higher productivity of labour than the United States. By the time of the 24th Party Congress in 1971, it was impossible any longer to keep up this reactionary bureaucratic dream of a "socialist fortress' against the world economy, Its results were dear: Bolation from the latest devclopments in world technology and, consequently: permanent backwardess in key areus of the economy: nescapable bottlenecks and low labour productivity due to the 150lation of Soviet industry from the world division of labour; repeated hortages of consumer goods as res surces were diverled for the conintal modernisation of heasy indSpeakers include women from land, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain etc.
Red Weekly 27 February 1975 140 STUDENTS from all over Britain met in Birmingham last Sunday at the 'Open Forum called for by the IMG earlier this term.
For then, and the militants they represent in the colleges, the National Union of Students faces a crisis of leadership. The aim of the Forum was to try and establish some minimal basis for unity around the forthcoming NUS executive elections and other activities in NUS campaigns.
IMG students argued that the demoralisation that many militants and the mass of students feel in the grants campaign is due to the present Broad Left leadership. In a situation where the college authorities are playing lor ligh stakes-their money-students have found it difficult to win concessions. Of the 140 collepes taking direct action last term those making gains could be numbered on two hands The protest politics of the Communist Party and its front, the Broad Left, are totally insufficient.
the Broad Left, told the last natio nal conference in November that the grunts campaign stood on the so easy as this latter-day Colonel Custer would have students believe. Presumably victory was so close that it was not even ncoessary to call a national rent strike. Instead the 23 reat strikes that have occurred have been allowed to lan guish in isolation from each other with no national coordination. Moves are already being made at Surrey University by the autho rities to take legal action. But what defence has the national union prepared?
Al Stewart, leading mcmber of verge of total victory" If only it was living standards.
By not preparing students for the sweping nature of the cuts in education spending especially the spate of college mergers, the CP have left the campaien wide open. It is not surprising that at the Llandudno conference the Young Liberals will be standing in the elections, as will the "Radical Action Group' who openly say that students, like the rest of society, must take a cut in It is only by naking it clear that the crisis belongs to capitatism and that students and the working class refuse to pay for it that the pitfalls of the right and Broad Left can be avoided. With the authorities taking a lough line, support from the working cluss is crucial. Joint camcainpaigns naust be built with other wor kers hit by the cuts in the Nis or other sectors of education. Local and arca campaigns of direct action, coordinated nationally, can break the isolation and demoralisation
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WOMEN'S DAY FOURTH INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC MEETING Friday Feb. 28 7.30pm Conway Hall, Red Lion Square WC 1