'WOMEN WILL WIN' was the slogan under which the Labour Women's Action Committee organised a fringe meeting at the TUC in Brighton last week.
women in the labour movement have been engaged in over the past year, particularly with the presence of Betty Heathfield of Chesterfield Women Against Pit Closures on the platform.
But Diane Abbott, one of WAC's candidates for the Labour Party national executive secspelled out some of LOL. the real problems confroning women as seen in the UG. from he DOSTOL of the ACTT delegation she had been looking round the conference hall and came up with some stunning facts.
Women WELC only tiny proportion of the elegate NUPE, which has twice a many women members as men, nau a delegalon 30 of whom only 10 were women.
The NUT, with three times as many women as had a delegation of 40 with only 11 women. wvel worse, GMBATU, with 50 per cent women, had only 6 women in their delegation USDAW, with twice 1lcl. had a delegation of 35 with only 5 women.
This situation is reflected right the way across the ment and is the reason why WAC has been campaigning so vigorously to give women more power in the Labour Party.
situation in the Labour Party is marginally better than in the TUC - at least the National The platform reflected the many struggles that Committee is elected, and does unlike CHINAL women. the TUC Advisory Committee, the majority of which appointed by the General Council and is often mainly men.
This is unavoidable as the only women ever elected the TUC General Council are to the Six seats reserved for women. In the Party Jo Richardson and Audrey Wise are on the NEC in the CLP section in addition who are elected to the five reserved seats.
But their position on the NEC all secure, despite their strong left credentials. They always receive the lowest vote of those elected in the CLP seciton; mainly Decause there are around 160 CLPs who vote left, vote for one never women in this section! This means Audrey and Jo are always vulnerable to any alternative male candidate who can allegiance of a section of tuencies.
This the Call didature of Robin Cook, Kinnock's blue-eyed boy, threatens to split the left knock Audrey Wise or Jo Richardson off the constituency slate.
At WAC will be campaigning for us own state or te women's section, but will also be campaigning support of Jo and Audrey in the CLP section against the male chauvinism that continues to exist in the The LCC are supporting Jo and Audrey, but also supporting Robin Cook. It is not completely clear who they will drop their slate, but looks lIkely Il will De velnis Skinner. However in reality CLP left will vote for Skinner anyway and quite rightly so despite their paper support, in organising to cam aign for Cook the LCC will actually be challenging the position of Audrey Wise.
Similarly Tribune has left it very late in the day to make tner allude crea on the NEC elections. Last week we warmen a salc ment from the five women WAC slate for the women's section, together with Jo Richardson Audrey Wise.
Tribune's record on women is nothing to write home about, so they cannot De rened on paign for Jo and Audrey.
Moreover Tribune have failed to grasp the importance of the campaign around Diane Abbott in women's section. The significance Diane standing, the first black person and certainly the first black woman to the NEC, was immediately seized on by Guardian. But to its shame, Tribune, which Chris Mullen's editorship proclaimed itself the revitalised paper of Labour's left, has totally failed to mention it.
The Campaign Labour Party Democracy, another bastion of the left, has not done much better. Initially Diane was the reserve in their slate, but then one of their own candidates dropped out, so Diane is now included.
But Frances Morrell, another of WAC's candidates, not. their candidate is Pat Olly, supported against Frances on the grounds that CLPD who had opposed them because TCHSICIL she was not sufficiently well-known!
So the odds are siacked against women the start. And with the union block vote decisive 11 e elections the section, it's will the NEC they want. That can't changed until WAC's constitutional resolutions are passed by But in the meantime the elections HilS year, with a slate of women who have a record of fighting for women as well as left — will mark a big ster The campaign around the slate already exposed the real shilly-shallying on women of much of the left.
Apology:
cle on page nine, concerning Thorpe.
culated by Peter. nience caused by our mistake.
That has to be driven home at They art all going to learn, even if it is the hard way, that women will win!
CLP section Tony Benn MP David Blunkett, leader Sheffield City Counci Michael Meacher MP Jo Richardson MP Dennis Skinner MP Audrey Wise Women's Section Diane Abbott, Westminster Cllr Margaret Beckett MP Joan Maynard MP Frances Morrell, leader ILEA Clare Short MP In the last issue of Socialist Action (n068) an artiTraining Schemes was wrongly attributed to Peter Wells The author was Grant Kier, and informa tion on the Young Trade Unionists Charter which appeared alongside it was taken from a leaflet cirWe apologise for any inconveSocialist Action 14 September 1984
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The slates to support