LAST WEEK Ted Knight, leader of Lambeth council, argued that the best strategy for confronting the government was not setting a rate for 1985. week, HILDA KEAN, leader of Hackney council, explains her reservations about such a strategy and why a real fightback rests on mobilising local people in support of Labour councils' struggle. THE ATTACK on local government through ratecapping legislation analagous to Tebbit's anti-union legislation.
The Tories are attempsing to destroy the tradidional base of the Labour This is particularly obvious with the attack on the Greater London Coun cil, because of its powers io wage a political battle against Thatcher.
There's been lots of This quently, the Rates Act is both about democracy and about jobs and services.
I ne Tories intend chop £2½ billion off Hackney's budget in two to three years. When the igures were announced in July, things didn't look bad for Hackney There was fl million difference between the Department Environment figures our budget for 1984-85. Kales Act would mean recine ances ane massive across the board. Hackney, unke areas, doesn't have balances to UlaW there is nothing in our coffers. We have no way getting by, so we have to fight.
The strategy for fighting was outlined at