Socialists on Tyneside have taken an important step in strengthening and unifying the challenge to the right wing in the labour movement. Activists from the well-organised shop stewards' committees at Vickers, from the left of the Labour Party, from the Trades Council, from the women's movement and from the revolutionary left have worked together over the autumn to establish a Socialist Centre, and a left-wing bookshop in Newcastle.
The Socialist Centre is organising courses and open torums witn une aun DEFEND THE RIGHT TOWORK badoes-170 in postage from: Jo-Ann, 97 Caledonian Road, Londo N.1. Bulk rates on enquiry (01-278 9526).
UNEMPLOYED TEACHERS in London meet every in Room 61, Northern Poly.
BRITISH WITHDRAWAL from Northern Irelan campaign IBNIC London Group meets 7.30, Tur a van aro choseign of yo. All interested weicom someone ourse toesady or every monen:
HARINGEY STREET THEATRE have a play abou the Wonds, eXpense only Phone 8 2610 leven indi FOR CHEAP, reliable IBM typesetting with fast turn around, phone Stephanie on 837 6954.
BENGALI FRIENDS in curope and elsewhere, for Dengan books and srant Dal biplab frourth internat ional paper) contact: Bengali, c/o Internationalen BOx 52/4, 1U50D stockholm, sweden of helping militants to develop alternative policies and strategies to those that are presently leading the labour movement to defeat. The courses so far established provide a deeper analysis of aspects of the present crisis than can be discussed sole v in me context or bodies uke actor committees; they will also include an introduction to Marxist theory, a series of discussions on the formation and lessons of the workers movement in Britain and an examination of the ditterent strategies being put forward by the left today.
A second important function of the Centre will be to provide material resources and means of communication to -WHAT'S ONrIKS MObILIsiNG Committee meetino for the RED LADDER THEATRE requires an administrator.
begin by end January: salary E35-45 per week. Appli cations in writing as soon as possible, stating: 1. Theat SOUTH WEST LONDON IMG meeting. Film To Die in Madrid' and speaker from LCR-ETA(VI). Fri 9 Jan SWIm, Battersea District Library, Lavender Hill, generalise and support struggles and isolated, either because the official leadership refuses to give adequate support (as with the Eldon Square scaffolders), or because their position in capitalist society has busnca ten to une margus of the labour movement (as with the young unemployeo in me worm-ast).
Finally (so far), the Centre will Drowce a base or socause culta activity such as that organised on Tyneists for Socialist Art, which will hopefully spread to the workingmen's clubs.
sent - and which complements united action developing around specific issues - was shown by the massive response (for a Saturday night in Newcastle) to the opening of the Centre on 13 Decem*Red Clydeside' leader Harry McShane, the socialist rock music of the Belt-andBraces Flying Squad, and the traditional Irish music of the Beggarmen.
t performingl. To ponse and ensure that the Centre is able Committee Against the Cuts and the more embryonic Right to Work ComCouncil conference on 22 November), the Tyne shop stewards working group on nationalisation and workers control, Centre - the women's groups and campaigns around the Working Women's Charter, National Abortion Campaign campaigns which might otherwise become reached 2,643,127.
side by a new organisation, Trade Unionne neeo or univ or the kind wic the Socialist Centre is beginning to repreand Yorkshire.
The task now is to build on this resmittee (both established from the Trades the North Tyneside Housing Action Committee, and - together with the Women's the Labour Government pursued what Premier Ramsey MacDonald described as 'a policy of continuity'. This meant that he carried on where the Tories had left off. When Labour took office in May 1929, unemployment stood at 1,127,000. A year later it had risen to 1,770,000.
J.H. Thomas, the Minister for Em ployment boasted on 5 June 1930: I have deliberately, and will continue deliberately, to proceed on the basis of rationalisation in industry, employment figures, I have got to do this in the interests of the country". "Weeks" turned into months. By December 1930 the figure had MARCH The Government's attacks did not go unchallenged, however. In February 1930 the NUWM decided to march on London. On 30 March contingents set off from all over alice. Britain. For the first time there was a special women's contingent of textile workers from Lancashire Thomas smugly watched the job MacDonald - suitably dressed in lackey's uniform As the unemployment scheme dipped into further insolvency, the Government appointed a Royal Committee to look into the situation. Headed by Justice Holman Gregory, a noted reactionary, this body recommended cuts in Unemployment Insurance, education, roads, pensions and Health InsurDRACONIAN The official mouthpiece of Labour, the Daily Herald, explained that the 'Labour Government will not shirk its responsibilities. The measures were so draconian that even inside the Cabinet eight ministers stood out against the meas But this 'resistance' was too late. MacDonald, Snowden, Thomas and Lord Sankey broke with Labour and went off to form a National Government with the Tories and the Liberals. And the 'lefts', who had placed all their hopes in parliamentary manoeuvres - viewing the unemployed movement as a pressure group rather than as a means of organising the independent anti-capitalist struggle of the working class - were powerless to
-OCCUPY neu neckly i January 1970 FISHE LOT JODS