Don't imagine that 1929 is just a year in the sales THE tremendous battles that miners' wives are waging indicates some of the fundamental changes going on women in Britain. It shows that it not due some special feature of the peace movement the Greenham ment has emerged. Or to some special feature of the Labour Party that the women's conference is the most leftwing section within it.
There is now a general phenomenon women coming forward Clo give leadership to all struggles pression is is closely is closely pression connected to other facts, like the enormous rise in female membership of the unions over the last fifteen years, changing voting patterns among women - the fact that the Tories' old preferential women has vote among now disappeared.
Women are deserting the Tories, the only ques tion is whether they will be won to the labour movement or be attracted by the psuedo-feminism A militant briberals. vanguard of women clearly making the choice, launching leadership of many strug gles and forcing the labour movement to change. , The miners' wives have struck a vitally important blow in this fight.
The labour movement is faced with a tremendous challenge and opportunity. As the miners' wives movement snows, womel Lercass see their demands as being ticulated through the mainstream of the labour movemen not counterposed to it. Their fight is for jobs, against the missiles, hours, for democracy and concerns which SO On are shared by large sections of the labour movement, but to which women bring their own particular demands as well, like abortion, childcare or positive action.
It is still only a minoriSocialist Action 1 June 1984