Thee are the people who will banefit from the House of Lords ruling on the Immigration Act — the B00 supporters of the Nations! Front who openly paraded through central London last Saturday. As the experience of France proves, fascist groupe like the National Front can anly grow by attaching themselves lice parasites to the more reactionary sactions of the capitalist state. The House of Lards decision is a gift from heaven for this reectionary rabiole, It gives them the green light to carry on their racist egitation with the bleming mailed, uprooted and deported as illegal immigrants.
was legally immune from deportation after six months. The Government has so far shown no sign of giving way to the massive prolests now building up against the Lords decision. On the contrary, it has given the go-ahead to stepped-up police harassment of all blacks (to make sure they're not tilegal immigrants"), with Sir Keith Joseph's order to Social Security Offices to demand passports of black people asking for insurance cards. Dozens of cases of police demanding passports at random from black people are now being reported.
DIFFERENCES Several national meetings of black organisations have so far been held, and a number of proposals have emerged. A demonstration is to be held in London on 22 July, and at a meeting of black organisations held in London's Festival Hall two weeks ago, a national body to co-ordinate the campaign was set up. But there are differences as to the political basis of the campaign.
At an carlier meeting in Southall it was resolved to organise a boycott of all government-sponsored race relations bodies until the repeal of the Immigration Act itself. The problems of illegal" immigrants grow out of the racist immigration laws, in particular the 1971 Act. The meeting also called for committees to be set up in the factories to work for strike action against the Act. But the boycott proposal was defeated by 53 votes to 50 a week later at the Festival Hall, a narrow victory for those who want to give the campalen a more parliamentary emphasis. For these people answer lies in speeding up a Bill from Lord Avebury to repcal the retroactive ruling and grant an amnesty (while still acpepting Immigration Act).
IMPORTANT However, the proposal to boycolt race relations bodies is important for two reasons. First, by taking over have barely got £10 of our £300 tangat in!
to demand of you the financial support necesary to carry out these tasks.
the services' which these bodies provide for the black communities, the boycott committees would advance the self-organisation of the communities. This could pose sharply the question of mass self-defence of the communities against police snatch squads allegedly looking for newly illegal citizens. Without self-defence the police and fascists will pick off militants campaign.
Second, the race relations bodies operate within the framework of a series of racist measures, including the 1971 Act. A boycott of these bodies could only re emphasise the determination of the black communities to destroy these laws.
Some delegates at the Festival Hall argued that a campaign which insolved strike action would divide the working class. But the working class is already divided. The problem is how to unite it against the attacks of the ruling class, Some initiatives have been taken. The Civil & Public Services Association, for example, refused to obey Josephi's dirty spying order. But the initiatives needed to build up a campaign of strike action will undoubtedly have to come mainly from the black workers and their organisations in the trade unIon movement.
URGENCY
The urgency of fighting racism has been highlighted by recent moves on extreme right. A meeting of trade unionists in South London to discuss the Lords' ruling was picketed by fascists, and last weekend National Front beld an 800strong demonstration in London demanding repatriation of black workers and their families. The de monstration in London on Sunday, 22 July (assemble Speakers" Corner, 2.00 p.m.) therefore takes on added importance as a challenge to racist legislation and its backers on the extreme right.
FUND DRIVE:
Last month our fund drive fall short of its target by almost CBO. So far this month wa Red Weakly cannot afford lo operate on such a basis. We must have more money both to gueructee our regular weekly appearance and to bigin improving the quality of the paper You have the right to demand from us a paper that comes out regularly and takes up the most important questions facing the working cles movement. But we also have the right of the law and the full backing of the state authorities. Lnst Friday, amid growing gloom in wun the rency in general, and in the dollar in The storm has also blown the Tory governtents economic strategy even closer to the tocks. Eveu after the partial recovery early this week, sterling has been devalued by 7 per cent in seven weeks against un average of the other currencies. That, along with a new upward lurch in material costs (which rose by 3 per cent in June), has increased the pressure on import prices and the trade balance. Food material prices jumped by 5 per cent, and the situation is now fur ther aggravated by New Zealand: 3 percent upvaluation last weekend British wholeule prices rose by a Prices Commission continuca to ap prove an accelerating daily stream of increases: Many firms with already agreed increases are now coming back for more.
So the world monetary storm contimes to rage. And this time, unlike previcus crisis, the battered British economy is close to its centre.
at this stage as a political weapon in a
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This follows the ruling by the Law Lords that under the 1971 Immigration Act any person who entered the country by other than legal channels can now be deported along with his family, despite the fact that the law at the time of entry stated that he
cent in June (an an record 2 per nual rate of 26 per cent), and the