$a line=29;just=1;invert=0
$l1
WHY JOIN A SINKING SHIP?
$p1 For months now the press and TV have been telling us that the
Labour Party is on the way out.  Torn apart by splits, bancrupt, declining
membership ...... no future in the Labour Party!  That's what the opponents
of the Labour Party want you to believe.  For those of us who are active
members this picture is hard to square with our experience.
$p1 Take our branch, Sciennes Marchmont, for instance.  Membership has
doubled over the last 5 years.  Average turnout at branch meetings is four
times what it was 5 years ago.  Regular leaflets and newsletters are being
produced.  Public meetings are being held.  Wherever the decline is, it
isn't here.
$p1 Debate there certainly is but wew aren't being torn apart.  People
in the Labour Party do discuss politics and argue about issues.
The arguements can get quite heated at times but most of us see this as
a healthy sign.
$p1 And on the positive side there are new policies which give the
promise of a Labour Government which can make things change - a commitment
to unilateral nuclear disarmament; an alternative economic strategy;
a social policy which will redistribute wealth in this country.  Not all
of these policies are yet fully drafted and a lot of the debate in the party is about
how to improve them.  But they would represent a challange to the way Britain
is run - maybe this is why the press and TV keep telling us we're in decline.
$p1 So why not join us.......
$b5
$e