AS ONE of those who held a placard in front of Hilton Dawson at the May Day rally, I would like to respond to the points raised in the letter from Nicholas Hempleman who criticises our attempts to heckle and obstruct the MP who shamlessly supports the murder of innocent Afghan civilians, and attacks the poor back home.

The celebration of May Day as a workers holiday evolved from the struggle for tne eight hour day in the US and Canada in 1886.

Following a demonstration in Haymarket Square, Chicago, eight anarchist trade unionists were arrested, and four, Albert Parsons, August Spies, George

Engle and Albert Fischer were executed by the state for fighting for labour rights.

International Labour Day has since been celebrated to commemorate the Haymarket Martyrs and as an expression of the struggles of workers and the unemployed.

How perverse then that the very people we struggle against are invited to speak at our rally.

Hilton Dawson is part of a government that has attacked the very poorest sections of our society.

One in three children now live in poverty.

Yet New Labour's answer is social exclusion.

They are building prisons for 12 year olds and threaten to cut benefits from the parents of 'truants'.

They ignore feelings of alienation, bullying, worthlessness and despair and attack the vunerable.

They also scapegoat refugees and asylum seekers.

Blunkett talks about us being "swamped" and then wonders why the nazi BNP win council seats.

New Labour have brought racism and intolerance into the mainstream of British politics.

Hilton shows his "interests of democracy" by supporting the war in Afghanistan.

5000 innocent civilians have been killed by US/UK bombs.

As the May Day rally heard that's more innocent loss of life than in the Twin Towers.

Hilton wasn't listening to his critics though.

He was laughing and joking with a friend as speakers talked of the horrors of war lordism and civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

It was to make a political point that we stood in front of Hilton with a banner proclaiming "New Labour War Criminals - Never Trust A Politician" and he was heckled by a sizeable section of the crowd not just a few.

Indeed the loudest applause at the rally came for the speaker from the anti-war coalition who branded New Labour politicians as themselves "terrorists".

I don't know what Hilton means by "armchair revolutionaries".

I work full time at a local hospital, I am a parent, and have been active in local politics in Unison, and local campaigns from Nightingale Farm to Reclaim The Streets, from Chemical Reaction to the anti-war movement.

International Labour Day is a celebration of anarchist resistance and the struggles of workers and the unemployed.

It should have no place for politicians like Hilton Dawson.

At last in Lancaster it was reclaimed!

(Lancaster Anarchist Group)

For another view on reclaiming the march see the correspondence from former councillor Richard Newman-Thompson on Page 21 - Ed