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Title: Letter from Freedom Author: Charles Crute Date: 1994 Language: en Topics: letter, Workers Solidarity Source: Retrieved on 15th November 2021 from http://struggle.ws/ws94/freedom41.html Notes: Published in Workers Solidarity No. 41 — Spring 1994. This letter has been edited for reasons of space.
Dear Comrades,
In the course of a review of our publication What is Anarchism? edited
by Donald Rooum, in your winter 1993 issue (No. 40), your correspondent
Andrew Blackmore affects a familiarity with ourselves which he does not
in fact possess. No one here has knowingly met him.
He writes “In fighting the Poll Tax differences between groups were
clear. Freedom held a number of discussion meetings and in the end could
not decide whether or not the Poll Tax was bad.” This is not true.
Neither Freedom not its publisher Freedom Press held or holds meetings
about the Poll Tax or anything else. Blackmore has not consulted files
of the paper. The first article we published, ‘Poll Tax Voted In’,
(January 1988) was mainly factual but plainly hostile. Nothing further
appeared until in March 1989, a year before the tax was introduced,
Peter Neville contributed ‘Questions on the Poll Tax’, which questioned
anarchist opposition, which was (obviously) a personal point of view,
and which appeared juxtaposed with a puff for the pamphlet ‘The Poll Tax
and How to Fight It’, published by the Anarchist Communist Federation.
Two letters, both hostile to Neville were printed in April, and a long
report of an anti-Poll tax demonstration in Glasgow in June together
with three more letters critical of Neville’s position. In November 1989
under the heading ‘Poll Tax Resistance’ were reports from Johnny Yen and
Olive Markham.
From March 1990 through to 30 November 1991, out of 43 consecutive
fortnightly issues of Freedom, 38 carried reporting and comment, often
at great length, and including front page features — for example, ‘Poll
Tax Protest’ (7^(th) April 1990) written anonymously but in fact by
Donald Rooum. In all about 50,000 words were published, more than any
other group, and every one of which opposed the Poll Tax and supported
those who protested against it.
In addition our premises in Angel Alley, Whitechapel were the base for
the Poll Tax Rioters Support Group, set up in April 1990 by comrades
known to us, ‘The only group aiming to support people arrested in the
demonstration.
Yours fraternally,
Charles Crute
on behalf of Freedom Press