A meeting of the management committee of St Pancras North CLP passed a
resolution on January 24th opposing the decision to impose prescription
and dental charges. A rider to a resolution opposing prescription and
dental charges passed by the cormittee said Mr. Robinson's resistance
to the Government's measures could now only take the form of resigna-
tion from the Government.
When Mr, Robinson met the committee his attention was drawn to a speech
he made last summer in which he said that prescription charres ‘you'd
indeed be taxing the sick and contrary to all the ideals of social
d4ustice for which the Labour Party has long stood.’ A committee
spokesman said: 'We are not iust asking him to resign as Minister on
the question of health charges, We think it is Mr. Wilson and the
Government that are out of step, not St. Pancras constituency Labour
Party or a gcod many other constituency Lahour Parties in the country.
Students and Vietnam; Report of the Sheffield activities. by Mike Martin
Last wecken@, students from most of the universitics in the north of England met in Sheffield to discuss the campaion against U.S. aggression in Vietnam, The conference was well attended and above all in high spirits, and eager to proceed with the campaign to build support for the March 17th mobilisation. On the friday night Harold Wilson addressed a meeting in Sheffield to: celebrate 40 years of Labour administration in the city, only to find that hundreds of students , many of them arriving early for the conference, had massed to protest against American policy and the complicity of the Labour government. In addition there were students protesting about their grants and many tenants from the city protesting against rising rents. In all they numbcred thoudands protesting against Wilson (or shall we say celebrating 40 years of Labour rule in a manner far more appropriate than the aged collection of aldermen and hangers-on gathered in the town hall.)
The police of Sheffield were well prepared however, and succeeded in isol~ ating the students and indulging in the brutalities for which they are noted. Some 22 arrests were made, and the first session of the conference was cancelled in order that students could attend the%urt proceedings. I was told it was all very entertaining ( rumour had it that the mgistrate was a Labour alderman) but since I am not acauainted with the finer points of the law, I will not attempt to repeat the reports, Certain of the cases are still being. fought, since several students pleaded not guilty. The general feeling was that the demonstration had been the finest thing that Sheffield had seen for a long time, and this probably accounted for the enthusiasm at the conference. Politically there was a powerful . current of feeling in favour of complete solidarity with the Vietnamese, while steps are now underway to make research into British complicity in the war production. There was agrowing realisatio of the potential value of campaigns around university research grants etc., for mobilising and radicalising large numbers of students. Activities are being planned in support of the March 17th demonstration including a protest rally ‘ at the Manchester offices of Dow chemical Ltd., manufacturers of napalm, A coordinating committee consisting of one delegate from each wmiversity in the north was elected in order to ensure better liason between student Vietnam groups, regardless of political differences. The ad hoc principle of bringing together groupings whose views may well be different in order to carry out a specific activity with the maximum effect is clearly gain-~ ing support. It is likely that geveral towns in the north will have March 17th committees , and a nimber of universities are about to establish Vietnam action groups, usually on a militant proxsolidarity basis. Readers in the north who want more information regarding forthcoming act~ ivities should write to the convenor of the cotmittee:- Dave Clarke c/o Socialist society, Student Union, Manchester University . The conference held a wide ranging debate on the perspectives of the Vietnam protest movement, and the practical aspects of the campaign, particularly the forthcoming March 17th rally and demonstration.