Dundee East roduce i disastrous result for th LAST THURSDAY, 11 June, saw the Tories decisively thrown out of Scotland. Labour won 50 of the 72 - not even enough to staff the Scottish office and the necessary government committees. There is even talk of bringing in Teddy Taylor from Southend to serve for the Tory SNP. John McAllion ousted the SNF chairperson, Gordon Wiree SNP member otes. Wilson, 5000 votes. been returned to Westminster from the more rural constituencies.
The SDP-Libera] Alliance completely failed to achieve the victories it anticipated. David Steel sav his own majority reduced by over 2000. and in othe central city seats opposition votes ensured aDous return.
The Alliance did better n sone or laer a comsuı tuencies. Its only successful wullall candidate in ScotRae Michie, took Argylle and Bute from the Conservatives. The Alliance achieved 15 per cent of GOLSE VOLe CAL witi al average swing away from them of 6 per cent.
The results for were in the cities industrial areas. In Strathclyde, the largest local authority in Britain since the abolition of the GLC won the highest number of votes cast across Britain: 53.3 per cent.
For the first time in Glasgow's 10 MPs are all Labour, with Georg ILSEVI Galloway taking Hillhead from Roy Jenkins, and Sam Galbraith taking Strathkelvin and Bearsden from Micheal Hirst. quarter of a million votes were cast, for Labour in Glasgow alone, in a turnout of 74.3 per cent, which was . 3 per cent up on 1983.
Pressure has monted rapidly since 11 June for a Ccar Labou ICS DOlSC the results. Many of the Labour MPs immediately called on Thatcher to recognise she had no mandate Scotland. Helen Liddell, chair of the Scottish Labour Party, speaking as the results came in, said we Will oroviae emrecuve opposition that's been shown by this massive vote of confidence'. nothing, the SNP will take LOC Cd0 undoubtedly has the responsiblitv and the mandate to take the inItlative LUW. The whole question of Assembly is centrally back on the agenda in Scotland So is the need for organised resistance the the whole labour movement, to any further job losses.
Bae tew temaueOds in the Scottish coalfields will fairly UnucI Hil' mediate threat, , as will the steel industry at Ravenscraig Opposition to the poll tax at every level is also likelv. But the labour move ment must take resporiSO lL tor this WILU the Labour Party leading it.
All-party can valeus will not strengthen hand indeed they have been rejected by the Scottish working people in the votes cast last week The Labour Party can lead this opposition - at a Scottish level, and at a local seve..
Lead Labour's campaign was well fought in Scotland. All those activists can organised to continue the resistance to Tory rule.
But whilst vote increased in Scotiand, it is interesting to note that, alc ver Cer l undt reach the 55 per cent level recorded at polnts • during the miners strike. The maximum possible Labour supwas acac cel Ther is room for complacency One critical weakness in CaliDaizi Scotland was agreed to be the under-representation of women. Only three women out of 72 candidates were contesting seats for Labour:
Kate Phillips (Dumfries). voTad Morrel (Gordon), and Maria Fyfe (Glasgow Maryhill). Only Maria Fyfe ; likely to win, which she Was did, increasing the majority to 19,364 by a swing of 11.4 per cent to Labour.
Every other party in Scotland had better women IlCelilallull Liberals stood 8 women among candidates; the Tories filded 11.
The Labour Party undoubtedly tailed to make real its policies on women Ministry Women in its campaign in Scotland. In fact only 11 women were even shortlisted for Scottish seats This in no way reflects the levèl of activity of women in the Scottish labour movement. Nor does it develop TO 8 potential suppori amongst_ women in •COl land for Labour.
This election has seen the complete decline of the Communist Scotland. It was only able to resource the standing of 10 candidates, every one lost their deposit. The highest number of votes polled for a CP candidate was in Dundee with 308 The Green Party has issued a press statement. saying that it now considers itself to be the fifth politica force in Scotland. Certainl it achieved a better percentage vote than the ComHR must Cav Ems mac After the election, the situation in Scotland . clear.
Only Labour, and the labour movement, can lead an effective opposition to the Tories victory nationally — and the opposition in • Scotland has to be started immediately.