After a brief spate of mutual recrimination ubout "welshing', 'economic * illiteracy", and "below pur performance", all is once again quiet in the * Alice in Wonderland world of the Labour Cabinet.
Wilson has papered over the cracks by attacking Prentice for failing to show his speech on the social contract to the minister concerned be * fore it was isssued -in this case Michact Foot. But though Wilson threw * Foot a bone, Prentice is the dog being held on a leash.
Wilson said on television that Prentice had 'kicked in (he teeth' those * trade union leaders who have been trying to cut their member living * standards by forcing upon them acceptance of the social contract. But * a few hours later Wilson repeated the substance of Prentice's remarks. * when he told a meeting of the trade union group of Labour MP's that * 'all of us have the right now to ask that the lead given by our partners * in the original contract, the TUC General Council, he followed, and their guidelines observed.
* EXPLICIT ATTACK Wilson's attacks became even more explict last Saturday 8 March.
* when he repeated carlier threats by Chancellor Healey that trade un* ionists must accept lower pay deals or face mass sackings. Attacking * what he called "irresponsible settlements" in both public and private * sectors, he singled out the railwaymen —a particularly low paid group * -as a section of workers whio risked pricing themselves out of the job.
So much for the social contract. which is based on the gigantic * fraud that in return for sacrifices by the more powerful sections of * the labour movement poorly paid workers will have their wages boosted * and the social services will be improved. As Nora Beloff pointed out in * the Observer (9/3/75), Wilson is a past master at compensating right* wing policies with left-wing verbiuge; being nice to the Russians and * horrid to Mr Reg Prentice is part of the act.
But although some form of statutory incomes policy is desperately * needed by the capitalist class, Wilson will not impose one yer. Unlike the Prentice-Jenkins wing of the Cahinet, who want to give the ruling class what they want now, Wilson realises that such a course at the moment would lead to a massive loss of working class support for the * Labour Government, and even for the Party.
What he is banking on is a vote for staying in the Common Market * in the June referendum which for a time will disorient the left of the * party and its supporters in the trade union movement. The left's alter* native economic strategy, which includes import controls and more * central state direction of the economy, is wholly based on the assump* tion that Britain will not be staying in the Common Market. * ALL CIRCUSES, NO BREAD Wilson's renegotiation game is all circuses and no bread. As the big * business magazine The Economit (1/3/75), no friend of the Labour Government, noted:
"The whole future of the rival left and right-wing factions of the Lahour Party * rans on whether Mr Wilson and his collescues can camy the country In fsvour o * British membership, now that the cabinet has arrived ao close to approving the * renegotistion terms that with luck will emerge from Brussels snd Dublin.' In the coming woeks socialists will have to fight a vigorous campaign * for withurawal from the Common Market -not on the basis of the reac * tionary nationalist positions of the Labour left and Communist Party * but against the Common Market as an attempt by the intetnational cap* italist class to strengthen itself on a European and world scale. Forging international links with overseas workers in struggie against the multinationals will be an easential part of this This will be vital in the fight to smash the social contract and prevent its replacement by a statutory incomes policy. At the same time, full * support must he given to all workers going into battle against the social * contract particularly the railwaymen and power workers.
By defeating the strategy of the Labour right and beginning to fight . on the basis of class-wide demands, such as the automatic protection against inflation of all wages, benefits and social expenditure, the working class can also prepare an alternative to the bankrupt economic 'strat egy of the Labour left.
************ offer they could hope to win.
Now there lies before them the task of using the strength and solidarity they have built up to enforce this agreement. As the factory convenor Andre Henry told the Belgian Trotskyist paper La Gauche: *We ancy. have begun the second stage of our struggle... we sill need to be constantly on the alert, and elect a new control committee to oversee what goes on at Gilly -the questions of new investitient, subsidies, etc. We plan to hold a weekly mass meeting to maintain our vipilance and militThese questions raised by the succesaful struggle at Gilly are not at all abstract for British workers, who face on the one hand a rising tide of closures, and on the other hand a load of nationalist rhetoric over the Common Market referendum. The workers at Gilly, however, have shown that there is an alternative way out of the crisis - to strugale against the Common Market of the capitalists, but for unity of the European working class in struggle As the glassworkers song comp osed during the strike by the Gilly workers put it:
Se's not us who's going to pay For the critiz of capitulism A world without class or hoss That's what we te fighting for. Agninst the mait marionals Across alf nationa! frontiers
THE CAMBODIAN PUPPET regime of Lon Nol - installed after a CIA coup in 1970- is teetering on the edge of collapse.
Over the last few months the revolutionaries of FUNK have won a series of unprecedented military victories. Because of the exhaustion of their resources and partly out of fear of massive American retaliation they THE GREY-UNIFORMED BUTCHalways held back from a totally commited assault.
However, since January this year they have carried out a prolonged. sustained drive against Lon Not's last strongholds. Al each stage they have consolidated their gains and tested US reaction before launching the next attack.
CURTAILED ACTIVITY At the end of last year they delibcrately and incorrectly curbed their activity in preparation for the United Nations debate on Cumbodia. This resulted in the loss of some ground as well as the depute Since the start of the dry season they have gained everything that was ted, although it does sapply some weapons to the liberation force The bulk of the weaponry -particularly the 105mm howitzer being used with such devastating effect right now-is of US manufacture which has been captured in battle China's diplomatic support is mainly directed towards consolidating the Sihanoukist faction at the expense of the more combative and more embarrassingly revolutionary faction led by Khieu Samphan. Nor sadly have they had much help from the international solidarity movement. LOST SUPPORT The victories of the Red Khmer have not been solely rulitary. The Lon Nol Government has lost the support of most sections of the bourgeoisie, and it dare not force-draft thousands of students and workers in the capital for fear of uncashing an internal opposition The baste strategy of the FUNK has remained unaltered for the last three years. This has been to demoralise and weaken the puppet regime at its roots by laying seige to the capital and prevent it breaking out of the siege by pinning down Lon Not's forces in different parts of Cambodia. This has now resulted in the regime's army running short of ammunition and even more short of troops and it cannot balt the relent. less pressure of the insurgents, Unlike Vietnam, where over a Demo calls for British withdrawal from Gulf