Socialist question time

LEWISHAM SOCIALIST Party held a very successful "Question Time"
meeting on 8 June in Telegraph Hill ward, with one of the Socialist
Party (SP) councillors, Ian Page, taking over the David Dimbleby role.

It gave the local people who attended a chance to quiz Jess Leech, SP
candidate in May’s elections, Lewisham NUT secretary Martin
Powell-Davies and Ian on the Socialist Party’s policies – and on local
and international issues.

The audience raised plenty of concerns about the police plans for
dispersal orders for young people in Lewisham town centre and the way
the council are cutting youth facilities, in particular summer play
schemes on the borough’s council estates. There were questions on
housing conditions and New Labour’s attacks, on the state of education
and the council’s failure to build a new school in the north of the
borough and their attempt to close a swimming pool.

People commented on the police raid on the flat in east London and on
the continued horror of the war in Iraq. One audience member asked the
panel what they thought made the Socialist Party so different from all
the other parties.

The meeting showed part of the answer. How many parties would have
organised a political meeting that was so wide-ranging and raised so
many issues? We hope to organise more such meetings later in the year.