Communist Party lead on women’s rights
1971
“The Communist Party was years ahead in acknowledging the fight for women and were all for abortion, there were always huge contingents of communists on the news talking about women's rights in one way or another. My first march was ‘Kill the Bill’, Barbara Castle's attempt to bring the Unions to heel in the 70s when everybody thought the Trade Unions had too much power. The Unions were laying down the law and Jim Callaghan came in step with them and so did Barbara Castle. The funny thing about that demo was that we were marching down Park Lane in London, a huge ‘Kill the Bill’ demo and there were all these Rolls Royces parked and people were scratching them with their ‘Kill the Bill’ pens. People were leaning out of the windows at the Park Lane Hotel, because you had all those posh hotels then, and they must have been feeling really threatened. A bit like the storming of the Winter Palace. Little did we know it was all going to crumble”.
Contributed by: Jean Turley, 72