must on no occasion pat its own interests abore parliamentary law and order. For him, the Freeing of the Five, the miners strugele, and the defiance of the Housing Fiance Act by Clay Cross Council al threaten to open the door to anarchy and blocy revolulian."
the Labour councillons of Clay Cross hase probably gone further than atybody else. In this small Derbyshire mining villape, the Council had spent several years pulling down the slums and building modern council houses at a rent the miners could afford. But then in 1973 ulong came the Housing Finance Act, which on top of the closure of most of the local pits, threatened to destroy completely the modest gains which had been made, Job ol collecting rent mcreases. Chesterlici. Undeterred by fines of up to 5100,000 for their refusal to implement the rent risea, the Clay Cross councillors are now confronted with i Housing Commissioner, Mr. Patrick Skillingtun. Under the Housing Finance Act the Commissioner is empowered to take over the hima.
Skillington has so far met with a hostile response. On his arial, the Council hanned all counci. officers from collaborating with him. When he set bumsell up in the Council Otfices. tacilities mysteriously broke down. When he held i press conference, it was sabotaged by beckling from the councillons Finally he was forced to leave Clay Cross altogetber and set up office five miles away in It was this appearance of two diametrically opposed authorities in Clay Cross, one elected by the people, the other sent in by the Government, which created a dilemma for the officers (aembers of NALGO) employed by the Council, The cuuncillors are their cie facto employers, but legally they are obliged to take orders from the Commissioner as tar as implementing the Housing Finance Aci is. vetoed the rise, bue the councilors continued lo order payment of the increase regarcless. Under the Counter-Inflation Act, the council officers, especis ly the Chief Clerk who signs the cheques, laced possible prosecution. After a few days, the Chief Clerk resigned, and 30 other NALGO menhers struck in support of The strike was rapidiy made official by the NALGO district office, and the Clay Cross council services dried up. At first the Council considered recruiting unemployed men to step into the officers shoes. But the NALGO Executise was moving towards support for the strike, and there were practical difficulties in bringiag people in off the dole. The Council found ibelf forced into an agreement not to demand in future that its officers undertake any task which would put thei in jeopardy under the law. This is clearly a major setback a coup for Skillington which threatens lo strangle the Council in the next phase of the struggle against the Housing Finance Act, New plans The councillors are, howeser, bow making plans to shore up their defences and avoid the
against the meeting which is due to take place there between representatives of the junta and its international creditors.
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Systematic defiance For sheer systematic defiance of Pachanient,