Socialist Action (LSA) Vol. 3, No. 10, October 1980
A different group, and a different paper from the IMG’s Socialist Action of 1983–88. The League for Socialist Action were supporters of the US Socialist Workers Party’s tendency in the Fourth International who split from the IMG in 1976 and rejoined it in 1982.
The scan: Socialist Action v3 no10 Oct 1980.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive)
Uncorrected machine reading of the whole issue. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from the scan and has not been corrected or cut into articles. Each page gives the headlines first, then the columns in order, so one article runs on into the next. Expect misread words. Use it to find things; quote from the scan.
Page 1 scan of this page
Socialist
STOP THATCHER'S NUCLEAR MADNESS
LABOUR
particularly among young people"
ment as soon as possible"
These calls to action were made by none other than Len Murray, TUC General Secretary, and the Labour Shadow Cabinet. They were made in response to the growing jobless total that is fast approaching the catastrophe of the 'thirties.
It seems as if we are all set for a major campaign to halt the Tory offensive in its tracks and replace it with bold socialist policies.
ACTION
There is only one problem. Those Bob Swart (Streatham CLP)
NO EXIT
RADIATION
Action
For a Class Struggle Left Wing in the Labour Movement
LEADERS
MUST ACT
"Emergency action must be taken to alleviate unemployment,
We call upon the labour and trade union movement to work together to remove this pile of human misery and the Tory govern-
calls were not made yesterday or the day before. They were made last July. Just what have Murray and the labour leaders done since then to build the 'emergency' action they refer to?
Just what have they done to mobilise the labour movement in defence of jobs which are being axed at the rate of over 4,000 a week? The answer, of course, is nothing.
When Callaghan attended the TUC conference last month, the only cont on page 3 The Tories are going ahead with their nuclear madness. The Cruise missiles come out of US funds. Tory plans to replace ageing Polaris submarines with the new Trident ones do not.
At a time when Hesaltine has announced even more savage social service cuts - with health, housing and education in the front line -over £5 billion is to be poured into these nuclear time-bombs.
When it is realised that one single Trident could buy the equivalent of twenty-five new hospitals, then the government's sense of priority couldn't be more dramatically displayed.
OPPOSITION
Such nuclear madness has already
our movement. Last July's mass demonstration of over 20,000 -
was just the opening shot of this resistence.
a series of rallies, marches & vigils up and down the country. In Manchester, over 2,500 marched on August 9th in opposition to Tory plans to import the Cruise missiles.
a march of 500 was held at York. A 75-hour vigil was held at the gate of RAF Greenhal Common -
sited - with almost a thousand participating. Smaller local events have been held by revitalised CND branches.
provoked a response from the lab- MADNESS
called by the Labour Party NEC -
Since that time, there have been
Ference.
A thousand rallied in Carlisle and
where the Cruise missiles are to be
Women & Jobs
Nationality Act
SWP Debate
L.P. Democracy
Afghanistan
October 80 Labour Parties, Young Socialists & trade union branches have played a prominant role in all of these actions. Evidence of mounting opposition can be seen from the fact that over 100 motions opposing the missiles have been submitted to this year's Labour Party Conf-
It is clear that the overwhelming weight of opinion in the labour movement is opposed to Tory plans to turn Britain into a nuclear dumping ground. It is realised, only too well, that -* it is madness to pour money into Trident when hospitals, schools & other social services are being axed; *it is madness to turn Britain into a prime nuclear target in the event
cont on page 2
4
5
8-9
2
5
Price 15 p
POLAND
"It's the cheating and the lying that the government does. The truth must to told to the people - that's the main thing"
Anna Walentynomicz(M KS)
"Only free trade unions can make us happy, can give us a victory".
Lech Walesa "This is what we fought so hard for. The unions will give us the possibility to control illegal action by the government and preserve our rights".
Machine Toolist, Gdansk
pages 6&7
Page 2 scan of this page
Who stands for democracy?
page 2 mitted on constitutional issues.
er, re-selection of MPs and responsibility for the Manitesto.
wing counter arguments.
Just before the last election, the N.E.C. and cabinet met to discuss the election manifesto. Despite N.E.C. objections, the campaign Callaghan ran virtually ignored every major conference decision for the past 5 years.
There was, of course, nothing new in this. Callaghan's whole period in office was a slap in the face for the millions who voted and campaigned to put him there. From decisions to 'tighten' immigration laws to imposition of the 5% wage freeze, used against the low-paid public sector unions, the government's policies flew in the face of conference decisions.
CONTEMPT
The argument behind Callaghan's contempt for conference decisions has been spelled out pretty clearly by the 'gang of three who recently threatened to split from the LP if much-needed reforms went ahead.
A Labour government, Shirley Williams argued, cannot be bound by conference decisions without 'destroying representative democracy itself'. Its role is to rule in the 'national' interest and not in the interests merely of a section of society.
Needless to say, Williams' arguments have always won the resounding applause of those Labour ... i.... dead-set on muffling the voice of the workers movement.
They have given the 'gang of three' more space to advance their views than is usually reserved for pundits like Enoch Powell.
DEMOCRACY
But just what is this 'national' interest MPs are supposed to protect as against the interests oi
working people? Just what is this idol Labour MPs are supposed to
LCC
calls union
conference
The Labour Co-ordinating Com-
mittee (LCC) has called for a rank
and file trade union conference
this coming November 15th.
Taking place at Leeds Trades Hall, it will discuss the possibility of
joint action in the coming period
between local Labour Parties and Trade ORs Such a conference has a serious potential. Not only could
the unions Employment Bill - in order to
ram nome ner mades das
Equally important, it will give the left in the Labour Party a real base - a class struggle base which to advance their fight against the Labour (mis)leaders. The creation of a united, campaigning Labour Party based on real support in the unions would be the best possible way to halt the Tories in their tracks.
For further information about the conference contact: LCC,
At this year's party conference, over 60 amendments have been sub-
hese revolve aromas une caree issucs that were central at last year's conference: election of the party leadBelow George Hold (Peckham CLP) takes up the importance of these issues as vital steps in democratising the party and challenges the right-
bend the knee before instead of representing those who put them into power?
In a society dominated by the banks and giant monopolies, the national interest is clearly what serves to bolster their interests & increase their profits. The 'national' interest is, in this sense, a fraud, a cover-up for promoting the aims and investments of the b1g corp Olalis.
When Callaghan introduced his wage freeze of 5%, just whose interest was that in? Was it in the interests of working people or the giant monopolies who wanted workers' wages controlled while their profits soared?
FREEDOM
When figures such as Rodgers or Williams argue for the "freedom' of government from conference decisions, they are arguing for a freedom to collaborate with the IMF, Tory inspired Civil Servants and big bankers to attack working people.
This is why they have let out a shrill voice of protest - calling for 'witch-hunts' against the left -when the issue of the government of a war; * it is madness to support the war • on hysteria' of a Thatcher or Carter
whose sole aim is to prepare the ground for the 'bully-boy' tactics We saw in Vietnam or Iran.
PLEDGE
Despite this groundswell of opinion, however, Labour Defence spokesperson Bill Rodgers - and others
heeding conference resolutions
Hence, representing millions of
of big business.
Hence decisions, after all, they wouldn't be able to create mass unemployment, slash the social
they?
FRIGHTENED
In defence of their 'right' to
as Williams actually have the
is, you see, 'undemocratic' for 300-odd MPs to implement the wishes of the millions who put collaboration with unelected
of Labour supporters.
NUCLEAR ARMS NO
PEACE YES
strength".
is posed. They know that confer-
working people, is in direct conflict with the needs and interests
CONFERENCE If they were bound by confer-
services and freeze wages, would
pursue such policies, figures such
nerve to invoke 'democracy'. It them into office. It is so much more 'democratic' for them - in
nue rough-shod over ine wistes
They have equally argued that if a Labour government was accountable to conference, it would merely alienate large sections of the middle ground 'frightened' by the party's 'extremist image.
Such an argument is comical After 5 years of Callaghan's government - during which time he pursuca a strict rignt-wing course - Labour's share of the vote last April was the lowest in post-war history. How on earth can soc-
NUCLEAR MADNESS by Try Viney (Croydon CLP-)
into Trident.
CAMPAIGN business. on the right - continue to support Tory plans to build up a nuclear arsenal. As David Owen recently explained: "Peace.is won by making a bargain and negotiating with the Soviet Union from a position of madness.
What is important at this year's party conference, therefore, is that it clearly commits itself against nuclear weapons and demands that its leaders - who claim to speak in
ialist policies lose votes when Callaghan's pro-capitalist ones have demoralised and driven
The point is, if Labour's rightwing are so convinced a democratic party is wrong, they should leave. If they run as Labour members, if they are financed by and voted in by Labour supporters, they should abide by conference decisions. It's a free country. At this year's party conference, the points up for discussion -mandatory re-selection of MPs, election of party leader & NEC responsibility for the Manifesto - are critical for moving towards
Rodgers, Williams and Owen - hiding
their opposition to socialist policies
a more democratic party.
They will also be critical if Labour is to win back, in the years ahead, its thousands of activists, its supporters in the unions and among women and Blacks. It has to show them it will pioneer their interests 11 office and not just restrict sup port to passing pious motions at conference which are left to gather dust on the shelf.
C its name -abide by its decisions.
Only a mass campaign by a united labour movement can prevent the introduction of Cruise missiles - planned for 1983 - and the shocking waste of money to be poured
The decision by the Labour Party NEC to support the mass demonstration in London on Oct 26th - called by CND - is a major step in this direction. Support for the demonstration must be carried into Labour and trade union branches in the weeks ahead to show Thatcher we mean
October 26th must, however, be the beginning, not the end. It must act as a springboard to rouse ever-wider layers in the labour movement into action against Thatcher's nuclear
NO CRUISE MISSILES!
SCRAP MISSILES NOT JOBS!
BRITAIN OUT OF NATO!
Socialist Action
Benn: tell it
as it is....
I say to you candidly that even if the TUC were to say that there should be cruise missiles sited nere mme wune Labour tara con ference were to say there should be no cruise missile here, there is no reason whatever to believe that a Labour government elected therafter would in fact remove thi cruise missiles. There is no reason to believe it, because there is no mechamsm to ensure walll will happen.
Events in Poland in the last few days - wilch nave indicated te desire for democratic control of the trade union movement in Pol and - have cone a a une was very helpful for us. It indicates that it's ' in Britain that people in the labour movement want to control their leaders, and not have their leaders control them.
The only way that members of trade unions affiliated to the Labour carly can muuence me mand esto for the next general election or be sure that the next Labour Government carries our that policy is by supporting all three constitusona chances. If these change. were blocked by trade union votes at conference, the trade unions
The political demands for jull eT.= loyment, the restoration of the welfare state and for peace, which will be coming tom the 1l Brighton this week, cannot :: into effect unless the trade un.-: vote In support of tnese same pül icies at the Labour Party conference. and vote to ensure that thos voices are mane cern me man ifesto and are carried out.
Rousing speeches at Labour Part! conference, followed by massive votes in support of clear policies. raise legitimate expectations that iT a abour Government is electec
Bat poise police a bed d
y le ratumentary leadership, 1e
example on the abolition of th Lords, and completely different policies can be muroduceu lal are not in the interests of the labour movement, for example, a compul-
wage restrain poncy, conna ence in the labour movement will be undermined.
The Labour Party can only defeat the Conservatives in the next gen eral election if it says what it means and means what Il says NEW PAMPHLET
LABOUR PARTY
Mich Bay? SOCIALIST ACTION 23)
Page 3 scan of this page
FOR A FIGHTING PARTY!
October 80
YOUR VALIXI London anti-cuts rally.
anti-working class policies the Tories are pursuing.
Labour leaders
must act
PRESSURE
nave to be told is that we canni wait another 4 years. Trips back and forth to Downing St and "chummy parliamentary debates are not enough. By the time Labour is returned, millions of jobs will have been scrapped and the social services mutilated.
Last February, the combativity of the steelworkers and the support they won from other unions - showed that the labour movement is prepared to fight for jobs. The mass turnout on March 9th for the TUC demonstration and the 'Day of Action' in May only confirms this.
What is needed is to force the labour leaders to build on this feeling and to launch a campaign to kick the Tories out of office before it is too late.
POLICIES
The demo called by the Labour Party on November 29th is a step in this direction. It must be the start of a serious campaign, however, and should be based on a fighting policies:
For the 35-hour week!
Redundancies must be opposed by a call for work sharing with no loss of pay. * Open the books! Where firms deny their ability to maintain a full workforce, let them open their books for honest inspection by trade union representatives. * Nationalise under workers' control! If firms are incapable of providing jobs - or are going bankrupt - they should be taken over under the control of the workers in the plant. * Stop the cuts! Instead of cutting social services, they should be extended to provide socially useful work for those 2 million on the dole.
OUR PARTY
SOCIALISM
PEACE Late last year Callaghan was almost booed off the platform of a central He was booed because thousands of trade unionists realised he had no intention of of fighting the cuts or any of the other
His recent performance at the TUC
last month merely confirms this.
His sole message to the trade union
movement, fighting a desperate
battle for jobs, was that they should
approach which has created the
present upsurge in the party. More
and more part! activists are realis-
ing that you can't fight the Tories
- on cuts or unemployment - by
chummy parliamentary debates &
promises of what a future Labour
government will do
CHALLENGE
This challenge to the Callaghan leadership - which emerged openly
at the last conference - has created major 'splits' in the party. Splits
within the PLP and, most significantly, splits between the PLP and the NEC which has been more re-
sponsive to the mass pressure building up.
It has been the NEC which has headed the question of party democracy and which has begun to identify with the growing anti-Tory struggles in the country. It was, after all, the NEC which launched the mass anti-cuts rally last ycar, supported the 15,000 strong demonstration against Thatcher's racist proposals, and which is now leading the opposition to the Tories' nuclear plans.
PRESSURE
There can be no doubt that this shift to the left in the Party, in response to the growing anti-Tory feeling building up among rank-and-file activists, offers unique possibilities. The question is: will the left (particularly that around Benn) take advantage of them? Will it adopt policies and a course of action to take it forward?
Clearly, the test before it lies, in large measure, in its ability to link up with and lead the real struggles that are now developing against the Tories on issues as diverse as 'cuts' to 'racist laws'.
That certain strands in the left are aware of this can be seen I clearly in Peter Hain's comments
that: "The Party is far too committed to parliamentarianism,
ment outside capable of exerting sufficient power to make social change feasible"
change from the past where 'left' opposition
"i a renewed
the anti-Tory struggles - that will offer the party a real chance of growth in the years ahead.
MASS PARTY One of the main concerns before many on the left in the party is: how can we 'revivify' it, how can we once again turn it into a mass party? Considering the decline in party membership over the years, such a question is not unimportant.
ever, is not an organisational question. It is deeply linked with the ability of the left to identify
working people are forced into to defend their rights and living standards against the Tories. It is only by being seen as a party fighting for the interests of working people that it can draw back Into Is tanks tnose tousands who 'drifted' out under the Wilson/Callaghan leadership. Moreover, it is only by drawing in these forces that a real base can be laid for removing the Jim Callaghans and Shirley Williams once and for all.
PAPER STRATEGY
(Alternative Economic Strategy) supported by most of the NEC, is nothing more than a diversion. Calls for 'import controls' or for 'greater state subsidies are not only incapable of defending the interests of working people. Worse still, they have no value to the real struggles workers and their allies are involved in today. What use are pledges of what a future Labour government will do tor people struggling now to defend their jobs, keep the local
logic of Tory immigration laws?
party - the test to see whether it can really win the confidence of
the thirties?
DEMOCRACY TALTHAMSTU fire.
so avoiding creating a mass move-
Hain's comments mark a welcome
was consiqered a matter of pious-resolution passing and not participation in the living
Building the Labour Party, how-
with and promote those campaigns
Bill.
ARRESTS
It is in this sense that the A.E.S. hospital open or oppose the racist
The real test before the left in the
trade unionists and their allies - is by what it says and does now. Will it support the Lambeth conference against the cuts and support those councils refusing to implement Tory measures? Will it initiate and lead a mass campaign against the Tory policies which are leading to the worst jobless situation since
These are the questions that the left-wing of the party must address themselves to. A programme is not a blue-print, divorced from the living struggle, worked out on paper. It should be based on the real demands thrown up in struggle Dy workers and their allies in de. fence of their interests: 'For the 35-hour week', 'For a Sliding Scale of Wages', 'No Cuts - Build a Public Works Programme' etc.
The struggle for a fighting Labour Party also involves a struggle for a democratic Labour Party. Already, unael mass pressure, le unaemocratic mechanisms of Labour's right-wing have come under heavy
Such an offensive has to be deepened in the period ahead to en-
SociaisO Discussion Forum
Action
The Labour Party
Friday 24th October. 8pm. Conway Hall
A TASTE OF
PRIOR'S LAW!
Mass picketing won a partial victory
at the Brixton Unemployment Office
last month. Union activists, Phil
Cordell and Richard Cleverley - sack-
ed some time before for 'excessive'
union work - were re-instated by the
Civil Service Board of Appeal.
While the Board agreed to transfer
them to another office and refused
to pay them for the time they were
sacked, this was clearly a back-down
on the part of the Civil Service.
The importance of the Cordell/
Cleverley affair, however, was not
just the fight-back against victimisat-
ion of union militants. It also clearly
developed into a trial of strength
between pickets and police trying to
enforce the type of proposals cont-
ained in Prior's new Employment
At first, the police placed no re-
strictions on pickets turning up to
defend Cordell's rights. Gradually,
however, they became more intim-
out!
page 3
Anne Williams (NUT)
sure that the PLP as a whole will become accountable to conference. As part of this, the left should unite against any attempt by the right-wing - backed up by their allies in the Tory press - to launch witch-hunts in the party and revamp the bans and proscriptions measures. All tendencies should have the democratic right to put their point of view in a free debate.
CLASS STRUGGLE
There can be no doubt that the present swing left in the party reflects the aspirations of millions of workers who want a leadership reflecting their interests against the Tories.
There is every opportunity, in the period ahead, for the party to reflect and take up those policies, making Labour a tool of working people organised around a clear class-struggle programme.
This is the surest way of ensuring that, when a Labour govern. ment is re-elected to office, it will be committed to representing the interests of the class that built itthe working class. idating and obstructive
They began restricting the number of pickets to two per gate, forcing others back onto a strip of wasteland opposite the UBO. When, on August 12th, a delegation of 12 -including 2 Labour MPs, Reg Race and Stuart Holland - went to speak to the police chief, a CPSA official was promptly arrested.
The surge forward of the crowd opposite in protest was met with gross police brutality as 17 pickets were arrested and placed on charges of 'obstruction'. The police action - which received a lot of publicity -is a clear foretaste of what we can expect when the Prior Bill goes through.
UNION LEADERS
What has been the attitude of the CPSA leaders? They were instructed by conference to take a clear lead in defence of Cordell and Cleverley. Instead of implementing conterence decisions, however, and backing up members victimised for union activity, Thomas and others joined in the witch-hunt.
Spending most of his time denouncing Cordell for his political affiliations, Thomas actually went so far as to tell MPs Reg Race and Stuart Holland, who backed the picket line, to keep their noses
It was clear that Cordell and Cleverley's re-instatement was not won with any help from the leaders of the union. And this is the danger If they were firm in their oppos ition to Prior's Bill, they could kick it out tomorrow. It is because some see it as a useful tool for disciplining their own militants that it is such a threat.
Phil Edwardes
Page 4 scan of this page
page 4
Carol Rees (Peckham CLP)
"We Want More Nurseries!" was the demand raised by a number of women and children at a lobby of the TUC conference on September 4th.
The lobby was the first activity planned by the NCCC (National Child Care Campaign) launched only a month betore at a conference in London of over 200 delegates from the labour and women's movements.
Calling on TUC delegates to begin implementing and not just talking about their 'Charter for the Under 5s'. the lobby met with a positive response and many delegates agreed to ask their branches to affiliate to the campaign.
CUTS Such support will be seriously needed in the coming years.
authorities finanues by another 2% will mean not only an end to building new nurseries but that
by Sylvia Brookes The much-awaited Beyond the Fragments' conference took place on the last Saturday in August in Leeds. Over 1400 activists, involved in various local activities, turned up firmly clutching their copies of the now-famous book.
Overcoming the 'fragment' - and charting a way forward - was, however, more difficult than any of them had thought. After a full day's discussion - in workshops and plenary sessions - the only thing they could agree on was to hold another conference in several months time.
SURPRISING This is hardly surprising. The Berond the Fragments current born was out of a rejection of the traditions of the marxist left. The authors of the book - basing themselves on the experience of the 'liberatarian' wing of the women's movement -advanced a different 'method' of politics which, they claimed, the marxist left had overlooked.
Such a method opposed to the idea of a clear programme one based upon
CHILDREN LOBBY T.U.C.
KUC BUST TAPLEMENT DAIN KIDN those few that already exist will be axed twice as fast.
Already, many local campaigns - such as those in Wandsworth or Stoke - are concerned with fighting the cuts in existing provisions. As Hesaltine's cash limits begin to be felt. we can be sure that many working mothers in other areas will begin to be drawn into similar struggles.
It will not be enough, however, for the NCCC just to support such localcampaigns, fighting councils to preserve existing facilities or marginally extend them.
NATIONAL Vital though this local work is, it will become increasingly important in the period ahead to launch a national initiative that
will put the blame fairly and schare!! where i!
Such a perspective could
draw together all those fighting
their local struggles, give them a
Beyond Fragments
'personal experience, 'local
actions' and organisational
'diffusness'. The aim of the
conference was to see how
far this new 'politics' could
be carried forward and,
perhaps, organised around.
It is difficult to see,
however, how any form of
unity can be created when
politics is seen not as
coming
set of ideas but purely
around 'personal'
experience. People don't
have the same experience
EVIDENCE This was shown most clearly
in the afternoon workshops
which were all asked to discover "what we have in common as socialists". The 5-minute reportback revealed, at the plenary session, that it wasn't very much.
Any idea of uniting together around a set of common actions such as fighting the attacks being launched by Thatcher on social services, employment and union rights — was firmly rejected. That smacked too much of being part of the tradition of the far left which, of course, many activists disagreed with.
Moreover, seeking to build an organisa-
sense of strength and unity and make women's rights right to work issue which cannot be ignored.
As with the National Abortion Campaign, a key element of building such action must be a struggle inside the unions and local Labour Parties to convince them that women's rights is an issue they cannot ignore or walk away from. PLANNING CTTEE The decision at the Steering Citee on August 3rd to set up a Labour Party subgroup to work through the Labour Parties nationally Is an important step in this direction. A similar orientation must also be taken towards the unions.
Publishing a regular newsletter and a booklet
•Nurseries: How and Why to Fight for them', agreed at the Steering Cttee, can be useful
tools in publicising the
campaign and getting information into the labour
movement.
If the NCCC moves out
boldly in the coming months -
developing publicity and
launching bold action
could begin to draw thousands
into concrete struggles for a
women's rights.
If you would like further
information about the NCCC
or would like to affiliate your
local LP/trade union/ women's helongs on grour etc
Care Project, Dockland
Settlement, Redriff Rd., London,
SE 16.
tion uniting together the
single-issue campaigns
people were active in was
also rejected.It would
involve, wouldn't it,
agreeing on a limited
programme and smacked
again too much of that
dreaded word 'party'
together around a
The only point of agreement
conference was a common
This hostility was directed
against the stress placed by
organisation, clear programme and need for
At a time when such activity is desperately needed - as the mass anti-Corrie campaign showed -
the conference marked a
reteat away from the
of 'personal, life-style'
seemed to arise is: why bother to organise a conference to discuss how the idea of are you are not going to do
anything.
the • a national
Jane Ansell (Finchley CLP) representing the single fastest
on.
her getting a job.
OBSTACLES reduce. - It please contact:
Doris Chic
are therefore worse paid.
TORIES
undertaken by the state.
re-employment.
WOMEN and
JOBS CRISIS
DIVISIVE
Back in 1952, when the welfare state was set up, Beveridge wrote: "The attitude of a housewife to gainful employment should not be the same as a single woman; she has other duties. In the next 30 years, housewives as mothers have adequate work in ensuring the continuance of the • British race and British ideals...
Millions of women may since have been drawn into the labour force -growing area of union membership nOTZOn but Beveridge's attitude still lingers
Society still sees women's role as basically a domestic one and places numerous obstacles in the path of
Married women, for example LABOUR currently occupy two thirds of the female labour force. While going to • ork, however, they are still expected to bear the burden of a wife and mother. This is reflected in the scandal of nursery provision which the Tories are trying to further
It is this view of women as childminders first which explains the discrimination she finds in the workplace. First, she is hived off into jobs which are considered 'women's work' - typists, cooks, cleaners, teachers etc. - and unfit for men.
Second, she receives lower rates of pay. It's not so much a question of
It's a question oi being eligible ior ine le
only a small range of female jobs
which are seen as less important and
The Tories' economic policies will
only worsen the situation. At a time
when women are seeking to challenge
their second-class status, Thatcher's
government wants to push us back
into the home as 'domestic servants'.
Cutbacks in the social services will
not only mean women's jobs will be
axed at a faster pace than men's.
Cutting nursery provision, Old
People's Homes etc. will place on the
shoulders of the family - that is, the
woman - all the tasks that should be
Moreover, the Tories' Employ-
ment Bill will worsen the situation
further by denying women, who have
children, the automatic right to
Socialist Action If the Tories succeed in their offensive, it will not only be a setback for women's rights, but for all working people. Thatcher knows that, by creating a climate that woman's place is in the home, she can weaken and divide the labour movement's response to her policies.
She knows that she can turn men against women in the scramble for jobs that is opening up as unemployment looms ever larger on the
She also knows that, by making women dependent again on men, she can create a conservative "brake' on the militancy of male workers and their readiness to strike. The action by wives of Hadfield steelworkers -opposing the strike - is the type of situation the Tories want to develop.
Fighting back against the Tories therefore means fighting to win the labour movement to pioneer and support women's rights. Although women are half the present workforce, only 32% are unionised - a fact which reveals the attitude of union leaders to women workers.
Moreover, even when unionised. women are seriously under-represented in the union structure. In CAWU, for example, with over 80% women membership, women
occupy a minimal number of places on the Executive Committee.
it women are le !!ese..
fight to win the laccur a
to take women's rights serce
FIGHTBACKR
This means getting the uric:
pioneer women's rights in corvet
action. The fact that the TUC was
pushed into supporting mass actice:
against the Corrie Bill was a good
example of what can be achieved
with some determined effort.
Similar struggles have to be
waged to make the unions - and
Labour Party - take up the fight
against nursery closures, the need it
unionise women and to seek
affirmative action in job prospects.
Why should women - purely or.
account of sexual bias - be exclude:
from a whole area of employment
from engineering to shipbuilding? I-
certain countries, such as the USA
major break-throughs in these fields
have occurred. It's time we had
break-throughs of our own here.
'A female plumber is still a rarity
Page 5 scan of this page
Racist Net Tightens
AFGHANISTAN: Debate
October 80 Late last month, the Tories published their White Paper on Nationality. 'White Paper' is apt. The document represents yet another stage in the hate campaign launched by the government against Black people. As Rudi Narayan, well-known Black activist, explains in his recent pamphlet 'Passport to Racism': "...it is not numbers but race and colour that is the driving force
S.L. CARL
by Mark Challen (Peckham YS)
Over 100 people - representing
the Black and labour movement -
packed a S. L. CARL meeting on
September 10th to discuss the
racist nature of the present imm-
igration laws and the proposed
Nationality Act.
The opening speaker, J. Plummer
(JCWI) dealt with the racist bias
in the current immigration laws.
An estimated 200 Blacks, for
example, are at any one time
languishing in jail without
reason and without the right
of 'habeus corpus'. Their rights,
he stressed, are even less than
those detained under the Prev-
ention of Terrorism Act.
I ne secona speaker, nuay
Narayan, was more eloquent and
emotive. While Plummer gave
the facts of the situation, Nar-
ayan explained the oppression
Blacks suffer - under the immig-
ration laws - Irom nirst-nand
experience. He laid particular
stress on the 225:30..
ers to take up the defence of
Black rights.
STOP THE
TORY
RACIST
LAWS
Although John Tilley (Labour
Lambeth ) concentrated on
the 'particularly obnoxious
aspects of the Tory Nationality
White Paper, he echoed Naray-
an's point that Labour's record
was a disaster. The previous
Labour government's Green
Paper on Nationality was, he
said, worse than the present
Tory one.
The problem of the Labour
Partv's attitude was underlined
further by contributions from
the floor which explained how
the Labour leaders, instead of
fighting racist laws, has compet-
ed with the Tories in introduc-
ing them.
The general feeling of the
meetng was that it would lake
a growing movement - mobilis.
ing thousands on the streets-
before they could be forced to
defend Black rights and implem-
ent comerence accisions lo
repeal the racist immigration
laws.
The general enthusiasm of the
meeting - reflected in the £82
collection at the end - showed
that building CARL into a mass
movement was the serious aim
of all concerned.
If you would like further info
about CARL, contact: B' Swart,
c/o Lansbury House, 41 Camber-
well Grove, SE S.
ity proposals".
IMMIGRATION the present colour bar.
by Carter and Thatcher".
of Soviet involvement in
Afghanistan.
PROGRESSIVE
progressive act.
Crechoslovakia -
minories
DEFENSIVE
London-Heathrow Airport Arrivals behind the government's national-
Under the White Paper's proposals, citizens are divided into those whose ancestors were born in this country - the overwhelming majority of whites - and those whose ancestors weren't. These latter -mainly Black - are then sub-divided into two further categories. Such a division merely mirrors that already in operation under the 19-1 Immigration Act. What
while white Commonwealth immigrants will be free to come and go as they please, Blacks will be rigourously kept out. It enforces
Such racist bias is clearly in line with Thatcher's concern', before the last election, that there was a threat of the country being
Terry Shew (Peckham YS)
"Whatever Workers Action might
say, the truth of the matter is that
it has backed down before the anti-
Soviet hvsteria being Whipped ur
This was the message Tony
Roberts gave in a debate organised
between Socialist Action and
workers Achion last monin. d
ansury douse. on ine cuesuon
Roberts, of Socialist Action, went on
to explain that, despite the bureau-
cratic nature of the Soviet
leadership, the entry of the Red
Army into Afghanistan is a
" |hev did not go in • - as in to crush the
workers and peasants but to defend
their interests against the CIA-
inspired guerrillas our to overtur!
the massive reform programme
This reform programme, he
pointed out, was a major step
forward. The PDPA had launched
a mass literacy drive, granted rights
to women. recognised trade unions
organised land retorm and giver
aronomy to oppressed national
Moreover, he pointed out, the
soviet interventon was not all aul
ol agression (as pointed in ine
Mike Sheridan (IFL.) "swamped with an alien culture'.
RIGHTS
The importance of these racist laws is not only that they discriminate against Black people at the ports of entry. It is that they help create a climate of legalised racism which permeates the lives of all those Blacks already here. Under the provisions of the 1971 Immigration Act, suspected 'illegal immigrants' can be arrested without warrent and deported without right of appeal. This denial of democratic rights sheetie the green light tu harass and intimidate the Black community.
The recent 'fishing raids' we have witnessed - carried out with gestapo-like precision - are a few examples of the police in action. Is it any wonder that areas like Southall and Brixton live in a constant terror of police raids?
Western press). It was clearly
designed to protect their borders
trom what was seen as a direc
threat if a Washington-backed
regime managed to seize power
toere
It was because the Soviet army
had destroyed the CIA-inspired
guerrilla bands mascarading as
'freedom fighters' - that the
western press had launched such a
virulent campaign. They have since
used this intervention
scotched their manoeuvres in the
area - to launch a mass outcry
against the USSR and to justify
their nuclear arms race.
Len Wagstaff-(Vau xhall CLP)
DEMAGOGUES
Unfortunately, the Labour leaders find it difficult to challenge the racist bias of such acts. Jim Callaghan and others were only too willing -. when in office -- to implement the 1971 Immigration Act and devise a Green Paper on Nationality which is virtually identical to the Tories present
The dangers of this attitude are only too obvious. By backing down before the racist oftensive, they have helped give credence to the idea that Blacks are a 'problem' and have opened up the labour movement to racist demagogues.
Such a situation can be lethal at a time of mass unemployment and lead - unless challenged - to certain layers of workers seeing Blacks not as allies but as a threat in the years ahead.
FIGHT-BACK
Opposition to the Labour leaders' weak-kneed attitude is mounting, however. The mass CARL demonstration of 20,000 last November won the support of both Black organisations and the Labour Party. That promising beginning must now be built upon.
number vt meetines hanunan! - from Brixton to Bristol - to win support against the Nationality Act. It is considering a conf. erence this Autumn and a mass rally early in the New Year. Such action will be vital if the Tory racist curbs are to be defeated.
"It is a primary task of
socialists", he concluded, 'not to
join in the hysteria against the
USSR
protecung workers night:
against the West which is cynically
using it as an excuse for rushing
no a war orive
Speaking for Workers Action, Sean
Matgamna ridiculed the idea that
the CIA was involved in promoting
guerrilla resistence to the PDPA
regime. He argued that the rea
problem was that the Stalinist
PDPA lacked any social base
among the workers and peasants
and that its reform programme was
-- which in this instance is
• OU
page 5
MALCOLMA
The Man and His Ideas
MALCOLM
Copies available from :
PO Box No 65
London SW 16 1NN bureaucratical instance
The Soviet intervention was designed to prop up this minority regime which was losing contact win une mass or me poouanot Such an intervention, however. clearly helped the reactionary bands' bı alienating workers and peasants sulll lurinel
In that sense, while calling for an exposure of the Western hypocrisy, It was also necessary lo demand the withdrawal of Soviet troops which have not defended our toreatened orogressive developments in Afghanistan.
DEBATE
The debate that followed was both lively and informative. speakers from both sides putting forward leir wews in turn . A ker focus tot the debate that followed was the USSR's motivation in entering Afghanistan.
If, as Matgamna implied. the USSR moved into Aignanistan or an expansionist move. one socaner pointed out. tat would serious! undermine one's analysis of it as a parasitic bureaucracy of a workers state. Surel, the speake continued. socialists criticism of ine wook is inat .. as in Vietnam
it has been prepared to sell out revolutions around the world in order to gain detente with ihe
why on the earin would h jeopardise this 'detente' merei! ti invade a backward. poor country As Roberts summed up. suen. move just wouldn't make ions.
Page 6 scan of this page
page 6
Editorial
struggles in its pages.
publicise them as widely as possible.
inadequate for this task.
(both threatened by the cuts)
ows' in the Labour Party.
FINANCE
Action next Easter. however, need funds.
string.
a serious fund drive to mount it in the interim period.
come out more regularly.
the fund drive off.
- are prepared to give. to help us reach our objectives.
FUND CHART
thousands of Labour supporters.
right-wing allies in the labour movement).
around the following demands:
programme for those already on the dole.
living to offset inflation.
that put profit betore people & labour movement.
own future - Get the troops out of Ireland now!
leaders.
contribute to it -
London SW16 INN.
BI-WEEKLY SOCIALIST ACTION
Socialist Action has been coming out for almost a year new on a monthly basis. Its supporters are active in most of the struggles in the labour movement - from the fight against the cuts to that against racist immigration laws - and the paper always seeks to reflect these
Against the lies and distortions that appear in the Fleet Street press, it has always sought to take up the interests of those in struggle and
We have increasingly felt, however, that a monthly Socialist Action is
The attacks launched by the present Tory government have led ever wider layers of working people to be drawn into action in defence of basic rights and living standards - from the fight to keep open St Benedicts hospital to the struggle for nurseries
For Socialist Action to reflect these struggles - to become a paper to publicise them and argue for them - it must come out more regularly. It must become a tribune arguing for class-struggle policies within the labour movement against both the Tories and their right wing 'shad-
We have therefore decided to set a dead-line for a bi-weekly Socialist
Moving towards a more regular publication will,
Unlike the Fleet Street press, Socialist Action has to exist on a shoe
It only manages to survive on the sales it makes and the donations which you - our readers and supporters - give us each month. If we are to be able to go bi-weekly next Easter it will mean launching
Taking into account the ravages of inflation, we have therefore set a goal of £10,000 to be achieved by next Easter as the minimum required to
One of our supporters in Vauxhall has already donated £200 to kick
Whether we reach our target of £10,000 in the next six months will depend on what you - our readers and supporters
For this reason we would urge you to 'dig deep
In future issues of Socialist Action we intend including a 'fund chart' to trace our progress towards meeting the target of £10.000.
all manage lu grre mmm llielelure De gralelul! Ieleneu A particularly helpful way of contributing would be to take out a bankers order making regular contributions to the paper every month.
What We Stand For
Socialist Action sees as its central aim building, within the labour
movement, a class-struggle left-wing fighting for socialist policies
against those which lost Labour the last election and disillusioned
Such a left-wing should support not only policies in the interests
of working people but also their allies among the youth, Blacks,
women and oppressed national minorities. It is only by showing that
Labour champions the rights of all the oppressed and exploited that a
really united offensive can be organised against the Tories (and their
Socialist Action believes that a figh ting left wing should be built
* Hands off the unions! No curbs on the right to strike or picket! * For the 35-hour week! End unemployment by work-sharing (with no loss of pay) and introduce a mass public works
* Oppose all wage curbs. For wage increases tied to the cost of
* Open the books of all companies claiming inability to pay a decent living wage or threatening redundancies. Nationalise those
* Tax the rich not the poor. No cuts in the social services - for
social spending to be tied to increases in the cost of living.
* For women's rights. For the right of all women to abortion on
demand, free nurseries, equal pay and opportunity. Support NAC.
* Fight racism. Repeal all racist immigration laws. Defend the
right of Black people to organise as they see fit in the community
* For the right of all oppressed nations to determine their own
* For a safe environment. End nuclear reactors and base an energy strategy on coal. Explore alternative energy resources. Socialist Action supporters, while fighting for the above demands,
seek the widest possible unity of all forces in the labour movement
around concrete issues. They also seek to encourage the widest
democracy in the labour movement to alloraall currents to argue for
their point of view and for decisions to be mandatory on Labour
If you would like to know more about Socialist Action - or - write to: Socialist Action, PO Box No 65,
Faced with a massive workers' upsurge that has shaken the country, the Polish government has been forced to beat a major retreat. The deal it signed with Baltic port workers on Sept 1st was a staggering blow to its own bureaucratic rule.
be seen from the fact that it was forced to concede the right of workers to form free trade unions and to strike - two central demands of the MKS (Interfactory Strike Committee).
As Lech Wálesa promina nt strike leader commented: "We've gotten all that's possible in the current situation. It's what we wanted and dreamed of independent trade unions"
FIRST STEP
Winning the right to organise in independent unions was not the only concession the repressive regime was forced to make to get the workers back to work.
It was also compelled to pledge to limit censorship, meet many of the strikers' economic demands. allow access to the media by religious groups and release more than two dozen dissidents arrested for supporting the strike wave. What- Freeing well-known antibureaucratle activisis such as Jacek Kuron from jail, the government was forced to agree that "Radio, television, the press and publishing houses will serve to express the multiplicity of thoughts and opinions".
STRIVE WAVE
The masive upsurge that led to this breakthough for socialist democracy had a modest beginning. It started around opposition to the sharp rise in As the strike wave in Poland grew, Western leaders tumbled over each other in order to identify with the Polish flag. On his election drive in Alabama, President Carter exclaimed that "The working men and women of Poland have set an example for all those who cherish freedom..." Similar words have come from Mrs Thatcher.
But as they identified with the workers of Gdansk and Sczecin, the words must have stuck in their throats. For they know all too well that the strike victory in Poland cuts right across their aim of convincing workers -- in the USA or Britain accept massive sacrifices in the years ahead.
UNION RIGHTS
What was the central demand of
by Steve Randell (Lambeth Central CLP)
The extent of this retreat can
- the most
we' ve got government on July
that exists in Poland J. McLaughlin (EEPTU)
Poland? that they will have to
conditions?
FREEDOM
the Polish strikes? For free trade The hypocricy of the lories -
POLAND: Workers
organizing center for strike movement. meat prices announced bt the
Ist. It was soon apparant, however, that this was only a spark to the long-smouldering hatred by workers of the repressive regime
Strikes began to spread. Within weeks, Gdansk, a major port of the Baltic sea, was paralysed. More than 50,000 out of the city's 500,000 workforce downed tools, led by the workers at the Lenin shipyard. Soon after, shipyard workers, bus and streetcar drivers in the
Thatcher's and C
unions and the right to strike. How can Mrs Thatcher praise their efforts 'in the cause of freedom' when her government was elected on a union-bashing programme? Isn't Prior's 'Employment Act' designed to destroy those very rights the Tories pretend to support in
And what about the demands for protection against inflation and a shorter working week that were central to the Polish trade unionists' strike? Hasn't the Thatcher government, at a time when inflation is raging at over 20%, indulged in major confrontations with workers over pay demands? Weren't the steel workers supposed to be the first lambs to be sacrificed in her drive to lower living
Socialist Action Strikers defend gates of Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk. H
neighbourir and Sopot sitni
By August 18th. there were over 149 workplaces reportedi! closed in these three cities. Moreover, strikes began to spread to other Baltic ports, to Warsaw and Lodz and most significantly of all - to the coalfields in Silesia (base of Communist Party leader Eduard Giereck.)
STRIKE CTTEES
Rejecting the státe-controlled
and their right-wing allies in the Labour Party - can be seen even more clearly on the question of civil rights. Some of the key demands of the Polish workers were for greater freedom of speech and access to information about Poland's socio-economic situation.
How the Tories can support this when - more than any other government since the war -- they have clamped down on civil liherties is a mystery. Didn't the Tories encourage, for example, the British Steel Corporation's lawsuit against the BBC for refusing to reveal the 'mole' who leaked "secret' documents?
Didn't the Tories — on their coming to power - arm the police with greater powers to victimise and intimidate pickets and the Black ghettoes? REASON
The real reason the Tories
Page 7 scan of this page
October 80 ers are using the shipyard as
unions, the strikers began organise their own independent committees and, what is more, elect delegates to the MKS (Interlactory Strike Cttee) to ordinate activity between various plants and factories.
What clearly worried the bureaucratic regime was that the demands raised by the strikers were not simply being limited to economic objectives - such as pay and conditions.
On the contrary, as the strike wave gathered momentum, it began to throw up demands
and right-wing Labourites have professed sympathy for the Polish strikers, even though it sticks in their throat, is quite simple. By posing as champions of the Polish strikers, they hope they can blunt the full impact and example of this working-class struggle.
They hope to twist it to try and re-inforce anti-communism by falsely identifying the Stalinist bureaucrats as 'communist'. But the more the facts about Poland become known -- what the strikers are doing, saying and fighting for -the more such efforts will fall flat.
FACTS
The facts are that the strikers in Gdansk and Sczecin were not acting to re lauroduce a capitalism that was thrown out over 30 years ago. They know only too well that the
in Mass Struggle
which directly challenged their special privileges and repressive rule. The demands for 'freedom of speech' and an end to the perks enjoyed by the secret police and party apparatus were cases ill polli RESPONSE
The immediate reaction of the Stalinist leadership was, of course, to denounce the strikers as 'anti-socialist'. Eduard Giereck appeared on television and - as in the previous strike waves of 1970 and 1976 - denounced the threat of "anarchist and anti-socialist groups". Dissidents began to be arrested and Soviet intervention 'threatened'.
If Giereck's point was true, of course, it would be a damning indictement of a supposedly 'socialist' government that they had performed so badly that the workers preferred a return to capitalism.
But the demands of the Polish workers were crystalclear. They were not asking for a return to capitalism but an end to bureaucratic rule. As Walesa said: "We don't want to change the socialist ownership of the means of production. but we want to be real masters of the factories."
BUREAUCRACY
What the workers were demandco- ing-what they have demanded in the the three strike waves that have hit the country Stalinist totalitarianism. A clear example of this was seen, just before the strike wave began, in the case of one Maciek Scszepanki, a protege of Giereck himself.
Scszepanki was dismissed
from his role, as head of the state Radio-TV Committee. for
rter's Hypocrisy
nationalised and planned economy has made possible great advances in industrialisation and the social services.
What they were challenging was the concentration of power in the hands of a parasitic bureaucracy which maintains its privileges by preventing them from democratically controlling economic decisions.
Bureaucratic handling of the economy, by this ruling caste, had led to economic stagnation, shortages and inflationary trends which the bureaucrats hoped to resolve by cutting the living standards of Polish workers. This is what the increase in meat prices was all about.
FACADE
The aim of the mass upsurge in Poland was, in this sense, not to undermine socialism but to eradicate those forces who are its
corruption. This guardian of 'proletarian right-thinking' was accused of owning ten lavish residences (some equipped with
off a million dollars out of a deal he negotiated between Polish and British TV.
Seszepanki symbolised the whole ruling caste. It was against this caste against the socialised means of production workers were turning their hatred: a caste which keeps them in the dark as to the real facts, denies them elementary rights and them to make sacrifices off the fat of the land.
CONCESSIONS Faced with the rising
the bureaucracy's mixture of threats and appeals cut no ice.
as a defender of human rights
and urged the strikers, on
not be broken, and frightened
ira: re-shuttles among the bureaucratic leaders began to occur. On Sept 6th, it was announced that Giereck had
was replaced by Stanislaw Kania.
is an end to 'heart attack' can be measured by the fact that this is exactly the same excuse used for the
real facts are, of course, that
to negotiate a series of 'concessions' with the strikers.
worst enemy. This was
York Times (Aug. 30) which stated:
"... both the Communist authorities and the capitalist
of interests in stability - so much so that one Western banker who asked not to be cited by name said that if the Russians actually did intervene in Poland, the nation's creditworthiness might actually increase",
Behind the facade of sympathy for the Polish workers, they really fear and hate them because, in defying the Polish bureaucrats' austerity plans, an example can be set to Western workers to combat their austerity plans.
GAINS
won by the Polish workers is grim news indeed for the
swimming pools) and of raking
men to yo
For Polish workers, faced with a sharp rise in meat prices,
workers; - and not
that the Polish moners
- while calling on - lives leave etc.
determination of Polish workers
Even the Church - which had previously won some credibility
- began to be discarded when OPPOSITION it came to the aid of the regime
August 23rd, to return to work.
Aware that the strike could
that its demands might escalate
trade unions still further. it was at this point
as ä necessary
suffered a 'heart attack' and he
The credibility of Giereck's
wishful thinking. replacement of Gumulka during
trade unions the strikes ten years earlier. The
being built off that easily.
Giereck's usefulness was used up and that a new leader was needed LEADERSHIP practically admitted by the New
bankers recognise a convergence
enormous
In this sense, the massive victory
WHAT THEY FOUGHT FOR
* Abolition of 'commercial
* Selection of management on the
basis or quantications and not party membership. Privileges of the secret police and party members to be eliminated *Introduction of food coupons for mcal an meal oroducts.
* Reduction on the age ol
retirement for women to 50 and
* Conformity of old-aged pensions
with what has actually been paid
* inprovements in the working
condions or ine nealin service: to insure full medical care for all
* Assurances of a reasonable
number of child-care centres and kindergardens for working
* An increase in the commutora! * Paid maternity leave for 3 years:
allowance trom 40 to 100 zlots:
* A day of rest on Saturdas
workers in the brigade svstem 1o be compensated for the loss of a free Saturday with increased
* Acceptance ot free trade unions
in accordance with convention 87 of the International Labour Organisation:
* Guarantee of the right to strikt
* Guarantee of the right of free
Speech and publication
* The release of all politica
One of Kania's first speeches promised democracy and satisfaction of the strikers demands. The agreement by the bureaucrats to recognise free
and the right to is clearly seer h
They probably hope, however, that by limiting the role of the unions to issues such
an as "pay and conditions' and by getting the strikers to recognise the Communist Party as the leading force in the state, to retain their political control.
If so, they are indulging in
The Polish free - which are now will not be fobbed
As they develop and grow, they and socialism.
Strikers in Gdansk discuss the demands to put to the gorernment
Thatchers and Carters of this world, no matter how much they pretend otherwise. It has set an example to workers everywhere how to use the
power they possess to defend their interests.
It has taught them to defend their right to unionise, to defend their right to a job and decent living standards, to defend their right to determine how they the producers of all wealth -should run the economy.
page 7
Strike leader Lech Walesa
* Right of mass media to spreac
information about the strike, the
ormalon distrike cuees ano
its demands * Making public intormation about
the strike. the formation of
the socio-economic crisis in
roland ano amoung a sectors
to take part in the discussion on
à reform programme: * Compensation of all workers
taking part in the strike: * An increase of 2.000 zlotys(£25) a
month in the basic pay of all
HOIACIS. * Guaranteed automotic increase
in prices. * Full supply of food to the
domestic market
cal to sul diuse
will become the key instrument in advancing the demands of all workers who have come to see them - and not the government - as representing their true interests.
demands inan mere. ones: the lifting of cencorship the freeing of political prisoner:
end to persecution, access to information on Poland's economic and sociai problems
all these are part of the strike and will continue to be advanced by the new leaders thrown up by the MKS.
In fighting for these demands, the independent trade unions can become a central instrument for leading Polish workers to complete the struggle for genuine workers' democrac!
Equally important, it has shown workers the true face of communism which resides not in the bureaucratic misleaders but in the workers who formed the strike committees. This, in itself, will break down anticommunist prejudice, not build it. It will make it harder for Mrs Thatcher and her ilk to get workers to accept 'cuts' while, as part of her war drive, she lavishes millions on obsolete weaDons
Page 8 scan of this page
FASCISM: How to fight it tr
DEBATE: Socia
page 8 Over the past decade, the question of the NF has loomed large in left circles. What does it represent. What sort of threat does it pose today? How should socialists deal with it!
These are the questions that have been a major source of debate on the left and led to numerous polemics. below, Bob Swart - leading anti-racist campaigner — looks at the experience of the past ten years and seeks to araw some conclusions
Are there dangers in using the word
A. If you read the radical press, you can
often find figures from Enoch Powell
Plan Paisley referred to as
lo ine nev
'fascist'. The fact that such diverse
figures can be labelled in this way is
a sign of the confusion over the
term used.
This can be dangerous. Careless
definitions can actually lull' peopie
as 1o the real dangers of a fascist
threat when it arises. This is what
happened in the 30s when the
German CP labelled the Social-
Democrats as 'social-fascists" and
refused to unite against them in a
serious struggle against Miner s
blackshirts.
O. What are the conditions for the rise
of mass fascist movement.
A. The most important point is that a
mass fascist movement can only
develop out of a serious delcal lor
the workers movement. rascism linds is social base in the middle criticised as a "dead-end"
Action put forward their views.
SWP
Since I don't think that your article on the SWP and the Labour Party helped explain the differences between Socialist Action and the SWP, I welcome your offer allowing me to try and clarify these differences for your readers.
What I think Cde Rodney's article failed to do was to spell out a number of hidden assumptions about the Labour Party. It is these assumptions I wish to focus on.
To begin, we should ask ourselves the question: is the LP a bourgeois party with a working class support, or a workers party with a degenerate (or deformed) leadership? Without
actually saying so in so many words, it is the latter view of the LP that your article puts over.
You say, for example, that the LP was 'born out of the struggles of the unions, that 'it remains the political
arm of the trade union movement & inal lu munon workers continue to vote for it'.
While nobody can deny these facts, you use them to imply Labour is a workers' party. Therefore, you see a need to 'struggle against its bureaucratic leaders. It would follow from your assumptions that socialists
shoula join this party to change 1es degenerate leadership. This is what you see as the way forward for the labour movement'.
BOURGEOIS
The SWP sees the LP as a bourgeois
party with working class support.
But by what criterion should marx-
ists decide the class nature of a
political party?
First, it is not according to who votes for it. Munons or workers vote
Tory, probably greater numbers than
any other class, yet this does not
make the Tory Party a workers'
party.
Photo: Andrew Wiard (Report)
strata and unemploved
who are 'squeezed' by the crisis and
who are demoralised by the inability
of the workers movement to solve it
it is out of these demoralised layers
that the fascists begin to recruit by
posing as a radical alternative to the
formulas of either the workers or
ruling class parties. You can see that
today with the attraction the NF
exerts over young. unemployed
worker youth.
It the workers' movement is bold.
however in anting or a someon
to the crisis. then many of these from
the middle strata and irom the
unempioved can be won to the
Following the defeat of Labour in the last election, a major debate has opened up in the Labour Party. Both the polities and undemocratic manoeuvres of the Callaghan leadership have come under sharp fire. What attitude should socialists take to this development? Is it a process to be supported and participated in or. on the contrary, to be
Below, Steve Freeman of the SWP and Mike Rodney of Socialist
Second. it is not according to the
ship. Perhaps the majority of NF members are working class in origin but this does not make the Ni a
workers party.
Instead, marxists need to consider the nature of the party's politics in order to understand its class nature. In this respect, it is the politics of those with real power in the party rather than the latest recruit which is crucial.
TRENDS
The two major political tendencies in the LP are liberal-imperialism & reformist socialism. These strands are represented on the leading bodies of the party, the NEC, the PLP, among the Party leaders and within the trade union leadership.
The right-wing are liberals, not socialists. They support social reform and welfare (if we can afford it) at home, while abroad they support US and British imperialism (e.g. Vietnam, Ireland, Iran).
The left reformists are more difficult to pin down. On one hand, ideologically, they do argue for socialism and do articulate the discontent of workers. But politically, they are also influenced by capitalist thinking. For example, they see the state machine as an instrum. ent for achieving socialism. Marxists therefore have always warned of the dangers of left-reformism. In power, it can provoke a violent reaction from the ruling class, yet it does not prepare te working class politically how to deal with such a reaction. Allende was a tragic example of left reformist socialism in practice.
DOMINANCE
Right-wing dominance is built into the structure of the Labour Party. ‹ ne rederal consutanon of the wade unions' bloc vote and the independence of the PLP was designed to ensure that, while the rank-and-file might nave a Dig say al annudi coll
National Front march in London
all nose perspective of socialism Q. Is fascism a threat today?
their 'No platform for Fascists'
slogan
out ine or government ference, this would not be translated into political power.
In effect, this means that rank-and-file socialists do the leg-work to del-
the liberal-imperialist leadership... Hence, we must conclude that, despite the fact that millions of workers vote Labour and that the majority of its membership is working class, nevertheless the LP is a bourgeois party This conclusion has been proven time and again when the LP forms a governmen.
REFORMS?
The reformist socialists now realise that they will never gain real power in the party without reforming the constitution. They hope to transform Labour from a liberal-imperialist party into a bourgeois-socialist party. to achieve Inis, or course they need marxist activists to join Labour and help them to power. Hence the left-reformists now talk a great deal about "transforming' LaDour The danger for marxists is that they themselves may become so seduced by left-reformist sweet-talk rhat they become advocates of 'transforming' Labour. If you wish to follow leftreformists and start talking loosely of "transforming' Labour, then you ought to make it clear what is being transformed into what.
KEY TASK
As the world recession brings new unicals to the working class, ll becomes increasingiy necessary to create a new political force. On the ngn, the lascists ale lying to create a new party founded on different theories, principles and methods to the Tories.
On the left, all marxists must take seriously the need to build a new party on different theories, principles and methods to 'labourism'. Such a party must be built on the historical and international experience of workers' struggles: for example, the Paris Commune, the Russian Revolution, and the Span-
grow
on ine lel anti-NF activity with the NF.
To read a lot of the 'left press" with
vou'd think it was iust around the corner. That's wrong The major threat to the workers' movement today doesn't come from a small insignificant ultra-right group
To pose the NF as a major threat can actually distract people from the real menace of the lories wo are seeking to attack the unions, create mass unemplovment. sharpen racist laws etc. Only if the Tories get away with these attacks will wide layers
La workers party.
IN OR OUT and recruiting people.
become demoralsea and ine lascist.
The key task of socialists today is
not to concentrate on the NF buton
defeating the Tory affensive. Many
so keen to mauice in - are reluctant lo
get involved in a serious campaign,
for example, to stop the racist laws
(such as CARL).
O. Just the same, the racist and
chavinist iraditions in the labour
movement can be plaved on by the
NF to gain support A. Of course,and this is why it is
important to take up these issues
which are breeding ground for the
ultra-right. By building mass action
against racist laws. against doullivl
restrictions, one is undermining the
potenual for lascism to grow in the
future. It is much more important.
at this stage, than confrontations
Nevertheless, the danger is that
unless one stops them while they are
small, it will be 100 late.
No-one doubts that the fascists will
have to be stopped by force. The
question is - by whom? The
campaign led by ultra-left groups to
break up the Nt's meetings etc 1s
based on atolav wrong assessmen
ol the situation today
It may temporarily discourage the
NF but it does nothing to eliminate
the breeding grounds of fascism
racism and chauvinism etc - which
will provide plenty of future NF ish Civil War. Only such a party, founded on marxism, can be called
A workers gert! weild aim. at some
.. . ... I..: ..... the workers in the struggle for power. All marxists should agree on this, regardless of whether they think this or that particular group provides the best base for such a party.
THE
Once we are clear that the LP is a bourgeois party, and that a key task is to build a marxist workers' party, then we can usefully discuss whether infiltrating Labour helps this objective. Certainly, infiltration may be a way of spreading marxist ideas
It is a way but not the only way. The SWP was itself in the LP in the early 60s. Especially if you are a small group, Labour with its liberal attitude to 'entryists' provides possibly the best environment for survival and growth. However, there are also political dangers of adapting too much to left reformism if the political basis for membership is not made clear.
Therefore it may be useful to make a distinction between prin cipled and opportunist entryism. The former attempts to breakLabour Party activists from illusions in Labour. The latter provides new marxist arguments to reinforce illusions in Labour. It was this opp ortunist entryism that the article
Socialist Action
members in the period ahead l. Do you think confrontations then
community were prepared to tackle
blackshirts in the East End in the 30s
- that would be quite ditterent It is quite different for a few
isolated groups, with no backing in
the labour movement, to do so.In the
first place, such 'vanguardist' actions
only leave the mass of workers as
'spectators'. In the second place, it
suggests that the left, instead of
fighting for democratic rights. is seen
as being involved in a campaign to
destroy tem
Our task is not to substitute for the
workers movement. Our task is to
politically win the workers'
movement so that it can begin the
job of eradicating the NF filth
What about calling on the NF 10 be
banned by the government?
That would be a major error. It
would be a mistake to call on the
government to suppress anyone's
rights. The left will easily be the
first to suffer any curtailment of
democratic rights. Look what
happened a few years back when the
ANL made this call. All
demonstrations - - of the left and
• were cancelled.
Even if our meetings are attacked
- as lney nave beel • calling or
the government to ban the NF is still
an error. Instead, we should call for
the formation of defence guards. By
posing the NF as the aggressor.
intent upon destroving democrati
rights, it will be possible to win wide
layers who will see these thugs
in their real light was guilty of.
GUILTY
of the LP (implicitly presenting i: as a degenerate workers' party in need of reform). Second, you forgot to mention that an important task today is to create a marxist workers
RIGH
party whose politics is opposed to bourgeois parties like Labour. Third, oy advocaling felorming Labour as 'the way forward for the labour movement', you have in fact become advocates of Tony Benn's line. It is on these three points that Socialist Action should clarify its positions.
We in the SWP are fully aware that in the LP there are many socialists honestly struggling for socialism. We also know that our formmulation of the LP as a bourgeois party may offend them, but it would be politically dishonest to soften our position or gloss over the class nature of the party in order to make ourselves more acceptable to those socialists moving towards marxism.
We do however believe that there is a real need for co-operation be tween socialists inside and outside the LP around issues of mutual concern (e.g. the NF at East St., the Brixton dole picket, immigration laws, the Right to Work campaign etc). Such co-operation, where possible, is of over-riding importance in the struggle against the
Page 9 scan of this page
BLACKS VICTIMISED Socialists & Canabis?
ists & the Labour Party
October By Liz Easton (Hackney CLP)
Lawyers are planning to sue Hackney police following an 'anti-mugging" operation in the borough on Friday12th
18 young Blacks were held DebiemoCl. for nearly 24 hours and then released without being charged.
The incident it seems, occurred after a mugging in the area was reported to the police who then swooped on a large crowa or back youln nearoy stopped and searched many of them and took 18 into custody.
SPG
The criticism Commander David Mitchell has received for this action will not have come as a shock to him. Ever since becoming head of Hacknev police last year Mitchell has been at the centre of controversy over his policing meloas He first brought the SPG into the borough early this year - despite council opDosiuon - ane nas ouoncany ex oressea &
hard line' attitude on street crime and race relations.
Deputy leader of the Council, John Kotz, said again this weekend what has been said many times before - that this man is not good lor race relanons In Hackney.
CRIME?
*21nº a vrocramm
Comm. Mitchell expressed his astonishment that some peopie, on leaving puds at ciosing ume, lauea lo go A few years ago, fringe groups like the SWP were writing off the Labour Party as a 'premature corpse'. The left forces that
- and which nave emergea in tne party are attracting wide union support -ПОИ presents them with a problem.
This problem is aggravated by the fact that, as part of its swing left, the Labour Party has taken the lead in initiating action on a wide range of issues from the anti-cuts demo last November to the anti-nuclear rally this monU
These moves are no accident. They reveal the pressure on the party by wide layers of workers who see the need to fight for solid anti-Tory policies not in fringe groups but in the party they built, finance and vote for: the Labour Party.
CHARACTER
cde rreemans arice is an autemol lo justify the SWP's sectarian stance in the face of this development. The points he raises to defend SWP practice are a series of hoary old chesnuts which were rejectea, in tne marxıst movement, vears
Iney can be bolled down essentially to three points: that the Labour Party Is a "bourgeois party" (albeit with working class support), Inal as a resuli, l cannor be 'changed": and finally, that it is necessary to be outside it building ... the SWP. Let us examine these in turn
Cde Freeman starts off by denying there is any essenual amerence Labour and the Tories. As he insists, it is politics which defines the class nature of a party ana on the record of previous Labour
- one is as bad as the governments olner.
DIFFERENCE?
But hold on a minute. Isn't there a contradiction here between what (de Freeman writes andwhat the SWP does? Didn't the S'WP, at the last election, call for a vote for Labour (albeit grudgingly)? If Labour is a 'bourgeois' party — as bad as the lories - whi
vote for it? Isn't it a principle that socia lists never vote tor bourgeol. parties? Isn't that called crossing class lines?
In fact, of course, the SWP vote for Labour and not the Liberals or Tories
seems, arouse the good Commander's
wrara ov coarung on sueet coricrs. di
activity he clearly considers detrimental
to public order.
From what happened on Friday night,
it would appear Mitchell would like the
people of H lackney to restrict their
nocturnal behaviour still turther
evidently no longer necessary to hang
around street corners to become the
automanc ooject or ponce attention
- merely to be walking home is suffic-
ient to attract the attention of the pol-
BLACK
Particularly if you are Black. Isn't it odd that a large number of Black youth snoula be stoppea, searcnea ana quest ioned simply because they were in the
vicinity of an alleged 'mugging' last Hnca.
Is the so-called incidence of street crime we 00e 0e:weer Labout aru ine olneı parlics this difference?
It is not just because workers support it (after all. as Cde Freeman says. many workers vote lorv and socialists don call for a vote for Mrs Thatcher). The SWP called for a vote for Labour because they recognised implicitly what it is a different kind of party from the others.
TORIES?
The Labour Party was created, at the turn of the centurv, by the unions whien nad broken with the capitalist parties. In this sense, it remains the political wing of the union movement, dominaled Dy lne umons both through its block vote at conference and though its voting power.
Whatever Cde Freeman may say, the break with the capitalist parties and the launening ot a new party based on the unions was a major step forward. In no way can that party facilely be equated with the Tories any more than the TUC
whicn aiso seils snort its members can be compared with the CBI.
If Cde Freeman was consistent in his argument, it the Labour Party is to be written olt as bourgeols then so should the unions that dominate it. Is Cde rieeman suggesting inal sociansts don t work in unions either because they are dominated by the same leaders who commale ine Labour rarly.
LESSONS
At one stage in his article. Cde Freeman suggesis mnal soclansis snoud De cuidea by the historical experience of workers struggies. we would agree. wouidnt it. in this respect, be uselul to be guided by
- and draw the lessons from sectarian mistakes of the voung British Communist Partv?
he ment discover inat unev came oul with exactly the same lop-sided formulas on the Labour Party as him. He might also find that Lenin fought hard against this "infantile' view and called on the yaung CP 10 aftliate to the Labour
Cde Freeman has a bit of a problem here. Was perhaps Lenin. like the Cdes of Socialist Action, breeding illusions in reformism as well.
CHANGE
But why did Lenin call on the CP
ity? Does being in the vicinity of a crime automatically bring you under suspicion if you are Black
not one has been charged would seem It is gung lssue was merew an ex cusc lc
MT ranev ae vve a cne
ful imprisionment of his clients. Sucl
it might make Hackney police more hesitant in making mass arrests in future.
Even more welcome would be camp-
ers which are used by the police at
they can victimise and harass Black What essentall! is
Ac
financial support and to join the Labour Party? He clearly knew like coe rreeman is dominated by 'reformist socialists". 20s is no better than Callaghan in the 80s.
Cde Freeman doesn't. He grasped that while he had seen through the ¡cacuoldry icaucis ul lic pally thousands if not millions of workers affiliated to the party realised that you cannot break those workers from such leaders by standing on the sidelines preaching
Inis is ine way lorwaro, lnal ne nas joined the company of other • ШПС sects (from the ILP to the SPGB) who can be seen. everv sundav, gathering a! Hyde Part to preach the superiority of sociaisin
BASE
The point is that wishes of the SWP workers are not looking to the fringe
tace. I hev are looking at the Labour Party lor sucn answer.
development in the party headed by
Sucialist Action. under the drugs act
youll
correcito concuudd
the police to harass the Black community
EVIDENCE - particularlv the voung Black commun-
The fact that of the 18 vouths arrested
caretul as socialists to indicate quite strongly that the 'mug-
harass the Black community as happens in areas as diverse as Brixton to Bristol. advocating taking it.
case, is now suing the police for wrong-
a move, ll successiui, is welcome in that
suspicion. aigns against laws such as 'sus' and oth-
present as legal umbrellas under which
Socialist
that the party : "liberal-imperialists" and MacDonald is the
sidelines
He clearly grasped something that
mal cuansca
• < A n<{ EXPERIENCE
If Cde Freeman seriously considers
illustrious Is sciluus - regardless of the • mililons oi socialist way left for the answers to the problems they
- the party built by the unions
This is, after all, the base of the 'left'
Benn. The SWP might feel Benn has no intention of introducing socialist policies
be to drugs — particularly cannabis? Should they support or oppose them?
Below, Phil Dent replies to John Hicks' article in last month's issue of
John Hick's article on cannabis, last monun. contains manv correcl Doine which socialists should support. He suggests there is no scientific basis to prove cannabis' harmful effects and that keeping it illegal only gives the police-
- an excuse for harassing people. particularly Black
›ucn ooinis are correci. ll ls also
as tonn ale -that socialists should therefore support the "Legalise cannabis" campaign.
While supporting an end to anticannabis laws. however, we should be
• not to confuse this with support for the taking of cannabis itself. Fighting for the right of people to take it is not the same as
There are two reasons for this First. John is right to say there is no solid evidence to prove cannabis" harmful effects and that governmentcommissioned reports (suggesting it societv nodis une orain clct arc licasly biased and to be regarded with
At the same time. however, we have to admit that there is equaly no evidence • to prove that the cttects of cannabis are harmiess. ( ntil unbiased rescarch ha: ano socialst acuon migni agree Thousands of workers do have confidence in Benn, however, and they are not going to see throuch him b sectarian groups throwing mud from the
All that will happen is that Benn will be let off the hook and groups like the SWP will become (as in fact they are)
The task of socialists is not to stand outside this process. It is to be in the Labour Party, fighting side by side with other forces and calling on Benn it he
• to pur nis politics inic practice. This will allow thousands 10 go through a concrete experience witn ing Labour leaders (right or left) and draw rea conc usions aboul inem
Whether or not one believes the Labour Party can be 'transformed' is not the ker question. socialst Achon doesn ! believe that the party, as it is. will be capable of transforming society in a
What it does recognise is that the forces for such a transformation will
arise in the debate and fights wihtin the
Labour Partv. It is by going through a concrete struggle with the reformist leaders — on isssues as lar apari as lll cuts to unemployment - that growing
layers will be educated in class-struggle
page 9
as socialists in asserting ideas that "there are no known harmtul etlects We lust do not know
CHOICE
Secondly, it is not exactly true to suggest cannabis is merely another 'relaxative like nicotine or alcohol. We shoulc recognise that for many young people.. facing no future except the dole lines cannabis mai become a way of optins out' of their seemingly hopeless situation.
Instead or lacing up to tne probiem they face and seeking to change them . zi atol" - they can seek a personal escape. Ihey can be alded ir this by the shadier sides of big business who make a fortune out of trading ofi peoples' despair and misfortune.
This is not to suggest that cannabis is just one aspect of a 'drop-out' culture. Il is merely to say that it can become a means or personaly escapne ol a situation instead of seeking social solutions to it
VICTIMISATION
While, therefore, we should oppose all anti-cannabis laws -- which are part of a 'whole repressive legislation in capitali»:
- we should be very wary abcr: aol ocanees use
Certainly, until and when such anticannaois laws are removea. sociansli shouid not gel involved in its use unle: can only play into the hands of the police who as Jonn correctlt sals -can thereby 'harass and intimidate •i a mas res vut! ne .=
PARTY
This is uhr Socialist Achion would designate Cdo Freeman's position as sectarian. Building a party, for Cde Freeman. is to stand outside the livine process of the class struggle and preai: from the sidelines.
But does he really believe that a mass party in Britain will be built by recruiting one or two cdes everv lew weeks! On the contrary. the forces for such a part! will be built up in the course of major struggles inside the mass organisations of the workers movement. Benn might no he part of it but the thousands who support him undoubtedly will.
Helping this process demands a clear programme. confidence in one's ideas and a non-sectarian approach. It means working and arguing with other cdes in the unions and Labour Party and winning maxımum support on cleat issues. It means participating ina democratic debate. That is the path Socialist Action has chosen.
UNITY
Despite differences with the cdes of the SWP. we -. like Cde Freeman would hope that socialists should collaborate on as many concrete issues as possible (inside and outside the part!' We hope that the cdes of the SWP will support the mass anti-nuclear campaign of the Labour Party, the anti-cuts action launched by the Lambeth Labou Group. the CARL mobilisation built mainly by Labour Party wards
We would hope however • Inal |] the longer term. cdes of the SWP would "ease unity in action by loining the Labour Party, where there exist a numberol tendencies arguing democratically for their veiws. Such work in the Labour Partv is not as Cde Freeman says - "infiltration'. The Labour Party is the polical wing of the trade unions and, as such, contains witi? in it a wide spectrum of views democratically argued out. This may appear strange to Cde Freeman who exists in an organisarion naraly noted IoI Il: democratic norms but it is true of the Labour Party.
Socialist Action supporters see themselves as part of the Labour Party with clear ideas on where they think it should be going.
Page 10 scan of this page
Import Controls - No Answer
page 10
About the only area of the economy working at present is the Tories' economic strategy. Just look at a typical week in the Tory 'success chart". * British Leyland - 4,000 clerical jobs
* Clark's Shoes - 700 redundancies; * Al Industrial Products - 300 jobs
lo go, *John Myers - 1,900 sackings; * Ferodo - 100 jobs lost; * Firestone Tyres - 600 jobs lost; * Hoover - 200 jobs lost.
The jobless total is rising week after week, day after day. And it's quite deliberate. As Eric Heffer pointed out in the Commons recently, throwing thousands on the dole will, the Tories calculate, force wages down and profits up, thus making British industry more competitive.
CONTROLS
This growing jobless total has prompted many in the Labour left' to advocate import controls as a solution. This is not the sole plank of the AES, of course, but it is seen as central in combatting the rising dole queues.
Such a view has rapidly caught on and now the TUC - and a wide body of workers - see them as key if jobs are to be protected. Tarrifs are being demanded to keep out Japanese cars and electrical goods, US chamicals and Polish shoes.. the list is endless. Even French 'Golden Delicious' have not escaped.
But are import controls -- or 'selective' controls as their supporters call them - a real solution
mounting dole queues? Far rom it.
WHOSE INTEREST?
What those who raise such dem-
YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!
At the end of August. Mr Edward
Nevin sued the Us government Tor
'negligence' in his grandfather's
death. His grandfather, it
appears, died back in 1950 of a rare
form of pneumomia.
Just why is Mr Nevin going to
these lengths and just what has the
U's government got to do with it?
Well. Mr Nevin has onlv iust
acquired an official army report
which detils experiments in
biological wartare. Only tour davs
before his grandfather's death, it
doocars. ine arm soraved a cerm
cloud' over San Fransisco to test its
effect. The bacteria Serratia
Marcescens spread 117 miles
and was inhaled by about 800,000
Yes, you read it correctly. In
order to test out 'defences' against
germ warfare, the Pentagon calmly
sprayed a cloud of bacteria over
San Francisco to test its effect. The
San Francisco. Other civilian-
conducted experiments, the report
goes on. were conducted in places
such as the New York
Ine army. or course, Is
contesting Mr Nevin s suit
though it is officially recorded that
San Fransisco witnessed an
unprecedented outbreak of a rare
infection shortly atter the trials'.
ane claim incy conducico the
experiment in good faith and on
"scientific information' believed
accurate al une time.
By the way, it appears that such
ests were a joint exercise between
the American and British armies.
to vou know or anyone who died
oi pneumonia 25 years ago? Or
more recently!
Len Wagstaff
by Phil Dent (NUT) ands do not realise is that, at a time of shrinking world markets, all capitalist countries are in crisis. Lengthening dole queues exist in all countries from Japan to France, Britain to the USA.
The demand for import controls raised by the Labour left is also being raised in other countries, such as the USA, where the United Auto Workers leaders are now arguing just as strongly for protection of the home car market. Nationalist anti-import feeling is running so strong that UAW members nave actually vandallsed l ovota cars
Once import controls really started, retaliation and a trade war would be bound lo lolow I when the morals country would benefit (least of all Britain with its dependance on exports). It was, after all, the 'seige economy' mentality which provoked the thirties slump, even As the Tory axe descends on local authorities, one of the worst hit areas will be housing. The estimated 31% cut for 1981 will - when inflation is considered - virtually bring local council housing programmes to a stop.
Yet it is precisely at this time that tne lorie ahave launched a t l million advertising campaign to encourage council tenants to buy their own 1U USES
What this will mean for millions of tellants wno are senior citizens, single parents or who are living off supplementary benefits doesn't bear thinking
"Science has learned how to eliminate the misery, monotony and drudgery of your job. You're fired!'
NATIONAL INTEREST
Import controls are not only
queues but they are also a diversion from solving the problems of unemployment. By blaming foreign goods for the jobless total, advocates of such demands call on workers to identify with the interests of their own (national) firms.
aged not to fight Sir Michael Edwards but to join with him in calling for a halt to Japanese car imports.
Such a position only leads to blunting the class conflict in class of no favour of a 'national interest' in which the employers are let totally off the hook. 'Foreigners' are to blame and not the capitalists of this system who are, of course, the main force
about.
HOMELESS
erties will, clearly, deplete what is
their own homes. As far as existing
very young and old living in 'tower blocks' - it will clearly reduce their chances of 'transferring' to better
living standards. available. inadequate to stop growing jobless struggle policies. Workers at Leyland, faced with massive redundancies, are encour-
Housing Act Nightmare
SOLUTION
Selling off the best council prop available for those unable to affored
movement to slob il council tenants are concerned - the
programmes -
For those still seeking accommodation, however, it could create a night-
for attacking workers' rights &
INTERNATIONALISM
Equally important, such a demand leads towards exporting unemployment. Instead of calling on workers in different countries to unite against big business, it calls on workers in Britain to 'compete' with workers in trance or Germ any for the limited jobs that are
The reactionary implications of This ceman co nor nave o oc spelt out. By encouraging a nationalist outlook, it can play into the hands of right-wing demagogues wno argue inal it is not only foreigners' goods but foreigners themselves who need to be kept out. Isn't this the logic of Tory immigration policy?
CLASS-STRUGGLE
Far from fighting for 'import condois wial is necatu in lic fight for jobs are clear class -
In the fight against redundanc. ies, the labour movement should call for work sharing with no loss of pay (the 35 hour week).
If employers argue they cannot afford such measures, then the call should be made Open the Books. Let trade unionists examine the accounts and determine whether or not a company can sustain a full staff. If it can't, then the demand should be raised for it to be nationalised under workers' control.
At the same time, for those millions already on the dole, the labour leaders should be forced to build a mass campaign against the cuts, calling for a bold Public Works Programme to employ those on the dole in socially useful tasks.
Sabina Roberts (Streatham CLP) mare. The over 1 million still registered on council waiting lists will have an even dimmer hope of being housed than at present. They will (like 2 million more be forced to remain in slum housing (officially labelled ' substandard') indefinitely.
Moreover, the reduction in available housing will mean that councils will be hard put to fulfill legal obligations to the homeless. When it is realised that 50,000 are registered as homeless everv vear. the amount of misery the 1 ones are creating becomes maniesl.
The government of course. has offered its solution to these problems in the new 'shorthold tenure' created by the Housing Act. All this means is that private landlords will be empowered, from November, to let property under a 'shorthold' agreement which limits security of tenure.
They hope this will encourage landlords - at present reluctant to let property - to open the doors again, In reality, all it does is open the door to ine type or kachmanne expionalot that existed before Labour ended it.
The Tories, it seems, are not only trying to cut social services, destroy jobs and erode living standards. They are - literaly - taking the roois tron over peoples heads. It will need a serious fightback from the labour
A key element of this would be for Labour councils to refuse to sell counch nousing, continue ineir bulldıng
despite the cuts - and link up in a national campaign, like that called by Lambeth, to force the Tories to back down on their policies.
Socialist Action
ANTI-DRAFT DEMOS
by GRAHAM WEIGHT
In the United States at present, the government is trying to draw attention away from the growing economic crisis by the threat of war. The hysteria whipped up over Afghanistan or Iran has been used by Carter to introduce a registration of youth between the ages of 18 and 20.
Regan only 'mirrors' Carter's position when he says that the USA has to project a 'strong image abroad, and that rather than being liked, the USA needs to be 'respected'.
The threat of the draft has led to mass demonstrations in the USA by young people who have no intention of being used as cannon fodder in the wars of Big Business. Under the slogans 'We Won't Die for Exxon', they have taken to the streets in large numbers. The Young Socialists Alliance (YSA) has been to the forefront of these anti-draft mobilisations.
CONSCRIPTION
With the USA about to re introduce the draft. Britain will be the only «cuntry in NATO which doesn't have some form of conscription for youth. While the Tories have, so far, only hinted at the idea of bringing back conscription, it is possible they are thinking on these lines.
With youth unemployment running so high - and with cutbacks in job programmes - it could become an attractive option for them. What better way of keeping rebel youth out of 'trouble' - that is, from opposing their bankrupt system -than by giving them a couple of years in the army.
If there is any indication that the Tories are thinking that way, it will be a serious task of the Young Socialists to launch a major campaign against conscription.
ARMY
But - in one sense - they don't have to. Indications already are that, with no other future ahead of them except years on the dole, many school-leavers are beginning to look at the army as an attractive proposition. Recruiting figures are up.
At least in the army, many think, there is a chance to learn a trade which will stand them in good stead in the years to come.
This makes all the more urgent the need for the Young Socialists to take up seriously the question of youth unemployment. It means that the YS campaign on this issue must become relevent to the needs of all young people who see nothing before them except a career on the dole.
Page 11 scan of this page
October 80
Bolivia:
by Dave McLeod
While Bolivia is no stranger to military coups, the regime installed by Gen. Luis Garcia Meza in July is already one of the most bloody and vicious in Bolivian history.
Gen. Garcia Meza, who seized power with the help of the Argentinian junta, is openly comparing himself with Chilean dictator Pinochet who overthrew Allende in 1973 and instituted a reign of terror against the workers' movement.
According to Meza, his regime will stay in power "as long as is necessary to eliminate the marxist cancer, be it five, ten or twenty years".
TERROR
Independent sources place the numberof prisoners held at over 2,000, while the army itself admits to holding 500 people. Col. Luis Arce Gomez has stated that political prisoners now in custody will be placed in forced labour gangs to build roads in the Eastern jungles.
There have been widespread arrests of trade-union and political figures as well as journalists, church leaders and teachers. Mary Helen Spooner, a US journalist held by the junta for 7 days, described the techniques used in interrogation.
"I was warned", she said, "that if I failed to give them what 1 wanted, I would be killed or mutilated". Spooner was later released on August 12th as a result of international pressure
COUP
The Bolivian military coup took place to stop Hernan Siles Zuaro taking office following his victory in the presidential elections. Zuaro headed a reformist coalition (UDP) which included the pro-Moscow Communist Party.
Following the coup, in which Argentinian security forces played a key role, Argentine military dictator Videla promised the new Bolivian regime over £100 million in financial assistance. Videla was quite open in explaining his backing for the coup. In his words:
"..the formally correct thing
REPRESSION MOUNTS
would have been for a government resulting from the election to have taken power, but this represented for us a high degree of risk because of the possibilty that it would spread ideas contrary to our way of life and the permanance here of the military government".
RESISTANCE
The Argentine-backed coup was met by general strike and armed resistance from Bolivian tin miners. The military were able to decapitate this, however, by a lightening strike at the headquarters of the COB (Bolivian Workers Federation) and capturing many working class leaders.
Nevertheless, resistence
continued for over two weeks in the mining areas of Oruro, Huanani, San Jose and Catavi In Catavi, miners and peasants stormed army barracks with shotguns and dynamite. fighting a five-hour battle before retreating.
Although open resistance to the Garcia Meza coup has ended, there are signs that it still continues underground. Last month, Zuaro declared from the Bolivia's jails hold an estimated 2,000 political prisoners. underground that he was assuming the presidency 'in clandestinity as the only and legitimate representative of the Bolivian people".
ISOLATED
In addition to trying to crush the Bolivian masses, the new regime • following the butchers in Argentina smash the revolutionary upsurge in central America. Its first diplomatic move was to break relations with the Sandinistas in Nica ragua.
The new regime, however, remains isolated. Besides the Argentinian and Brazilian juntas, the only governments that have recognised it are those of South Africa, Taiwan and Israel. The junta is well aware of this isolation and is clearly
vorried by 1l
l'is up to socialists to figh to keep it isolated diplomatic and trade levels and to exert as much pressure as possible to help save the lives of the junta's political prisoners.
Police action against pickets is
Manchester. over 11 pickets were recent arrestea trine to sod a cal -carrying scabs the picket line.
S years now. Although ACAS Dear Cde,
up a North London CARL
South London held a 100-strong meeting
activists and representatives of Black groups potential today for challenging the Tories' racist curbs.
such a group should contact
Rd., London SE 19.
Dear Socialist Action
copies of the Socialist Action pamphlet "The Labour Party
relevent to the debate now
clarify many of the issues in dispute.
• is seeking to
Dear Cde,
the last issue Happened to the ANL?' seems to me to be departing from your usual non-sectarian attitude
take up the need to fight racist immigration laws and thus lacked a long-term perspective in the fight against racism. While this is true explains its present state of both at the disarray overlook the positive achievements of the ANL.
say, the ANL was the main
Union Victimisation
mounting. At the King Henry factory ir
accelerating through ing is and i-vear oid:
The King Henry dispute is a long term one which has been smouldering for ever recommended union recognition back in 1977. the management has refused to do
A group of North London Labour activists are trying to set ANL actions
Lewisham group. The success of activists in
• who recently today.
attended by trade unionists, LP
shows the real Black and white
Anyone interested in building
Mike Rodney, c/o 58, Auckland can it?
Mike Rodney formation of CARL (Finchley)
Would you please send us 5
Led by the ANL.
Which Way?". I think it is very
opening up in the party and will
Mike Hopkins (Stoke-on-Trent)
Gramam Weight's article in
'Whatever
Dear Cde,
It is true that the ANL didn't
lett it Party - and attitude.
we shouldn't
Whatever Cde Weight may fight this leadership
Union members get the sack more frequentlv than non-union staff and th general turn-over is high (with more than half the present workers being employed for less than 6 months or so). The manager is presently being prosecuted for employ- them.
The factory has a poor safety record with 2 men and a women having lost 3,3 and 4 fingers in the machines in the last 18 months. The fight to build the union against this type of record was clearly
POST BAG
factor in blocking the growth of world the NF. If it hadn't been for
such as that at the NF would be in a much stronger position
Secondly, in order to block the NF, the ANL mobilised thousands of young people
in political action. Maybe we think it didn't offer these youth a long-term perspective but it did mobilise them. That can't be a bad thing,
While I support the
and agree with Cde Weight's comments on its importance we shouldn't overlook the positive development represent-
Anne Bythe (Colchester)
Dear Socialist Action,
I have been reading your paper for some time now and have been impressed by its nonsecterian attitude. Please find enclosed f3.00 for a year's subscription to Socialist Action.
John Phillips (Bolton)
Mike Rodney's article in the last issue of Socialist Action ('SWP: Outside, looking in...') was spot on. I was a supporter of the SWP some time back but
- to join the Labour because of its sectarian
None of us in the left of the Labour Party has any illusions in the party leadership. The point simply is that you can't
• the Callaghans and Healys of this
page 11
On July 6th, a convenor was elected but he got the sack the following day for so-called 'spilling flour'. 23 workers have been on strike since that lime, douns agreeing so far only to re-employ 4 of
Mass pickets have therefore been mounted every Tuesday and Friday morning at 6.30 which usually gain the attendance of about 70 people. Support - both on the picket lines and in cash
- is needed. Please contact: S. Willet 361. Hyde Rd.. Manchester MI2 5 ET.
- by 'mud-slinging trom the outside. The SWP may sound very 'revolutionary' but what is it concretely doing to remove the present leaders who dominate the movement?
Nothing The only way to lead a real struggle against them is by being in the Labour Party and fighting their pro-capitalist policies & undemocratic niallocuvics. The present debate is a first step in this direction which only the politically blind can ignore
The SWP's stance outside the party will doom it to isolation & ensure that it shrinks into another of those sects littering the British left.
Tim Robinson (Lambeth Central CLP)
Dear Cde,
Cde Frank Viney's call to priorities the stand against nuclear arms is certainly welltimed! This year's LP conference has seen over 80 resolutions tabled on this issue.
Most of them support the NEC campaign against Cruise Missiles and call for a firm assurance by a future Labour government to fold them up
While opposing nuclear weapons, however, many link i: with trying to create a 'nuclear free zone" in Europe. What is Socialist Action's view on this? Would it mean subordinating unilateral disarmament until other countries were prepared to follow suit?
Karl Harrisor (Finchie:
All letters to: The Editor, Socrialist Action, c/o 58 Auckland Rd :London SE 19
Page 12 scan of this page
Socialist Action
can't wait...
Since coming to power a year ago, the Tories have slashed the social services to the bone. Now, Environment Secretarv Hesaltine has decided to turn the screws still further. £200 million is to be lopped of money promised local councils this November and 14 councils —mainly Labour-are to lose another £19 million for alleged 'over-spending'. Lambeth, Hackney and Islington are to be and Trades Councils are invited to the Conference.
and unions is expected.
London SW 2.
penalised still further by £3 million in government aid axed for community projects
The result of course, will not only be massive reductions in housing and other social services this year but widespread redundancies. An estimated 29,000 jobs will be lost in addition to the 35,000 already lost this year under government imposed cuts.
DILEMMA
For many local councils last year -reluctant to pusn trougn tne Subscribe!
(socialist
DEFEND OUR UNIONS! Action
SOCIALIST ACTION PO Box No 65, London SW16 INN
Typeset by Bread 'n Roses (TU) 01-485 4432 &
BUILD ANTI-CUTS
CONFERENCE
"The fight against the government has to be made this financial year. It VIVA ST.
QUATIC
cuts called for by the Toriesrate rises appeared a solution.
These include the councils Hesaltine is now penalising like Lambeth who sought to offset cuts by raising rates by an astronomical 49c.
As Socialist Action and others pointed out at the time, however hoping to fend off a fight with the Tories by rate increases was illusory. First, it merely passed onto working people the burden
Anti-Cuts Conference
Camden Town Hall
Labour groups, public sector unions and stewards committees, CLPs
have already supported the call and a big turn-out from Labour Parties
For details write to: 'Local Government in Crisis Conference', Organising Committee, Room 103, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill,
Called by Lambeth Council November 1st 1980
of the crisis and, secondly, it was not a long term solution since rates could not be raised every year as Tory cuts worsened.
That message has now sunk home.
Only recently, faced with the latest round of Tory cuts, Ted Knight (Lambeth Council Leader) admitted: "The rates would have to be raised so high that it would not be practical"
FIGHTBACK
It is in response to this situation that Lambeth Council have issued 6 ISSUES - £1.50 12 ISSUES -£3.00
Printed by Spider Web Offset (TU) 9 Rosemont Rd., VW3.
a call for a national conference this November to begin a fightback against the Tory Attacks which threaten to destroy the welfare state.
The aim of the conference was spelt out by Knight himself: "The object of the labour movement must be to force a change in gov. ernment policy or, if that isn't possible, to force the government out".
"The conference will bring together the public sector unions, local councils and the labour movement generally, to say that unless a stand is made, then what faces trade unions and labour councils is a reduction in jobs and services". backing of local Lambeth public sector unions.
RESPONSE
As Ted Knight explains, there is no longer any way out of
either jobs and welfare services have to be cut wholesale or else a fighting stand has to be taken now.
It is no longer possible to hang onto office (cutting as delicately as possible) -while awaiting the return of a Labour government in four years time to restore the losses. Under Hesaltine's axe, there will be nothing left to restore if councils submit to the directives.
Six Labour Groups Sec.) put it, replying to Hesaltine's latest measures: "The continued pillage of local government will leave cities deprived and their population with even fewer services"
FIGHT
Lambeth's call for a conference to organise a fightback against the Tories is, in this sense, more urgent than ever before. It offers the chance for a united fight against the Tories and can avoid a situation where councils can be picked off in isolation.
Already, half a dozen Labour councils,a number of CLPs and delegates from public sector unions
NUPE etc - have agreed to give their support.
That support now needs to be extended in the coming weeks. The outrage of union and labour leaders at the last round of cuts
— has to be turned into positive backing for the fight back which Lambeth Council is organising.
CALL
The first aim of the conference should be to agree on a united "no-cuts" position in the face of the Tory attack. in which Labour councils should be prepared to do the Tories dirty work for them.
The second aim should be - as Ted Knight indicates - to get an agreement among delegates to fight in the unions and Labour Parties for joint action to force the Tories to back down, or else remove them from office.
A key element of this will be solid support in the public sector unions for strike action to bring local authorities toa halt. The alternative will merely services dwindling beyond repair and thousands of jobs being lost.
by Tim Robinson (NALGO)
Such a call has the had joined in.
dilemma facing Labour authorities: to a halt.
SPREADING Tory
As Geoffrey Drain (NALGO Gen. -such as NALGO, NUT, T&GWU,
Led else-where.
- particularly from NEC members
awards up to 28%.
its third month.
There 1s no way FERMENT
standards rampant inflation
independent unions.
necessarily, become
minority regime mca.
ghetto uprisings
backbone
SOUTH AFRICA:
STRIKE WAVE SPREADS
by Pete Marais
The strike wave that shook South Africa some months back has still not abated. Although the authorities recently broke the 10,000—strong municipal workers strike in Johannesburg - expelling more than 1000 strikers — it was a hard and bitter trial of strength.
On July 24th, about 2000 Black workers walked off their jobs to demand higher pay. The next day, the municipal authorities sacked 1350 of them. This provoked an even broader strike and, by July 28th, some 10.000 Black sanitation, transport, gas. health, and electricity workers
Although the workers were eventually forced back to work - after severe police repression
for four days they brought Johanesburg's public services
Moreover, only a few days after the ending of the municipal workers' strike, in Secunda, hundreds of Black construction workers downed tools at a vital Sasol synthetic fuel plant. This time, despite police attacks on the pickets, the workers stood firm and won major pay increases
Similar strikes have develop-
In Johannesburg, a month-long strike by the city's Black bus drivers forced substantial ial wage increases and recognistion of their union. Black journalists, and other workers, at the Post newspaper won salary
In Cape Town, the widelysupported strike by hundreds of Black meat workers entered
The importance of Black workers' strikes is not just that they have advanced living
in the teeth of - and the right to organise their own
Such struggles have,
entwined with the general upsurge against the white
- symbolised by the mass student protests and
- and have given that opposition a
This was dramatically revealed by the June 16th and 17th strike in Cape Town when more than 200,000 Black workers downed tools in solidarity with the student protesters and the victims of the regime's brutal police measures (which included school children murdered in cold blood).
MILITANCY
The militancy of the Black population has become so widespread and sharp that even those Black leaders who have traditionally co-operated with the white minority have been forced to take their 'distance'.
One of Prime Minister Pieter Botha's major aims, in recent months, has been to foster divisions within the Black population which is composed of Africans, Coloureds (those of mixed ancestry) and Indians - by creating pro-government councils of African and Coloured collaborators.
This scheme collapsed last month in face of almost unanimous Black opposition, even from among those he expected to co-operate with it STABILITY
As it has done with previous periods of Black unrest, the apartheid regime has tried to deal with the situation by escalating repression. Thousands of students and Black leaders are still languishing in the apartheid regime's jails.
Moreover, as a sign of how serious the regime views the growing strike actions, the South African army still remains on a war footing. Not even during the upsurges of 1976 and 1977 were such extreme measures taken
Such measures are a sign of the fear developing in upper echelons as the racist minority feels itself both "isolated by the wall of Black African states surrounding it and 'threatened' by the Black radicalisation in its own country.
And it is correct to feel threatened since its 'hard stance' has not been able to stem the growing aspirations of South Africa's working class. As an editorial in a leading South African newspaper lamented "there are restive times ahead on South Africa's labour front".
← Socialist Action (LSA) Vol. 3, No. 6, August 1980Socialist Action (LSA) Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1980 →