Rents struggle

from a correspondent In its issue of June 8th, The Week gave an account of th increases in the Labour Borough of Haringey, and of the rer et are Haringey Action Committee of Tenants. Since then, there have been several developments in the situation, The Action Committee's petition has led to the formation of several new tenants! associations and there are now associations on the majority of the Council estates in the borough. A Haringey Tenants and Residents Federation has been set up with representatives from nearly all these associations. ‘his Federation has called a mass lobby of the Haringey Council on Monday, July 10th; the first Council Meeting since the increases have come into effect. © This lobby will take place outside the Civic Centre, Wood Green High Koad, N.22. from 7.00 p.m. onwards. It is hoped that there will be a massive attendance from Council tenants who have signed the petition, and all readers cf The Week in the Haringey area are urged to come along and show their solidarity, The growing anxiety at this wave of protest inside the Labour Party is shown by the decision of the Wood Green Party to expel Ted Wheeler, the Treasurer of the Action Committee. The main charge brought against Wheeler was that he had permitted the delivery of the Action Committee's leaflet (reproduced in The Week of June 8th) during a Council by-election in one of the Tottenham Wards. Wheeler's name appeared as publisher on the leaflet. Wheeler was requested by the Agent to suspend delivery of the leaflet during the by-election period only a few days before the elections; he replied that he was not in a position to instruct other members of the Committee to withdraw the leaflet. If the Party had been interested in withdrawing the leaflet rather than provoking Wheeler, the request would surely have been made some time before, It was pointed out during the discussion that many other members of the Labour Party supported the Action Committee and that this was a clear case of victimisation. An added smear was the allegation that Wheeler in private conversation to one individual member of the Party, had expressed the intention of not voting Labour in the G.L.C. elections. Wheeler denied this and the matter was not pursued, although the allegation undoubtedly influenced the vote. When Wheeler asked the Agent under what rule he was being expelled, there was an embarrassed silence while the Agent fumbled through the Rule Book, before mumbling something about ‘conduct contrary to the principles of the Party’. "left" M.P., Joyce Butler sat silent throughout the proceedings. Another member of the Wood Green Party has been warned that further public criticism of the Party may render him liable for expulsion. Ted Wheeler is an active trade unionist, devotes much time to local immigrant problems and is Chairman of the Haringey Council for Peace in Vietnam. He has been a Labour Party worker since childhood and is a former Youth Officer of the Wood Green Party. He is appealing against his expulsion and all sections of the Labour movement are urged to pass reg.lutions deploring his expulsion.