in Well, I think what we're having to grapple with is one of the party's major ponucal weaknesses the restoration of the strength of the political/industrial wing of the movement is not a small task.
What we are faced with is a party that is deeply divided in terms of its inonly dustrial and political wings. that division comes up, surfaces, in the women's organisation. Because of that division it really hasn't been possible for women who are active within the political wing to talk municate with women active within the trade union wing edition the party and have to be members of Both sides have to be members of with the trade great gulf between those two wings. We are very firmly committed to bridging the gulf.
We think it is a political healing that the party needs. But also it is a strength that women need if they are going to of their interests. women in the constituencies will not win very much unless they have the organised power of trade union women alongside them, terests in terms of childcare, in terms of jobs, in terms of equal pay and so on Equally we think that trade union women need the political support of the constituency women in the party. So our first committment is to bridging a comfor- gulf that is in our view artificial and beWing imposed upon us by long years of well to right-wing domination of the party.
A lot of fighting for similar things. Every year the same kind of demands are put forward at the things as simple as rotating the chair. Do you think there is anyway of linking that up with the demands of WAC? Our problem with the Women's TUC is actually a major political and organisato and comBut there is still a Because advancing their intional the Line NUl, NALGO, women in the unions are TUC. Ever But, problem. Because unions in which women predominate are on the whole unions that are not affiliated to unions represented at the Women's TUC, like NUJ, SCPS, CPSA and which are unions in which women form the large proportion of the membership, are unions which are not affiliated to the party. So we have to overcome that gulf as well.
yes, certainly the TUC women's movement and Labour Party women can support each other and advance their demands through cooperation. I would very much like to see that happen. I just think that the logistics of. that are quite difficult given that even
n's conference ism Today you objected to the way she posed the question of alliances. posed it in a very nebulous way, not in She But whereby for us the most important oppression is our own oppression. What