legislation to impose rinancial succully UIl local authorities. But ratecapping is the final straw.
Abolition of the GLC and metropolitan counties allack local Bovellich. Ratecapping is more subtle.
Councils will still exist, but their traditional rignis nave disappeared. ConseFight However, like all counClis. we have creative ac. counting, our real budget this year was f106 million. To maintain penditure, we need f112 Department of Environment figure is f82 million.
To comply with the WHATEVER THE outcome of Labour's annual the debate on defen the months to come. = before that party begun to think about the policy statement, Defen So far the response has been muted. Many prefer to let sleeping NATO commitments lie, rather than risk jeopardising hard-won nuclear disarmament policies.
But they right?
More and more the answer is an obvious no.
the start, so-called multilateralists have happily thrown their lot statement pointing out that 'firm support JIO membership is the most positive the defence document, hinting at their future intennons to exproll tae ambiguities' of What exactly nuclear base, asks Mr Healey? And just does 'decommissioning' Polaris really mean? Soon we duswers will begin to CHECKIC.
flat refusal to support Labour CND's conterence amend. ment, calling for a reduction military spending within the lifetime of the next Labour government, Defence Liaison Committee is now supporting an open fudge of a composite on defence. is only in impli the LCND TGWU the is Brisacking of defence gives to reduce much.
enera secposition more 12s inCa the defence and others have struggled (Tribune, 28 September).
Mr Todd supports the sinker.
spending only be achieved we can long-held that the Soviet Union is the main threat. far thinking the document soft on NATO, the policy of changing it from within seems to him 'more fruitful than leaving America In ContO Or NAlU, Will its finger on the button...' lie heart of we can activists war their takes read very same are Labour's started the status quo, there ding nuclear Confusion As for the view that changed from within, this simply the whole point of NATO's existence. the moment of its inceD tion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has been war-lighting alliance, with nukes at its core.
At best, NATO policy is a naive daydream; at worst device and silence opponents of within ranks.
Until those voices speak out, Labour will be saddled with a pig in poke derence poncy, sold because repeats our nuclear disarmament com mitments, but try loy advocating policy non-nuclear defence which fails to challenge NATO's plans.
Any discussion of defence must begin from the question who are we defending ourselves agalst. Ally solution des I the direction of developing socialist foreign policy that refuses to take as read the conventional wisdoms of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and the rest or une runng class ll the so-called free world. Labour activists must start the ball rolling. We must Poreign police that is ge HOr. win nuinelv in the inferests ot the working as a whole.
WAR