Socialist Challenge No. 154, 3 July 1980

Socialist Challenge · 3 July 1980 · 16 pages, 27,110 words read by machine

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Page 1 scan of this page

Socialist Challenge 10,000 more steel jobs to be axed CHOP JOSEPH

LOBBY THE TUC FOR JOBS

NOT

IAN MacGregor,

10,000 more jobs in the steel industry.

is the stark message from MacGregor and his Tory mentor Keith Joseph.

MacGregor only started work on lucsaay but alread he is planning to close one steel-making plant Llanwern, another in Scunthorpe, and a third at Port Talbot.

This comes on top of the 50.000 iobs which are already being sacrificed in the steel industry behalf 'unemployment is necessary' politics of the Tory governICHL

In reply to criticism Ol these other closures, Joseph had the nerve to blame

trace unions demanded less money, he said at the weekend, there would HOIC OUS around.

The crazy logic of Joseph has rarely been laid so bare. The tacts are that the highest unemployment regions - like

also unc JOWCSI Warc Tales

truth is that Kritish steelworkers are already among the lowest paid in West Europe.

The losses the British Steel industry is facing are not the laull or lose wno work were Throughout the capitalist world the steel industry is in a

JUBS

the new boss of British Steel, is calling for the axeing of at least

mess.

That

accelerating Tate In tus county Is nor une fault of the trade unions because unemployment is also

UnTOUCHOUL LIC Western world.

Which means the recession tacing brisa Inaustry -including the steel industry is not the fault of working people. nererore working people should not be made to pay the price of a declining economy, over which tney have no control in the first place

Joseph, MacGregor, and to those who think like them to fight

closure and defend every job.

Wherever there is a shortage of work, that work should ne shared out - ouT not aT ine

of the living dards of those who do the snaring

In the steel industry steelworkers have the chance to give lan Macuregor a baptism of fire by saying:

No closures!

No redundancies!

No loss of pay!

Share the work!

By Pat Kane THIS week MacGregor is due to meet the unions for the first time. On the agenda will be the closure of the main Warrington steel plant at Bewsey Road.

Steel management is running down stocks at Warrington and has been turning away orders in preparation for the 19 July closing date.

But the Warrington workers have also been preparing. They have been contacting other mills that can handle their orders, and making sure that their work is boycotted.

Already workers Rotherham. Skingrove, Scunthorpe have decided namale neir orders.

ISTC Warrington Colin Herd TOIC Challenge: 'If we can ensure that no other steelworkers handle our work, then we stand a chance of saving our jobs.

Warrington, Consett lead fightback

means less jobs for other areas. steel boss but MacGregor intends to cut

thousands of jobs. We are in the front line of this fight, but it will be them tomorrow. the next to go in September, and others will follow.'

Corporation Warrington

been told informally that there is the possibility of part of the plant being sold off to private enterprise. Private industry may want to buy part of the plant - but the experience at Shotton shows that they certainly don't want to save jobs.

redundancy earnest with a lobby of parlia at and the 4,000 Consett workers will be not to there, and CYCL plants should be represented. convenor Socialist sett works committee, week: Forget your internal differences and get together. If you don't it could be your turn next.

We should all be joining forces

'Some might argue that this on a national basis.'

ahead

per cent.

Consett is

stewards have

again over At Consett the fight against

beginning

Wing the fight other BSC costes Committee John Lee, secretary of Con-

said last ward

plant.

If the closure of Consett goes

unemployment in the town will rise to a staggering 40

The Tories are continuing their attacks on the nationalised industries — next in line is coal. As Arthur Scargill put it: The spectre of pit closure once

our industry'. He warned that the Coal Board plans to close around 50 pits. Most of these will be in steel areas like South Wales.

MacGregor and the Tories are challenging the steelworkers, this time over jobs. The same response as in the steel strike is necessary - solidarity.

Support for Warrington and Consett is the best way of start-

against all steel Action produced charter of demands as a way for-

against closures. Its demands against all closures and for work sharing with no loss of pay should be taken up in every

No.154 3 July1980 20p

Inside

This week

The SWP's reply to

the IMG on revolutionary unity,

and a rejoinder

from the IMG

Pages 12, 13 and 14 Tariq Ali interviews CLR James on his

life and times, world revolution,

and cricket

Pages 8 and 9

VENEZUELA

Grenada and Jamaica threatened by US imperialism

Page 10 PAKISTAN

Afghanistan - an

analysis of the

latest developments in

the war

Page 11

Page 2 scan of this page

The savage twists of the economic slump

How to stop Cruise missiles

OUR POLICIES

Capitalism is in crisis. The leaders of the Labour Party and the trade unions offer solutions that are in the interests not of the workers but of the capitalist class.

Socialist Challenge believes that the two vital tasks confronting revolutionary socialists are:

• To build broad-based class struggle tendencies in opposition

class-collaborationism in the labour movement. These should

non-exclusive IA grouping together militants hold. ing a wide range of political views. cation bein to finitied and

unified Credo democratic revolutionary socialist organisation which can,

application of united front

eaters be in to bensends an

alternative thousands workers engaged in struggles.

Such an organisation should be based on the understanding that:

The struggle for

seeks to unite the fight of

workers against the with that of other oppressed layers of society — women, black people, aeration. This socialism can only struggling be achieved by creating new organs of power and defeating with necessary means the power of the capitalist state. P infinitely COUNSH will

more democratic

today. witn full rignis Tor political parties and currents that do not take up arms against the socialist state. The Stalinist models of 'socialism' in the ussk and Eastern Europe have discredited socialism in the eyes of millions of workers throughout the We are opposed to them and will offer full support fighting for socialist democracy.

The interests of workers and

on a world scale. Capitalism 10| created market. has created politics. Thus we fight for working class unity on an scale. This unity will in the long run be decisive in defeating both the imperialist regimes in the West and the brutal dictatorships they sustain in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

en immediate pies dramand ing

immediate withdrawal British troops from Ireland and letting the Irish people determine their own future.

The Communist parties in Europe are in crisis. Neither Clie 'Eurocommunist" the pro-Moscow wings have any meaningful strategy TOr overthrow of the capitalist state. New revolutionary socialist parties are more than before. Conditions today more favourable than preceding three decades. But such parties can only rejecting sectarianism and seeing internal democracy not as a luxury but as a vital necessity. This means the right to organise factions and tendencies.

If you agree with these principles and want be involved

Socialist Chailenge

supporters in your area, fill in the form below and send it to us.

am interested information about activities in my area. • I would like additional literature and enclose 50p to cover costs. (Delete if not applicable)

vame ...

Address ...

....Tel no.

Socialist Challenge 3 July 1980 Page 2

character,

By Patrick Sikorski

through IF there is anything

savagely government it is last

just one month,

socialism worst since the war.

bosses

The latest their authoritative ITEM

orcuicica lilal reach three million by 1983.

system or compennon tor be feature of svstent. berlanchil all disease.

When

backing the

world.

asemes savate downward spiral of the slump. all those

'de-industrialisation" as

world

world ing and shipbuilding.

Midlands car

international could be decimated

By Redmond O'Neil

demonstration arms was swift. nor the event

the given

Never its political basis. are over the

built by

of disarmament.,

me bausa rullne class

In Impellalsill s NATE

1 natcher in wasnington. the whole system

War WO

The utmost ferocity.

with Soviet government is preparing for Pave of anti-imperialist

from Iran

HOMENEWS

Lobby for jobs

which mass indicts. this Tory! start that week's classical announcement of a 10 per cent increase in unemployment in

bringing the tues figure to 1,659,676 - the

forecast the highly Club (Independent Treasury Economic Model Club) published in the Guardian a week last Monday

the igure will double, to

Slumps are the regular and inevitable price we pay for living under the capitalist

orous. bu these slumps are made worse by a second

outdated 200-year old lullallull Every capitalist economy is afflicted with this

Thatcher says she wants to squeeze inmanon out or tne system suc Is

bosses' determination reduce inflation levels so that they can

tions compere tor omes. maroo or boom. this would be bad enough for workers. But during an international slump, it gives

DexIa • LWISIS LO LEC

However, it is misleading to speak of

do union leaders today. It's true that South wales stands to lose tree quarters or ll

steelmaking industry and all its mines. And Clyneside and the Tyne have blems. already lost most of their heavy engineer-

Hurthermore and engineering industry

But what lies behind his notion of. 'de-. industrialisation'? Nothing other than the - OLICE • •THE reaction by the right wing of the Labour Party to the 22 June

against nuclear A week before William Rodgers, Shadow Minister of Defence, was

massive coverage in the Fleet Street press for his denunciations of the demonstration and

Rodgers was taking a leaf from the book of Hugh Gaitskill, who centred his offensive against the Labour left in the late fifties and early sixties around the question

The importance attached by the rightwing to the issue reflects its importance to

, For Britain to re nounce the stationing of Cruise missiles on its soil would create a massive crisis within

chief military alliance,

Unilateral disarmament would provoke a head-on collision with the allies ot

Woe BOSC of military alliances established by imperialism since World

For that reason the British ruling class, and their backers in the right wing of the

will resist any cam-

paign against nuclear re-armament with

At no time has this been more true that

The USA is not about to go to war Union. But Carter's.

rvention to attempt to hold back the

struggles which ate sween une oa dasuons or succal power in the semi-colonial countries

to South Korea from South Africa to the Caribbean. from Brazil tc

rotten old social contract arguments: 'We are the true patriots, the only ones the interests of Britain at heart'. Len Murray echoed these familiar sentiments at the

TUC demonstrations on

We've got to get straight right from the

Britain's fo capita capitalist production. Just look at the acres of un. sold cars in the car depots of the major

There and in other •capitalist conThese stocks have led to massive cash-flow problems for the bosses the collapse of Chyrsler and the coming disaster in Fords attest to.

A massive cut our losses' operation is response. And this leads to short-ume

layoffs, and wholesale closures or small ractories in we subory muusules Only the big firms with enormous reserves

une banks cal this money into gold or silver and invest in petro-currencies to help them ride out the

If successful, they re-start their opera-

concentrating on • countries where the workers' movement has been smashed up by talling to light back against mass unemployment. This is when developines 're-investment 'special

areas massive grants of public money is sought to establish 'capital intensive' using new technology and employing only a handful of workers.

Import controls can't solve these pro-

in today s era of the national company, no country itself off from international crisis Workers need to organise internationally more than ever today to prevent the multinationals from playing us off against each Nicaragua.

But the US government can't afford anotner

it is to get away with new military adven•tures against the colonial revolution

The placing of Cruise missiles in West

Europe takes place in the context of im

veranst re-armarriet , The aim is to whip the US ruling class's European allies into line behind the war-drive.

against movement stationing of Cruise missiles in therefore runs slap bang up against the US

and the British government's war-CIlVC part in it. This is recognised by the British ruling class and by the right

Rodgers

The best

with defence of jobs is one that recognises that

workers, who

9 May. responsibility for the crisis. Far from hav-

Wing a duty to tighten their belts, crisis is a nave one rundalculal

themselves and their class: to protect living standards and jobs.

A fightback involves strong independent organisanons, tree trom the entang!

or all be many sion tas sated oot

many setbacks

- a.

British Levland workers. And it involves an active campaign against all attempts to interfere with convany u to restrict the closed shop; or to curtail pickets.

This calis tor a airierent type or sno] stewards movement: a more political one

their real strength from measired day workinger bargain for over conditions possible - for instance, over the speed of ertective v the LaCK It is this degree

which is being eroded as Illanagements capitalise on the Leyland defeat and imDOSC the threat of the dole queue. industries. stewards

fighting back against job losses needs a set ot alternative policies to solve lne crisis ol lay-offs and

can level govertmen

framework of that set of demands must be to start the fight with the aim of kickint our lactories The Llanwern Action Committee has recognised the need Healey Unfortunately the left has shown no such clearsightedness.

Convince American workers of the 'Soviet threat' if thing about the Labour Party speakers al

the 22 June demonstration timidity. calling for 'no As for wrapullly. speakers, you would have thought NATO did not exist the Mary Caldor, speaking as a member of

Purone the 'Campaign for a Nuclear-free Europe

from Poland withdrawal from NATO to the break-up of the Warsaw Pact. wing of the Any campaign:

nuclear disarmament to that of the war.

basis for a fightback

control the right direction. ove , bear no policies, growin

Gemanster . responsibility under

ment

growing suffered would have spread.

rights government funded ballots;

jobs; they are

and to

Within

Sports the Right to TUC and South Wales,

lobbies.

Traditionally, shop stewards have gained Work

Denne able rate when came in, power

on the job remained

losses. of strength

new work practices, backed up by

movement capable of

presently

closures of individual fac- mass unemployment But it also needs answers at the Whose

The policy

win be organisile for alternative of the inevitable The most striking Soviet Union' dists.

workers

united mass action.

the demands

weapons

questions the

locally united front bodies

begin bocles run away

increase' in nuclear tion in the autumn. other take

Lalli tied Delore fis too taic Building

. whịch ties British

policies and its draft charter, published in Socialist Challenge last week, is a step in

fight for these kind of which involve occupations and COI firm control, would mediately precipitate a massive govern

•naL CLer

movemen would focused on steel and pit closures and it

involved in the actions which are vital today should be clear that success will be nearer if there is agreement that they are organising in defence of their

• 1190112 Tories; and they are calling on the next Labour government to nationalise all the major industries and financial institutions

initiate a crash programme of public works that will create jobs.

overal anti-Tory framework, Socialist Challenge fully sup

Work lobbies of the .ОГУ Party both Internationa Marxist Group and Revolution Youth will

supporting the efforts to build these

Of the two targets for the Right to

march, however Socialist cnalenge will make unc overwhelming priority the TUC lobby. It is the leaders of the unions that must be forced to start

against job Furthermore, , we will be concen trating on mobilising trade unionists to not only support, but to attend the lobby.

While it is vital to channel the anger of the unemployed in a socialist direction.especialv the vouth who are. otherwis eas presently te pasted and there

employed and therefore organised, workers that the battle against

wil De won or los attend the lobby of the TUC organised by the Mobilising g Committee Against Unemployment will be tell ing the TUC this September doesn't start organising then the lobb

to get them out, to replace them with leaders who will saw Pact will itself be disarmed in the face

ruling • class counter'ottensive which wil centre on our com mitments to our NATO allies against the

The onlv response to this type of argu ment is the demand for unilateral disarmament and withdrawal from • NATO. The

governmen must disarm without any preconditions. This demand is necessary if we are not to fall into the traps set by the ruling class's propagan-

Today there are tens of thousands of and youth preDated t against Cruise missiles We don't deman of these activists that they agree with before they march. But equally it would be

the CND, HN. or Labour left to make their own slogans for

'neutrality' in Europe a precondition tol

What is necessary today is the broadest possible campaign of mass action around

ruse Wussues.

Replacement for Polaris, 'Scrap nuclear

So whatever differences exist on other campaign TO STOD Cruise

missiles must be organised nationally and

movement based on oper

We urge Socialist Challenge readers to establishing such campaigning . Nationally the momen tum of the 15,000-strong turn out on the

22 June demonstration must be built upon by setting a date tor turther national ac

Revolutionary socialists will fight t LiHi of mass action camnaign into the labour move

ment and within it argue the case for Bri-

withdraw from NATO now

such moverent

is the best contribution that socialists

tnis country can make to stopping the l

perialist- war drive on a world' scale.

Page 3 scan of this page

key to democracy'

HOME NEWS

By Jon Lansman

THE struggle for Labour Party has been a long one. It is unlikely to be totally resolved this year. But with the Commission of Inquiry and mass press coverage (albeit in the sonalised form of a leadership struggle), it was bound to reach something of a climax this year.

The Mobilising Committee for Democracy has the task of ensuring that the influence of the rank and file on the party's policy determination is not put in jeopardy by the rearguard action now being waged by the parliamentary leadership union bureaucracies. It is therefore fortunate that une precedented degree of left unity Labour Party.

The inclusion of Militant and the Labour Party Young Socialists sees the burying of the sectarian hatchets which have divided the campaign for party democracy in the past. Defence

The strength mobilising committee's aims was recognised by the six members of the commission who made such a firm stand in defence of the rank and file (Allaun, Atkinson, Benn, Richardson).. It can

that the managed to ignore so completely the wishes of the rank and file as expressed in the various evidence to the inquiry.

Ninety • per Tavour of mandatory reserection, members were against it. Eighty-six per cent of submissions were in favour of giving the final say on the party manifesto to the National Ex-

funds' threat

if democratisation goes ahead.

bothering to consult his members?

Left unity-

democracy in the

per-

one.

Labour

and certain trade

represents mittee. inside the of the support behind the lalk

chisedi

Heffer, Lestor and only be regarded members

cent of submissions were in and yet six

Duffy: "I will withhold

TERRY Duffy, president of the Engineering Union, has been outspoken against the Labour Party national executive's attempts to democratise the party. Last week, having been 'defeated on the Commission of Inquiry, Dutty threatened to withdraw his union's £300,000-a-year contribution to the partying any rights with the Employ-

It's about time that right-wing union leaders like Duffy were brought to heel by their own rank and file. What right has Duffy to threaten to disaffiliate trom the Labour Party without even,

ecutive Committee, jority decision was to give ultimate control to an entirely new tier in the Labour Party structure, which until then had been suggested by no

To some extent we should welcome the commission's recognition of the need for expanding the electorate of the leader of the party with the implication that the leader should.be accountable to the whole party. However, the proposed structure of the electoral college is fundamentally different from that of the electoral college advocated by the mobilising com-

Its size and composition (50 per cent MPs, 25 per cent trade unions, 20 per cent constituency parties and 5 per cent socialist societies -and only about 100 people in all) render it bare-

anyone and in cuce cl shrines the parliamentary veto.

Its members could be only indirectly elected (before the candidates are announced and unmandateable) so that the participation of the

and file would be organisations would be effectively disenfran-

Usurp

Since it would be totally separate from the existing structures in the party, it would usurp many of the functions and ference. Since all 50 MPs in the college would "manifesto) group, and would need onivine majority more vote (that of Terry Duffy) to be a majority, it would actually increase the powers of the parliamentary party to make policy.

By Valerie Coultas

Labour MPs are usually very well-behaved in House of Commons. last week Dennis Skinner, the left Labour Bolsover in caused an enormous row. Cool The announcement on 24 June that 1,659.676 were out of work in Britain the highest number since 1930s - caused Skinner to lose his cool. He ended ordered out of the House for bad behaviour Socialist out exactly what happened.

'Prior, Minister "Unemployment", was trying to give the impression that the Tories were concerned about the unemployment Dennis Skinner explained. 'I've never heard such a pack of lies - crying crocodile tears for the unemployed. 'A Tory government hell bent creating unemployment, as bad as in the thirties and shifting the balance of power against workers hav-

MCil concerned unemployment! It's a load of

tripeso I told Prior the truth.

that he was a liar.

Labour Party rank and file speakout

but the commission ma-

Contributors in

minimised; most

powers.of con-

right-wing Dennis muer

of the House of Commons, the But

MP for

Derbyshire,

Arms.

houses inside. people plained. the black up getting

Challenge found

another out.' for Fuss

figures, about

members were fighting cuts

mass

file Labour Party members about He also pointed

MOBILISE FOR

LABOUR DEMOCRACY

ofend mandatory re

DEFEND HE NEG 2 MilL must decido the

The Party mad choct the Loo

БМАКЕ TER

Rank & File

Mobilising Committee

Lounched peant The mobilising committee college,

other hand, is simply conference in a different

form. The leadership election would take place

as part of normal conference procedures,

the votes would be counted differently.

the votes would go to the industrial wing of the

movement - the trade unions — and the other

half to the political wing, through MPs or can-

didates and constituency parties.

All constituencies, all trade unions and all

MPs or candidates would have a vote.

'Prior's a liar

says Skinner

Skinner, an ex- had was unapologetic. He has little time for the traditions penditure

, in- policy cluding the Sergeant at Arms, dressed in knee breeches and a sword, who escorted him out. 'What him? He is going to take me out?' Skinner scoffed when approached by the Sergeant at

Skinner called the House of Commons 'a quaint old British to do this. club'. A club with 16 public Shady

'It's filled with bars,' he ex-

'I was breaking the silly rules of the club so I was

It's common practice in the House to insult working people, the miners, the steelworkers, the teachers but when you speak the truth about

MP you're thrown

constituencies.

Asked what he thought the Labour Party should be doing

unemployment Dennis replied that many Labour Party

involved Labour Party. and unemployment up and down the country and that a distinction had to be drawn between the failures of the 'opposition' in Parliament under and the activities of rank and

• out that contrary to James Prior's assertion that he' had not made so much fuss when the Labour government was in power, he

untenable

who advocated themselves:

AUEW'S 900,000

ference.

there might not even which would

file. of conference.

on the

, but conference delegations.

Half

File Mobilising Committee.

Offers to help to

London NW1I (01-458 1501). opposed the Labour leadership's cuts in public ex-

and its

'My record for dissent on many issues is unequalled,' he said, revealing that on one occasion he'd been the only member to vote against a Bill and had been unable to divide the House because you need more than one person against

On the accountability of other Labour MPs, Dennis was reluctant to comment but he did point out that he was in favour of the executive's proposals to elect the leader at the party conference and that he supported moves to ensure the re-selection of MPs by local

admitted that some right-wing trade union leaders seemed to be trying to swing the

VOTe against accoun tability, towards a shady compromise with the Parliamentary

'I don't support Duffy and I don't support Boyd and I didn't support the miners when they voted for incomes policy

the Labour ment,' explained. Dennis. But he was not prepared to go further than this in explaining how the left could fight the right in the trade unions in the battle to make Labour MPs in Patia" ment more accountable

The difference is enormous but confusing - which highlights the danger of the electoral college. The commission majority realised that a defence of the status quo was politically

However, it now appears that the majority

are divided among Duffy says he will cast the votes against it, and Callaghan/Foot probably only supported it on the assumption that it would fall at conference and leave the status quo — which it almost certainly would if it was actually put to con-

The disarray of the right is so severe that

be a majority report, strengthen the left and the mobilising committee. The majority proposal on the control of the manifesto is therefore perhaps even more of a threat to the rank and

If their proposed electoral college had control, that would be considerably worse than the present system, since, with half the college, the parliamentary party would be in absolute control. Whatever the composition of the college to give it any powers other than the election of the leaders would be to subvert the supremacy

Whatever happens at conference this year the struggle will continue; but there is an opportunity this year to make fundamental changes in the nature of the Labour Party. So no opportunity should be lost to put pressure on the Labour Party NEC, trade union executives and

John Lansman is the secretary of the Rank and

organise rallies, to distribute our broadsheet 'Mobilise for Labour Democracy', to Jon Lansman at 10 Park Drive,

Socialist Challenge 3 July 1980 • Page 3

Page 4 scan of this page

Backing up the pay front

Do Britain's dole queues begin in Japan?

HOMENEWS

By Pat Sikorski THE Tories are making a desperate attempt to solve their public spending problems by squashing public sector pay deals

'Tarzan' Heseltine is proving much less effective at controlling public spending than he is at making dramatic speeches at Tory Party conferences.

The Tories' requirement is that public sector workers should take home a lot less in their pay packets in real terms. That's why the 'pay round', which is supposed to finish around the end of April and re-open in September, has in fact gone on continuously since the end of the steel strike.

The Scottish teachers, workers, and various health workers have all come into conflict with the government. Tories have more or less imposed an unofficial statutory level of pay settlements of 14 per cent for all publicly employed workers per cent below the level of inflation.

Unless this sort of settlement, and lower, becomes the norm, say the Tories, British industry will not be sufficiently profitable for the employers to maintain guarantee jobs.

It is worth remembering what one of the Corby steelworkers had to say about this argument: 'In the two years or so before the sack-

IN the face of the decline of the market share of British Leyland to 15 per cent this month, Terry Duffy, president Engineers' Union, has called for controls on Japanse imports to save British Leyland and to save jobs. 'Japanese country are catastrophic both Leyland and Britain,' said Duffy.

Socialist Challenge spoke to Steve Griffiths, shop steward and AUEW convenor at British Leyland Rover SD1 Solihull.

What do you think of this approach to the problems of BL workers?

If Duffy was serious about jobs, he would be aling nis mre al tawaraes and the Tories, not diverting attention to Japanese workers. already seen Duffy's commitment to saving jobs. He backed Edwardes' plan that resulted in the loss of 45,000

Leyland: jobs in the

His proposals for import controls has nothing to do with his supposed concern for saving our jobs. It is just a cover for his cowardice in confronting the bosses.

But don't you think you should be in favour saving ilIOn from the Japanese?

I start from my members interests. For Duffy "Saving BL' with the objectives that is to make BL more profitable. This means increasing productivity, speed ups, continuity of production, attacks on traditional and everything else that

'Slaves Charter'.

Duffy backed this knowing full well what the consequences were. He bned up with the bosses against the interests of his members.

His calls for import controls are a sommaco or ti approat aternative. It rests on the idea that basses and workers should laborate together to make 'our' industry fit for the capitalist market.

This has only one sorters have to make the sacrifices and jobs have to go. There is no other Tray of running an industry in anarchi capitalist system based on -prodaction for proff rather than scod. bat saret,, if Japanese insports mere

ped. thea this would would sell more cars and there would be ware jobs?

Socialist Challenge. 3 July 1980

position".

your jobs. told us:

local government

The

- that is 8

production and

of the

sales in this

for

plant at

We have

last year.

the

forecast of 1.45m in 1980.

Leyland

cent.

In 1900. 00 is identical of Edwardes": be axed!

union rights

is in the

this jungle.

IXT 27

col- livelihood and rights, things easier for the bosses.

meaning:

choice. Hos

Invie retaliation.

mean BL

1 caNUL for policies.

Wing, production records were surpassed in a frantic attempt to become "a more viable pro"All we heard was: "We can't afford to pay you more, but become viable and you can keep Well at the end of two years they "Too bad, you didn't work hard

"They presented us with figures about the lack of viability that a four year old could have seen through...The whole quest for viability had been a gigantic hoax at our expense. had been fed this thread of hope in a cruel attempt to keep us quiet until they were ready to In a fight against the government no single workers Is

steelworkers, nurses, Post Office workers or miners, every active trade unionist and socialist

Wherever possible workers should bring forward their claims in order to go into the. Where this is not possible, support must be

respecting picket lines, building mass pickets, demonstrations and meetings called workers involved, and building local and naNot at all. The Japanese only account for 10 per cent of the market taking

•18ON.UIS together. But the onset of the recession has meant a drop in new car registrations from 1.71m in 1979 to a

hat is a droo ot nearly is per

walnoul Importlg Unc more Japanese car, jobs would still

But in a declining market stopping imports can only help matters.

What happens in a recession? Comnetition dramaticalv increases. I nere is only one way to survive the law of rot

Speed-ups, productivity and job oss. ais is what we nave to fight. If we agree to imports we are saying the enemy is somewhere else.

So salling for an end to Japanese apr= "i zo my fai o prorect

members irom attacks on their

it will make North

In addition, if implemented such policies will simply allow BL to jack up the prices of their cars and restrict meubers, lk alone other morkers? this my beconee

Finally, such a policy will merely tion

That's why the Tories oppose the idea just now. But the opposition of the Tories can't be

supporting these the

muttees

ple, the miners.

Amount the differences

stewards system.

strong enough to win

major hospital, gramme.

As the crisis gets worse this might be the option the bosses go ior bul

this will be just a further signal for a

conference held in Lon-

don last Saturday. The

conference had been

called with the express-

ed aim of 'stopping the

kick out the right'.

But the conference failed o canu with SUl. loots needed in this fight. Setling oal the framemork. con-

CHINA London ATUHW District Committee member, Roger Cox spoke of the state dITeau.

•Stopfieor has been undermined,' he told delegales. Shop ster ards kare

isolated fron macabers throegh participa

'It's a ap to reicty te s We mast fac up to reality d. And thi reality was the need to rebaild shopfioor organisation fros

bottorn aprards.

Speaker afler speaker told

tional labour movement-based support com-

This is even more important for workers in the public services like the NHS because they don't have the industrial muscle of, for exam-

The Scottish nurses have shown the way by șetting up nurses action committees to sur-

between the different unions, between the unions and the Royal College of Nurses, and the lack of links between hospitals because of the absence of a shop

Using this base the nurses have been able to build links with NALGO and CPSA workers and speak at the Scottish miners' gala.

But to be successful these developments have to be national in order to force the national union leaders into joint action to win the claims. This can only be done by uniting public sector workers around common demands.

This means re-starting the fight for a national minimum wage — which should now be f80 automatically protected against the effects of inflation. This would be part of the plan to revitalise the public services by restoring all cuts made over the last decade, cancelling all debt and interest payments, and launching a

school, and housing

But more powerful sections of the public

massive stepping up of their attacks on us, as they did in the 1930s.

Duffy uses the opposition of the Tories to argue against taking action now in ns memoers mierests wants us to accept the idea that we should wait for government in 1984, L DOUI meanwhile turn the other cheek to the wage cuts and job loss. "So what is your alternative?

We have to start from saving jobs.

We should begin with the reduction of the working week to 35-hours with no loss of pay. Overtime should be made unnecessary through ensuring a decent wage. If wage rises were tied automatically to the rise in the cost of living this would be an important step. "It is a sign of the rottenness of the system that proaches 2 million, more overtime is being worked. So we should fight to have the work shared available workforce. New, especially young, with jobs.

This of course tonalising the whole

SHOWl

Engineers' Charter in conference

Labou

tion meetings were called and, in particular, to organise Jur lor wurker. involved in strikes against • FOP bosses' offensive.

Cal rebuild

fighting organisation then we meet the challenge of recandes sad emaneers Charter editor, Jack RobertIt is possible to win surikes WiR Histes gre d small things like the GEC workers who came here and wik o awa w u anes and adresses. These sort of things can lead to victory."

vice given to

jad

evitably made wage

wing in the union, ycals The Broad Left in

and has successfully imposed

movement.

pro-

in the trade union movement. everyone who OlIC. the election of a tries like

and

plants

boost protits.

big monopolies?

as unemploment ap-

Halve among the

workers should be provided strength from

will mean na- terests against

inaustry

their inability to safeguard

• ОЛ Comatee a SDOrIE

esis mi ne ,all. lel at

workers are dispute

fighting closure of the special

steels ulVIsl

Roger (boner con-

venor Smith's MA 1 in

Cricklewood pointed Oulr

'We've got to fight for alter.

native policies to the right-

who tenders ike die s-tol week, the need to share the work and so on.'

Hls wes none y erv. number of resolutions which

, of the (UVA uu unc cucsuvl way forward, including the fight for militant policies

the LEISIS. allowed to be moved or voted

full

sector workers as well as those in private industry have to campaign in the same way. The days of effective section by section, and factory by factory bargaining are long gone

The introduction of measured day work in-

bargaining : a national question in every industry and gave the na tional full-time officials a free hand unless there was a strong nationally co-ordinated left

armed with the political arguments to enable the stewards to mobilise the rank and file despite the propaganda of the government, whether Labour or Tory.

It was the absence of such effective political left-wings organised around campaigns that enabled the national trade union officials to so 'effectively police the social contract for tou!

the Post Office Engineering Union, however, did fight for the 35-hour week against the Labour government,

the union leadership a national claim for 37 per cent. This will be a most vital struggle for the whole

Every body of the labour movement nationally and locally must declare support for the telecoms workers, send messages of sup. port, donations to the strike fund etc. A defeat for the Post Office on this question would be a decisive defeat for Thatcher and the right wing

Emulated based on need.

More cars would be sold if the working class as a whole wasn't suffering from wage cuts. It is not that wants a car • las gur This is even more true in counCuba or Nicaragua. could produce for these places by taking on the unemployed in the existing

Things would have to be under workers' control so that any increase in productivity or automation would benefit the workforce and not just

But won't this result in a massive clash with *he bosses, particularly the

Of course i will. But we either break their back or they break ours. This is wny a stralegy Dascu vnl conlabold" tion with the bosses, like import controls, is not serious as a socialist alter-

In the battle we need a government with socialist policies that draw the organisations of the working class and defend our incapitalism. Such government would not be able to rely paralell Ulysc ius Wright, of course. But having those differences out is a lux we ve

Left to get the biggest backing for the Wright campaign.

Nobody spoke out to sa that Bob Wright' policies 900- rеcоrо the obstacle to him defeating Duffy in the election. In fact fhe nees. TOr mi With. uie Broad Left became an excuse gor wor causale uel.

Jack Robertson said 'We're all supporting Bob Wright. wiered. organised this meeting 90 per cent around workers in struggle and iv per cent aroun‹ who to vote for, Broad Left does the reverse.

Inis is ivo per cent correct, but unless we want to lead the workers who in ie beit! Boyd , aeniast the Tories beades

org is Charter for a fighr fon right policies al une sankt u joining with everyone actions like the elections figk against the right wing.

Page 5 scan of this page

Tribunal backs bosses who sack gays

HOME NEWS

Uhl

release

call to

Labour

Parties

VLADIMIR Derer, secretary of the Campaign for Democracy Labour Party, has put out a call for local Labour Parties to bombard the Czechoslovak Embassy with protests over the prison treatment of Petr Uhl and other Charter 77 activists in jail.

Eastern Europe Solidarity Campaign, Derer has sent a letter to CLPs informing them of the Husak regime's attempt to destroy the health of the prisoners and asking them to act in defence of the Chartists.

He told Socialist Challenge: "The labour movement here must stand that Petr Uhl,

the OLICT Chartists dissidents, not a small group out of step with society. They have spoken out for aims that the overwhelming majority of people in Czechoslovakia agree with

'And that's why the regime wants to break unem.

Czech workers the lesson that it can destroy even the most fighters tor democratic rights.

"The British labour movement has denounced the imprisonment of the Charter 77 leaders last October;' he added.

'We must tollow this up remorseless pressure on the embassy here, first to stop the savage prison treatment, then to force release of Petr Uhl and all the other political prisoners.

*A book of Petr Uhl's writings has been published in France. Two hundred pounds has so far been raised towards the f500 needed to publish an English edition.

Donations are urgently needed, payable to *Alternatives in Eastern Europe', PO Box 50, London N1.

By Steve Cohen OVER the past two years there has been a growing awareness of how the Immigration Act is used to prevent black people coming to Britain and to deport them once they do come here. This has come about mainly through

resistance of black people

themselves.

Less well known is how the wallare archies ol the stale art Hlcreasingly being used as tools in the process of immigration control.

• cases: where people have

prevented from entering Britain on nealth grounas, and cases

that they had private treatment.

Custody

Monammed butt came nere to get married, but was put in custody on his arrival because the immigraDon service cocior cance nad nad infectious tuberculosis. released on condition that he Drivalk a calle

tious TB.

The campaign to defend him was success. crane married.

However in Oldham, Moham-

spend several hungred because it is

proposal to rewrite the National Health Act and deny the right of

underVaclav Havel, al C determined

By Tony Young

with Engineering Branch

the early

government hospitals, and so on. treatment to non-UK citizens.

of Shukkar Mohammed, who has the lived here for many years. He contracted Parkinson's disease. paid several visits to Pakistan take advantage of the climate. On returnine to britain Mohammed was told he had lost his right only stay for six months now

been deportation.

where

the Home Office has issued secre instructions to doctors to report all "foreigners' to the Home Office.

Tories

Inal tney intena to alter the child tax allowance system so that it will be impossible to claim for children

He was compensation in the

and this

have Chloren abroad!

Labour made sala forced to back down after a long

pounds Bibi, who is 80 years old, applied to i ne

he has join her son here. The Home Office

calcu lilal ais nouse was over• crowded: An appeal was lodged on the grounds that under the Housing

TGWU 1/734 Construction & Civil

BUILDING workers have been the hardest hit by the Tories' savage cuts in public expenditure. Over 70 per cent of all construction and civil engineering contracts are financed by the

for schools, roads, bridges,

Unemployment in the building industry is 25-30 per cent. Building workers are being made redundant not only on building sites, but in the shipyards, steelworks, the mines

Welfare agencies

behind deportations

In addition to these cases is that this, but

and

LIS nOme rules is that entry

and could

under threat. of that is,

It has recently come to light that guarantee

do so

lavo announced

demand

ano gere winno form of Nasereen

number of people who to deport her ThIS COlO

DUL

where s ousing.

THE 3,000-strong gay pride march on Saturday erupted into a forceful protest against police harassment. After the cops arbitrarily arrested seven people on the march, half the demonstrators marched to Bow Street police station instead of dispersing. They secured the speedy release of those arrested.

BUILD THE FUND DRIVE

building workers, Act it was not overcrowded.

The appeal tribunal agreed with said that by 'our standards' the house was over-crowded and said colle not enter.

One of the new immigration to Britain should only be allowed if the person car show they can 'support themselves

, that they won't claim ans sure perens or services The Supplementary Benefit Bill will make it a criminal offence to support someone entering the country and then not Already the secret instructions to Department of Health and Social Security clerks (the A-code) that thes report to the Home nice any coreer who claims supplementary benefit.

Achtar claimed benefit after her husband deserted her. Now the Home Office is trying Nasira Begum also deserted by her husband and

Defend Nasira Begum

Support all those threatened by immigration laws Demonstration Saturday, 19 July, 12.30pm Whitworth Park, Manchester

everywhere the Tories' policies are hitting.

Now more than ever we need a revolutionary socialist newspaper with a wide circulation, putting forward the policies needed to get rid of the Thatcher government.

I believe Socialist Challenge is the only paper on the left putting forward these policies at the present time, which is why I urge all

trades unionists, socialists to donate as much as possible to the International Marxist Group's fund drive.

Send to: IMG Fund Drive, PO Box 50, London N1. Payable to 'The Week'.

her fight against deportation has gained a lot of publicity. Less HOWI wanted to work but the Department of Employment refused to let ICI SIZE

Students from overseas cannot come here unless they guarantee to pay their own fees, Tat home students' fees. Many overseas students have report to the police regularly The Home Office sets attendance requirements for overseas students, i not for Every overseas sluuch Is licaica as a potentia 'overstayer'

However grisly the details, the Cuse us action that the state is taking is quite logical given its real function - to protect the capitalist social order. Workers have wor within the strictly within structure capitalism.

The British state was built or the wealth extracted from Africa, the West Indies and the Indian subWeller OnCe stolen, is once again being denied e people who created it.

The response of socialists must be to organise against toe racism ot the state, to prevent divisions in the working class, opposing all immiradon controls.

By Barry Prothero

indulge in

tendencies.?

Saunders why it was sacking him.

and tribunal upheld this finding.

The latter

attracted to young

basis.

ment was dangerous.

would be afraid for their children. Discrimination

against, and

prejudice against us,

may be bigotted and prejudiced.

earlier

that their judgements have prejudice against gays. Offensive

and

this trend.

own bigotry.

well

union.

Ron

tation. Protection

At its recent

negotiations.

of tion within its clause. than a decade

in a law to ban discrimination write to: Gay Rights Court, London SE) ISA.

socialist C

'INFORMATION was received that you

homosexuality. At a camp accommodating large numbers of school children and teenagers it is totally suitable to employ a person with such

That was how, late last year, the Scottish National Camps Association explained to John

The association had not received any comПЯЛСЯООТНИСТОКО OL US COLUUL. had simply heard that John was homosexual and he did not deny it. An industrial tribunal

employment appeal

accepted evidence from psychiatrist that John was not at all sexually attracted to young people, and that heterosexuals are as likely as homosexuals to be sexually

people. Nevertheless the

ists alid may hee thad they ontary sin ee

a' 'reasonable' employer, even though it may have no scientific

The unstated assumption behind this argu-

The tribunals were impressed by management's claim that it thought parents

In other words the tribunal has decided that since gay women and men are discriminated

there strong common 'reasonable employers may dismiss us fairly because such employers

For gay people this is a devastating decision.

gay people, tribunals have been at pains to show , that homosexuality is not the reason for finding a sacking to be fair, although it has been obvious

been based on

The John Saunders case is the first time that an employment appeal tribunal has said that homosexuality is, by itself, a sufficient reason to sack somebody. The decision is binding on industrial tribunals and is a precedent which endangers all gays who work with young people.

The Saunders case is part of the general offensive against employment rights. The decisions of the tribunals, in particular, have in. creasingly tended to favour management. John Saunders' case is a significant development in

If the decision stands, employers will be able to sack gays simply on the basis of their

John Saunders was not a member of a trade union. The only gay cases that have been won before tribunals, and there are pitifully few, have been those where the person involved ha had the strong support of co-workers and their

NUPE, NALGO, and the GMWU have forcefully condemned the Saunders decision.

NUPE's genera secretary, said that the union would suppor any member sacked in similar circumstances and that the case points to the need to extend employment protection legislation to prevent discrimination on the grounds of sexual orien-

• comerence NUPE over. whelmingly voted to include protection from anti-gay discrimination in its own guidelines for

NALGO has made repeated demands to the TUC to include sexual orienta.

model opportumitics

Yet in many unions it is still argued that a worker's sexuality is a private matter and there fore has nothing to do with the union. The John Saunders case makes it clear that a ga person's sexuality is an industrial issue.

This case has stirred interest in gay rights i the Labour Party, for the first time in nore

Several constituency parties have passed motions condemning the decision

Many left Labour MPs are now interester

people in employment. CLPs should be bom barding the party executive with resolutions ou this case and on gay rights in general, to mak the Labour Party finally take a position on thi

For speakers, information, and petition

al Wort.

body 1930 gai

Page 6 scan of this page

Len Murray picketed

Miners,

steelworkers,

BOC -

altogether

now...

By Helen Slymovics.

THE connection between

British Oxveen workers at

the company's Hackney

depot and the Llanwern

Action Committee WUs

strengthened at a meeting

in the heart of the South

Wales valleys sponsored

by Socialist Challenge.

MICKY Bouller, deputy

convenor at BOC, and Ray

Davies, branch

the steelworkers' union ISTC.

were ine speakers the

meeting, held in the mining

community of Trehafod last

Vith the nearby Ty-mawr

pit facing closure, discussion

centrea

leadership to fight

over jobs in steel and coal.

Ray Davies reportere

lobby of the TUC held by the

Llanwern Action Committee

on 2s June, ana ine meeting

was unanimous in demanding

that Len Murray and Georg

Wright, Wales TU0

stop selling jobs.

Micky Boulter told us that

the

and Bristol were refusing any

work

dancies in Hackney, and em-

pnastsea ine neea sor a na-

tional fightback over jobs.

A conference

ployment is to be neta on. ev

July in Hopkinstown, where a

meeting was held during the

recent

unemploment in Wales.

Inquiry demanded over

police raid

By Steve Keen,

Enfield Trades Council

London.

have already been deported.

police intimidation.

the union does not allow any divisions among the workers.

at Park Lane Community Centre, Park Lane, Tottenham. Friends of Richard

Campbell organise

demonstration

By John Jones

RICHARD Campbell, a 19 year old Rastafarian youth, died mysteriously in custody at Ashwood Remand Home on 31 March. He was arrested on 1 March for attempted burglary, but his parents were not informed that he was i police custody until after his death.

preliminary 3:4 001-11 had died said Richard from

Tyc

hunger strike,

later withdrawn.

The Friends of Richard Campbell orgallisco a

Paign for a public enquiry

as its beach and are organis

203001 Sacerday. demand for a

Lambeth

acialist Chilleriy

THREATS by steelworkers and miners of a sit-in at Congress House caused a stir among TUC officials on Wednesday of last week.

A delegation from the Llanwern Action Group had arrived to demand a meeting with y Len Murray. from the South Wales NUM, they wanted to hear what action the TUC plans to fight the closure of South Wales steelworks and pits.

Ineir anger reached boiling point wher Brian Tiler, who described himself as merely a bureaucrat for the TUC Steel Committee' told the delegation that the TUC had problems in South Wales aren't with us'. 'Hundreds and thousands always want to see Len Murray. He can't find time for them all,' Tiler added.

We are some of the troops from the rank and file and we have come to demand action, an AUEW member from Llanwern replied.

How can we possibly convince people that the trade unions are worth supporting when there is no positive lead?'

Port Talbot workers, without a strong lead, were agreeing to the closures out of fear. Don Hayward from the NUM said: 'Action will be too late if we wait any longer. We can't fight this thing from the dole queues.?

It was then that the delegation announced it would sit-in until Len Murray came to see them.

Fearing disruption of a press conference planned to follow that morning's General Council meeting, space in his diary.

He repeated that his hands because the 'membership aren't with us', and ENFIELD Trades Council is calling for a public inquiry into the raid by police and immigration officials on black workers at the Main Gas factory in Edmonton, North

• Among the 26 workers arrested under the 1971 Immigration Act - after 51 were questioned — was a seven-month pregnant woman: Two of those picked up during the raid, on 20 June,

Several comparisons can be made with the operation of South Africa's pass laws: the fact that the raid was undertaken without any evidence of 'offences: the number quesuoned compared to those charged; the fact that they had to prove their innocence, rather than the police their 'guilt'; and allegations of

The workforce at the factory faces redundancies, and there have been suggestions of collaboration between the police and the factory management over the raid. It is vital, therefore, that

Enfield and Haringey trades councils are holding a public meeting about the raid, to be held on Thursday 10 July, 7.30pm,

NUT, and a number of other in Gordon Speaking for Heck. said: The ding are spicions. It is extraordinar that someone can be held it lor a monta withou anyone knowing about it. It seems that someone should be allowed to lie from dehydration in the hospital wing of a reman Conte WONT of from schizophrenia!'

The demonstration starts from Balham tube station al 1pm on 5 July. • 3 July 1980 Page.6

on jobs!

Joined by two representatives because the troops

of people pointed out that Llanwern and

terence.

Murray suddenly found a

were tied

Opposition

to rate rises in Lambeth

THE Labour Party Lambeth, South London, has a hard line against rate increases. A meeting of 70 people last Friday expressco ils colar oppositon lu rate rises.

Mike Tichelar, from Lambeth NALGO, pointed out that the deci SIOn of Lambell s Labou council to advocate massive rate increases would meet with furious opposition and eventually it would be forced to back down and start sacking council workers.

Councillor Pauline Moore, from Southwark, thought that rate increases would be a major test for Labour councils.

Poplar Council had stood firm and refused to levy higher rates in the ear-

'20s, calling on

support.

Councils should do the same today.

London Labour Local

Government Conference

Resist Heseltine!

A discussion conterence to prepare resistance to the Hesedline Local Gove socialist : Labour Gre Labour Party and trade union delegates

Saturday 5 July, 10am to 5pm.

Hampstead Town Hall, Haverstock Hill NW3.

Page 7 scan of this page

By Geoff Bell

THE Troops Out Movement emerged from its half-yearly conference, held in Edinburgh on Saturday, more united and with more determination to push the 'troops out now' case than at any previous time in its history.

It was fitting that the conference coincided with the publication of No British Solution*, the first national TOM pamphlet for five years, and an eltective answer to the Tory proposals for the North of Ireland.

Opposition to these proposals will be the focus of a demonstration on 8 November. in London, which the conference overwhelmingly agreed to support. This initiative has been called by the Ireland, which is pushing the demands for an ending of partition, Irish unity.

The TOM conference agreed to organise a specific "Troops Out Now demonstration.

Other initiatives agreed at the conference included:

* A series of local actions on 11 July around the release from Armagh prison of Liz Lagrua. LAs one or me "Armach 11' demonstrating in support of women political prisoners in Armagh;

* A TOM demonstration in Glasgow on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, next January;

" Support for the Labour Committee on Ireland Labour Party conference in Blackpool; -

* A possible delegation to visit Long Kesh prison later in the year.

The conference also gave its full support to Charter 80, the campaign recently established in support of the five demands of the political prisoners in Armagh and Long Kesh.

Although there was dissension on a number of these questions, and differences of emphasis on others, the overwhelming mood of the conference was to unify demands -for the Irish movement so that it is capable of taking the opportunities which are now present to raise the Irish issue in British politics

In this context the conference agreed to appoint a full-time workers, a step which should sort out many of the organisational problems

By Tom Marlow SOUTH African used tear gas, truncheons and dogs break up demonstration of a thousand black strikers Uitenhage Elizabeth last Thursday.

The strikers work at the USowned Goodyear tyre and rubber couldally and. are among tens of thousands of workers Who have been taking industrial action in South Africa recently.

Unrest

The strike wave, coinciding as does with the . schools boycott . CanDaleil. the SLICCL demonstrations, and the creasing tempo of the guerilla activity, adds another worry to the increasingly frightened racists who run the apartheid system.

Industrial unrest in South Africa is now higher than at any time since 1973. Strike

Most of the cold ballick affected multi-nationals.

Within the last couple of weeks there have been strikes at plants owned by Volkswagen, Ford, and General Motors. No the the strikes confined motor and related industries.

Black workers al Africa's major meat processing

INTERNATIONAL / IRELAND

Troops out conference

back 8 November

demonstration

SWP, has in the

MACHOC throughout

Committee for Withdrawal from

British withdrawal and

contingent on the

wrangles. arrested

call

the forthcoming wrong to membership.

paign.

TOM around its two Troops out now, and self determination demonstration people and to organise the against

Striking against apartheid

police

Port Inplant have now been on strike for over a month.

The Goodyear strike is a. ..good workers are deman are demanding. ware asking, for ah increase, of South RT.13 to R3 (a rand is currently worth 55p).

TOM has faced in the past. A new national office is also to be set up.

It was also encouraging that this was the first TOM conference which saw a substantial attendance from the Socialist Workers Party. The

while active in some TOM branches, past been wary weight behind TOM.

The evidence at the conference was that this attitude has now changed, and this can only help the growth of TOM. The SWP and the International Marxist Group,

consulted the conference. were minor differences on one or two points, substantial agreement was achieved.

The conference also benefitted from being held in Edinburgh. This possibly restricted the number attending, about 130 in all, but it did give TOM members in London a broader view of the movement than might otherwise have been achieved.

Thus when a small minority at the conference sought to raise various internal, nitpicking complaints, citing squabbles that had taken place in this or that committee or branch in London, those from outside London made it. plain Inal lney were not interested

The conference also rejected an attempt to restrict the basis of TOM to those who, in addition to the other two demands, supported the

political prisoners. While TOM does back this demand the feeling of the meeting was that it would be

make this a

The consequences of these decisions should firmly establish TOM movement with a national presence, similar in this respect to the National

What is now required is a commitment from all those involved for realising this potential. Most specifically this means building a massive 'troops out now' contingent on the 8 November demonstration and ensuring

will be the largest British presence in Ireland that this country has seen for years.

* No British Solution' costs 50p and will soon be available from left-wing bookshops. It can be ordered directly from TOM, 2a St Paul's Rd, London NI. Add 25p p&p:

€1.50 an hour is hardly likely to drive Goodyear to bankruptcy,

what the "government They ruled that the claim was 'excessive' *The apartheid regime does. not lust use its industria courts

of throwing its

which had 35 Delore and Although there By Peter Gowan

in such

Miriam

condition of TOM

as a well-organised

ple.

Abortion Cam-

that this of teaching. protest

except for linen wage rate of just over

Under South

runnig from industrial court they go on strike

Vitenhage plant last week.

¡LIBERATIO!

MIRIAM DALY

THE bestial murder of Miriam Daly in

Belfast last Thursday is not only a terri-

ble loss for the people of Belfast strug-

gling for their rights, it is a great loss

for the Marxist movement in Britain.

was history lecturer

Southampton University in the 1960s and

was a decisive influence in bringing myself

ana owner studenis o look at tae world rou

a Marxist standpoint. Most of my class

became involved in socialist politics and the

trade unions when we left university, in

great part through her influence and exam-

She taught us to think for ourselves and

to try to make sense of historical processes,

alwavs stressing the need for theoretical

coherence in trying to explain events. Her

honesty, compete lack or dogmalisi, alt

her openness to the ideas of her students

were in striking contrast to the general run

She was doing research at that time on a

crucial period of Irish history, the years be-

tween 1780 and 1820. It was the time of the

destruction of indigenous Irish industry

and engineering

North — by the British bourgeoisie; a time to back up the multi-nationals.

African law

workers cease to be employees used of the company concerned once

African › This allowed Volkswägen to

all the strikers. at its

TACH SOISIALACH, NA

revolutionary instrument by the British.

She was

at time. in Belfast during the 1970s.

tried to

died in the struggle against perialism.

to her work and her students. in the British are doing in Northern Ireland.

UP by

don,

In another move against the unions the government recently

its. Fund-Raising Act to for ban the Federation of South

Trade Unions • tron collecting funds, either inside s of the apartheid system. the country, or externally. it,

FOSATU, which has: 13

of the national resistance to this drive by the United Irishmen, of their defeat and of the fostering of the Orange Order as a counter.

culling inrough the myths of both the British Ascendency historians and

course of the intense class struggle in the towns and countryside in Ireland at that

Until the news of her death, I hadn't realised what a central role she had been playing in the struggle in the North during the 1970s. But it is now clear why she made such an impact on us students in the mid1960s. The passionate intensity of her search for historical truth and theoretical clarity at that time was a preparation for her struggle

In her historical research, Miriam Daly

on the brilliant historical essays of James Connolly. And like him she

bnush im

All who knew Miriam Daly in Britain in the 1960s, whatever their political outlook, could not forget her qualities as a human being, her modesty and integrity and devotion

Her foul murder should make them face what the

affiliated unions and a signed. membersne 50,000, recently called for a minimum wage of just over f1 an hour.

In light of all this, the recent strike wave has taken the aparticularly since there is a high- theid regime by surprise, unemployment rate among blacks which is meant to act as 'disincentive' to industrial action. the township .of Soweto, for instance, unemployment is over 20 per cent.

Shoot

But despite this, and despite the 'shoot to kill' demonstrators policy recently announced General Ce commissioner Geldenhuys. black workers like black students will not be easily cowed. statement from the African National Congress, read last week at a rally in Longrapbically summed up the situation:

Clergy

'South Africa is witnessing throughout the country an upsurge boycott, involving thousands of black students, at schools, colleges and univer sities; the super-exploited black workers in many parts of the country are engaged in strikes higher wages; there are demonstrations and marches by clergy against the iniquities

wr The writing is on the wall, and. the South Alrican raciss. can cleatly read it."

Socialist Challenge: 3 July 1980 Page 7

Page 8 scan of this page

A CONVERSATION

UNDER REVIEW

By Tariq Ali CLR James is now, by any standards, an old man. He appears somewhat frail, but this impression evaporates when he begins to talk. It is almost as if one is being transported back to the polemical debates and arguments of the Thirties.

the Thirties and soon developed a reputation as a sports writer and historian.

Roundhouse in 1967. On that occasion he had clashed fiercely with the black American leader thundered, 'No,' James had replied with quiet dignity, it is class.

Birmingham, held to pay tribute to Malcolm X.

17 years. His conversations with Trotsky were published under the pseudonym of Johnstone. He left because of differences on the class character of the Soviet Union. Allison and Busby, including a revised edition of his classic The Black Jacobins. I met him last week in his hotel room. He stipulated one condition for the interview. It must end as the Second Test Match began, as he did not want to miss a single minute of cricket.

TA: What were the main literary influences on you in your youth? What were the first books you read and how much impact did these make on you?

CLR: The greatest literary influence on me before I left the Caribbean Makepeace Thackeray. I first read Vanity Fait William

when I was nine years old. Subsequently I read it on nine other occasions. I didn't know it was a literary classic.

My mother had a Shakespeare, Vanity Fair, ana another DOOK cale STON Halifax, Gentleman. These were on the shelf and I was liv ing in the Caribbbean countryside with nothing to do, so I read.

Thackeray and his constant attacks upon the aristocracy nau more part in snaping my alulude towards the establishment than Marx.

TA: Would you say your views have altered over the last decades at all, or are you still as intransigent as ever on the themes close to your heart?

CLR: My views haven't altered. I left the Trotskyist movement in 1951, but I have remained an independent Marxist ever since

I do not subordinate myself to any state. I have never been to Moscow, though I have much more sympathy with the Chinese developments. I am attached to no political organisation whatsoever.

TA: But how would you view world politics today? The situation has altered in many ways since the Thirties.

CLR: My view of world politics is based firmly on what Lenin said in 1919. He told us that this was going to be an epoch of wars: imperialist wars, nationalist wars, civil wars. And of course, an epoch of revolution.

I see the old societies falling apart, in severe crisis and I don't think there is any way out except through building a new, socialist society. In that sense I have not changed since 1934, when I first joined the Fourth International.

It was Marx who first stated that the choice confronting humanity was socialism or barbarism. I believe that. I believe that in the last half century we have seen many examples of barbarism. Can I say something to you. I don't wish to start any controversy or polemic, but have your read Solzhenitsyn?

TA: Yes CLR: Well, how can you still say that the USSR is a workers' state, eh?

TA: But what Solzhenitsyn is writing about is things which surely Trotsky and his supporters knew about in the Thirties?

The Old Man used to often reflect on the fact that the purges and the trials were just the tip of the iceberg. You didn't appreciate the crimes carried out against a mass of the population during the collectivisation?

CLR: Of course, all that I knew and thought and wrote about, but the concreteness and the detail supplied by Solzhenitsyn is still a surprise. How can we see in that any element of socialism?

TA: How would you view China today?

CLR: Now that is difficult for me to say, but I know that up till Mao's death I was always very sympathetic to the Cultural Revolution. Mao said that the two things which mattered most to him were the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek and of Japanese imperialism and the Great Proletarian Socialist Challenge 3 July 1980 Page 8

James was born in the West Indies some 80 years ago. He came to Britain in

I had last heard him speak at the 'Dialectics of Liberation' conference in the

Stokely Carmichael. Race is decisive, Carmichael had

The same year James spoke at an International Marxist Group meeting in

CLR James was a Trotskyist and a member of the Fourth International for

He is presently in London for the publication of a number of his writings by

Cultural Revolution.

It was, in my view, an attempt to get the proletariat to govern the country. Mao was genuinely interested in that process. He was trying to get the masses to play a greater role in governing the state and building a socialist society

Since his death they have turned backwards but I don't believe they can succeed. TA: But how can you square all this - with which I disagree but let's leave that aside - with Mao's view of Stalin and the fact that the Stalin cult was promoted in China after the limited deStalinisation measures of Kruschev in 1956-7? CLR: These are details, but nevertheless Mao held a view of Stalin with which I disagree entirely, but despite this he avoided the pitfalls of Stalin's Russia

THE slaves received the whip with more

certainty and regularity than they received

their food. It was the incentive to work

and the guardian of discipline.

But there was no ingenuity that fear

a depraved imagination could devise which

was not employed to break their spirit and

satisfy the lusts and resentment of their

owners and guardians - rons on the

hands and feet, blocks of wood that the

slaves had to drag behind them wherever

they went, the tin-plate mask designed to

prevent the slaves eating the sugar-cane,

Whipping was interrupted in order to

pass a piece of hot wood on the buttocks

of the victim; salt, pepper, citron, cinders,

aloes, and hot ashes were poured on the

bleeding wounds. Mutilations were com

mon, limbs, ears, and sometimes the

private parts, to deprive them of the

pleasures which they could indulge in

without expense.

I neir masters poured burning wax ou

their arms and hands and shoulders, emp

tied the boiling cane sugar over their

heads, burned them alive, roasted them on

slow fires, filled them with gunpowder and

blew them up with a match; buried them

up to the neck and smeared their heads

with sugar that the flies might devour

them; fastened them near to nests of ants

or wasps; made them eat their excrement,

drink their urine, and lick the saliva of

other slaves.

One colonist was known in moments of

anger to throw himself on his slaves and

stick his teeth into their flesh.

From The Black Jacobins

TA: But there was alist democracy in China under Mao, no rights for the masses unless they happened to agree with Mao.

CLR: I accept that, but they were doing their best to prevent the decline into barbarism that took place in Stalin's Russia. But what has China got

and paston aske you abou Russia?

TA: Quite a lot. For me there no qualitiative difference (there never was) between the mode of production in China and in the Soviet Union regardless of whether it was under Lenin and Trotsky, Stalin or Brezhnev..

Page 9 scan of this page

WITH CLR JAMES

Despite many other differences the mode of roduction in both countries is the same. You vould not call Mao's China a capitalist or stateapitalist society. That is why tasked you about LR: For me the cultural revolution was imporant. I don't know how I would characterise china. It's difficult for me. But China is not ussia. So when I ask you about Russia you houldn't ask me about China.

A: Well my views are not so important... 'IR: No. Your views are important because ey are the views of an organisation to which I ave 17 years of my life A: On a related subject, could I ask you what is our attitude to Fidel and the Cuban Revolution. the revised edition of "The Black Jacobins' ou make what I think is a rather attractive comarison between Fidel Castro and Toussaint "Ouverture.

Would you care to expand on that?

LR: There was a great revolution in the Caribean in the heat and the excitement following the rench Revolution and in the wake of the crisis f the imperialist world today there emerged in he Caribbean another great revolution, the luban Revolution.

You ask me about Fidel. There are two things hich come to mind. He made the revolutior irst and then the Russians helped him. They ere not for the revolution before it was an acmplished fact.

Bưt secondly there are things about Fidel hich I read which I'm not too happy about. But

now another thing which for me is very impor-

If it were not for Fidel's army, Angola would ow be under the control of the South African hites. The Cuban intervention in Angola was a remendous event in the history of the world. I nink Fidel is doing the best under the cir-

A: The Black Jacobins' has been regarded by ne revolutionary left as a classic for a long time, ut it must have been galling for you that because f your politics it did not receive a wider recogni-

Today it is being acclaimed in much wider ircles. To me it has been obvious since I first ad the book that it was tailor-made for an epic n. Not a Hollywood epic, but a Peoples Epic. hy has that never happened?

LR: Many people have talked about it, but here is the money to come from? A lot of peole say that, and an American film-maker is stuying the possibility today.

I am prepared to write a film script provided e can find a capable film-maker and the nance. But most of them are not too happy bout the idea of making a revolutionary film. A: What about the Cubans? They have a collecon of very talented and very radical filmakers. Don't you think they might be prepared ) collaborate on a film?

LR: There was talk at one stage of translating le book into Spanish by the Cubans. But the ook has a few sharp attacks on the Russian. gime and when they reached those pages they

stopped the translation.

They were saying before they reached those two pages that the book would be out in one or two months. But they stopped TA: When I heard you talk many years ago in London, you polemicised sharply against Stoke-

Are your views on race and class the same or have you altered them in some way? At that time you were extremely emphatic that class was the ultimate arbiter.

CLR: I still believe that. I have not shifted, but it would be a great mistake to ignore the race question or the racial dimension.

I am on the side of all those who are using their racial subordination as a means of getting together because in that way they can make as powerful an impact as possible. But for me the class question is still the dominant and crucial OLIC

TA: These days there is a lot of talk about the 'crisis of Marxism'. Have you ever seriously questioned your Marxism or doubted its use as a method of investigation?

CLR: Never, never! In 1932 I came to this country for the first time. I looked around. I was very well read in historv and literature had musica interests: Bach, Beethoven and known to me. But my thought had no order about it.

It was after reading Marx and Lenin and studying Trotsky's polemics against Stalin that I began to develop a coherent view of the world. In 133 came Hitler and 'socialism or barbarism appeared the only alternatives.

In the 1914-18 war capitalism killed 8 million men, then it went to pieces in 1929 with the depression and as the economic recovery took place fascism was triumphant in Germany, Italy, and, a few years on, in Spain, and then came the Second World War. Today they don't go to war because it would be suicide given the power of nuclear weapons.

But I have no confidence in capitalism. None whatsoever. I have never entertained any serious doubts about Marxism over the last five decader of my life. Capitalism offers nothing that I want.

But I want to come back on the Soviet Union. You lot still stand by the 'workers' state' thesis. I see that Mandel still keeps on writing about it.

TA: Well, I'll give you my views on the matter which may or may not be orthodox. I don't regard the Soviet Union as a socialist state.. CLR: But a workers' state?

TA: Yes, but a workers' state which is utterly degenerated and deformed, has to be overthrown and totally re-organised from top to bottom. My basis for that is the objective role of the USSR in world politics.

There is an objective tension between the USA and the USSR, which is based on the fact that capital is not allowed to circulate in the USSR as a commodity. Neither foreign capital nor any other form of capital.

Simply in order to prevent that happening the Soviet bureaucracy has to be on its guard and when accommodation fails or where it sees a possibility of scoring points at the expense of imperialism, it moves

You have said yourself that the Cuban in ervention in Angola was a 'tremendous event But without Russian

that intervention would have been impossible. I repeat, impossible. CLR: But I understand that when Fidel accepted the MPLA's invitation to Angola he did so without the knowledge of the Russians. That is what I heard.

'BROTHERS and friends. I am Toussaint

L'Ouverture, my name is perhaps known

to you. have undertaken vengeance.

want Liberty and Equality to reign in San

Domingo. I work to bring them into ex-

istence. Unite yourselves to us, brothers,

and fight with us for the same cause, etc.

*Your very humble and very

obedient servant

'(Signed) Toussaint L Ouver-

'General of the Armies of

the King, for the Public Good.'

From "The Black Jacobins'

TA: That is possible, but 1 find it difficult to believe that he could have sent the troops without lengthy consultations with the Russians. motives were probably very different, but I don't believe that the Russians were not involved.

It is also the case that in the months preceding

significant event. between the USA and the USSR.

you have to defend them.

Mozart were forward!'.

advance. 'Forward, forward!' glory.?

little mad, both white and black.

From 'The Black Jacobins'

frontation between bureaucracy we are with the masses. that we refuse to remain neutral.

the military strength

tempt to overthrow Fidel.

debate.

weapons and Russian

Canada? and it was also participatory

game.

not articulate it, an artistic event.

sport is the new opium of the masses? Their

the fall of Saigon the supply of Soviet weapons (especially the rocket launchers) was not an in- so.

CLR: But the Chinese gave weapons too...

List view.

TA: Sure, in the early stages in particular. But the FI called for a united front of Moscow and Peking to defend the Vietnamese revolution. It is when one sees the Soviet Union in a global context that one cannot but be forced to the conclusion that there are some fundamental differences CLR: Viv

CLR: That I can accept, but can we ask people to sacrifice themselves for Russia as one did in the day of Lenin? If you are supporting them then

before

CLAIRVEAUX, the Mulatto, was in com- dary

mand, and with him was Capois Death, a could be

negro officer, so called on account of his

bravery. From early morning the national

army attacked. In the afternoon under a

crossfire of musketry and artillery Capois

led the assault on the blockhouses of

Bréda and Champlin, shouting 'Forward,

The French were strongly entrenched

and drove off the blacks again and again

only to see them return to the attack with

undiminished ardour. A bullet knocked

over Capois' horse. Boiling with rage he

scrambled up and, making a gesture of

contempt with his sword, he continued to

The French, who had fought on so alIs

many fields, had never seen fighting like

this. From all sides came a storm of

shouts. 'Bravo! Bravo!'. There was a roll

of drums. The French ceased fire. A

French horseman rode out and advanced

to the bridge. He brought a message from

Rochambeau. "The Captain-General sends

his admiring compliments to the officer

who has just covered himself with so much

Without a shot fired from the blacks,

the horseman turned and rode back to the

blockhouse and the battle began again.

The struggle had been such a nightmare

that by now all in San Domingo were a

TA: But defend whom against what? In any con-

messes and the It is only when there is a confrontation with imperialism

In my opinion the sovereignty of the Cuban Revolution was guaranteed by the existence and

USSR. withdrawal of the missiles by Khruschev also guaranteed that there would be no military at-

Of course, his enormous popularity was the major factor, but Cuba is only a small island. Anyway let us agree to differ on this old, old

Leaving politics aside for the moment, could we discuss your other passion, cricket. Could I ask two initial questions: why is it that cricket in the Caribbean and India-Pakistan is a mass sport like football in Britain, and secondly why did it not catch on in some of the other colonies such as

CLR: In Britain there is a very wide range of things that the people can be interested in, but the impact of cricket in India and the Caribbean was different. The overwhelming majority of the masses were illiterate. They saw cricket, which is a marvellous game altogether, as an art form.

It was the easiest and most accessible part of Western civilisation that they could identify with

In my book Beyond the Boundary I develop this theme in greater detail. Western literature, music, painting was only for the élite, but cricket the masses could adopt and take over. Instinctively they appreciated the artistic quality of the

The great critics of the fine arts have yet to realise the fact that when 100,000 people go to see a football or a cricket match it is, even if they do

TA: Could it not also be said that in some ways

£4.95 pbk.

CLR: Trotsky used to say that the working class was far too interested in sport. He said that far , too much of their energy and interests were Bookshop, devoted to sport rather than in the organisation

of their own class. But I disagreed. I don't think

I played cricket and football till I left the Caribbean and cricket has always meant a great deal to me. It has never interfered with my Marx-

As to why it never caught on in Canada, I think the answer is simple: climate. You can't have a season in Canada. That's the chief reason. TA: Whom would you regard as the most attractive cricketer today?

Richards. The way he plays is something new. I used to think that George Headley was the greatest, better than Sobers or the three W's, but this boy Richards is a marvel.

His batting is something we haven't known

batsman altogether. The way they drop the ball on the off stump or just outside and he keeps on hitting it through the on-side fieldsmen to the on boun-

The precision of the shot is such that he playlig billiards. I've never seen anything like it.

A: Do you regret any part of your life. Is ther anything you would have done differently CLR: No. I have enjoyed reading books, which is what made me a Marxist. nO: And what lies ahead? What are your plans CLR: I am writing my autobiography in Trinidad and I will go back and finish that. After that I would like to go to Florence and spend two or three weeks there.

TONGE of that city. Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci... It is a beautiful city. I'm a little bit scared as it's now controlled by the Italian CP (laughs), but I doubt they'll do anything to me now.

As the Test match started the interview ended, with CLR grumbling about the inclusion of Boycott in the English side. If he were an English selector: ' would get rid of Boycott. He just demoralises the rest of the team. Pick two new openers and let them play in all five tests. They'll ruin one or two, but they'll be good at the end.' ALISON & BUSP

C. L. R. James

THE BLACK JACOBINS

'The Black Jacobins' by CLR James is published by Alison & Busby at

It is available from The Other

,328 Upper St, London N1. Add 10% if ordering by mail.

Socialist Challenge 3 July 1980 Page 9

Page 10 scan of this page

OVER the past year or so the

Caribbean has become focus of politics. On 13 March last year the New Jewel Movement in Grenada overthrew tatorial régime of Eric Gairy. Four months later the successful revolution in Nicaragua dealt a severe blow to the interests of American perialism in the whole region.

At the same time the régime of Fidel Castro in Cuba has managed to establish diplomatic and trade links with an increasing number of Caribbean countries. thus breaking from the political isolation imposed by the United States in 1960

since Gairy's overthrown in Grenada. the New Jewel Movement (NJM) led by Maurice Bishop has carried out a number of radical and democratic measures. regular army nas deen swept away and in its place a People's Revolutionary Army and a popular militia have been set up.

The price of three basic commodities — rice, sugar and cement reduced with the establishment of a National Importing Board. Secondary school rees nave ocen reaucea by a tnira. A youtn programme the Youth Reconstruction — has been set up, and it Has success uny moorse• mousanes or people for voluntary community building projects and road construction

NICW cooles Government has cut the government ministers, and reduced their salaries allu alowances Dy aboul a tira.

Repealed

The Newspaper Publications Act, required a sum of some EC $10,000 to be aepositea witn une government berore a paper was allowed to be published, has been repealed

s0, too, which prohibited the use of loudspeakers at public meetings without the consent of me ponce commussioner ame dave ne a

sosuch suld ban any kind of pubisc

sioner meeling or galnering.

The Bishop régime has undoubtedly

masses. troduced the Trade Union Act which compels employers to recognise ally unlull lal can cmons rate sudoor! from at least half the workforce in an

NJM-led unions, such as the Commercial and industrial Workers Union and the Bank and General Workers' nave grown considerably since the revolu non and a new union, tne Agricultural and General Workers', Grenada Manual and Metal Workers' Union in the countryside

According Lao ur, Minister of muncaron. me leve or monisauon nas risen from 30 per cent of the employed urban workforce under Gairy to around wu ber cent today.

Institutions

The Grenadian bourgeoisie has by no means disappeared,

although its institutions have been smashed. It has no army. and no political party worth the name. In this situation, , Where the bourgeoisie exist: but lacks any instrument through which it could defend vriculaliull of the Ncw Jewel Movement has presented it with an opportunity to try and influence certain currents

Ihe bourgeoisie still maintains an el fective presence and is tied to imperialist interests in London and New York. these links to divide and destroy the NJM.

An attempt by the Grenada National Party - most nboral bourgeois September had to be abandoned because to hold a public meeting ul soonlalcous prolest acuion oy lneroca population. Out of a total population in Grenada of 100,000, stare rallies or around zu. deode

It is still too early to give a definitive evaluation of the trajectory of the Grena-

revolutel volallie situation inrougnout the region, close ties and sympathy which the NJM has for the Castro régime in Cuba and the FSLN: in Nicaragua leading to an overturn of capitalist property relations on the island.

This is despite the fact that the Cuban endershi goes outline necessary for such a socialist transformation.

The reverberations of the Grenadian revolution nave ser throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. The capitalist media in Trinidad and

virulent on the game i he

revolútion. • goverriment.

reruised •SCUSS

Socialist Challenge • 3 July 1980

INTERNATIONAL

increasingly

world

Miles the die-

UNITED STATES

Him• have been

Forces

Revolutionary

number NICARAGUA

PANAMA

which kind of public

Recognition

Union,

eclipsed Gairy's

Strachan, the

THE bomb Minister Maurice

the Caribbean.

Cubans to

government. present zoolice Tne within the West Indies in

the Grenadian revolution.

dian and a long-time NJM activist.

Expulsions

Similarly the NJM is able to Douglas and •other

government

Dollical and the Gonsalves Cave Hill • ¡hales and a leadel TaCLOTS

Line 13 March revomon.

The path

ana

back production towares men mobnaco

September of: Eric.: wild ite imports representatives ofthe PRG and has accity . Guinea in 1975, they reduced their imports

Page 10

500 VEN

MATI

Carbbean sea

COLOMBIA

Ferment in the Caribbean

threatens

attack on Grenada's Prime Bishop two comes in the wake of his visit to Cuba where he spoke at a mass rally with Fidel Castro and leaders of the Nicaraguan revolution. Political upheaval is in evidence all round

ed the Bishop régime of allowing the

train guerillas in Grenada fol direct attacks on the Trinidad and Tobago

The brutal response of the Trinidadian

disturbances at the Augustine campus of the University of the

April is directly related to the government's smear campaign against

president of the students' guild and a leader of the student unrest, was singlea out by the police and beaten unconscious because he is Grena-

expulsion of Rose leftists from Seraphine and the action taken by the government of lom Adams in Barbados in witnarawing the work permiț or kalph

La Marxist lecturer • at the campus of the University of the ol une lemusi Youlimou organisation in St Vincent — is part of the right-wing backlash to the up. surge of the Caribbean masses initiated by

The response of the US and Canadian owned bauxite companies to Manley's inposition of a bauxite levy in Jamaica in

anu-m peransi pronouncements was classic. They simply cut

until his attitude

'An article ih Caribbean Contact last

showed that while the US - aluminium companies doubled theit baux- TH African bites in these realed or nd

Dominical

Marinaus Di

Grenada ( Trinidad and Tobaco5!

DOMINICAN / REP

PUERTO RICO

VENEZUELA

US imperialism

Jamaica, Grenada

weeks ago is under MICHAEL MANLEY Trom amala by. 30 • per cent. Ine net reduction in US bauxite imports was 20

portant industry after bauxite, has also een the target of imperialist pressure.

•ol unc wancy covermcil. mie oooos-

MAURICE BISHOP While the 'New Jewel' island of Grenada

threat from the United States, Jamaica's PNP régime led by Michael Manley is under attack from the right wing. FITZROY AMBURSLEY unravels the revolutionary developments which are rocking the once quiet Caribbean.

tion Jamaica Labour Party, led by Edward Seaga, openly supported this cam•alga. wich resultca m a sharo rcaucuon in the number of tourists visiting the Is and During this period a massive flight of capital abroad

ment to seek financial assistance trom.tne International Monetary Fund inis nas been the damaging effect on th Jamaicao economv or me olorice rises particularly since the bauxite industry requires enormous amounts of the fue accounting for some 51 per cent of total oil imports.

The net effect of these develonments has been to thrown Manley's reform programme off course and plunge the country WOrSI since 1937. consumption, such as rice, salt-fish, soap ana kerosene or are benna ranonec The announcement that a general election will be held later this year has already led to a revival of the deep animosities between the PNP and the JLP, and political violence has become the order of the day According police violence claimed 50 lives between January and the end of April Opinion poll accumc m sudoort or Manevs ment, and a shift towards the JLP. main basis of the JLP's platform is anti-

the party organised demonstrations and vigilante groups to harass the Cuban doc tols air technicials who are assisting lile Jamaican government.

Despite the crisis on the island, Seaga is now calling on

foreign • way- toe broke off the PNP is the Party SV UNIO

PNP share, at

Wing tne country In practice

taneous

101 Its own eros

of political place, obliging bean.

Added to munities here

Grenada.

: economic and social crisis Basic items of working class

trai

Salvador, ligures political the

consistently show Also • govern- Iran, an • The published

Single

severity of the economic

governments and internationa lenaing insututions not to provide aid because such assistance could be interpreted as support for the ruling PNP. He nas Inreatened to alsnonour any agree ment entered into by the Manley régime should his party be elected.

This is undoubtedly part of the reason

governments attempt, since 1 February, torecisance its debts of US S650 discussions with IMF

to commercia banks Is with little success. According to Chaunce

Beve in be of Aster them. News

Mistercur ivews.

Carter s ivanonal security Council is sup: porting Seaga's campaign and helping to destabilise the Manley government

Ine dosence of any credibe socials alternative to the PN helps to explain the growing shift to the right in Jamaica. The

pro-Moscow Workers' of Jamaica, headed by

It has adopted a policy of 'alliance and struggle' with the PNP government which las incall. lo cuole an auce mme Morn ing Star on 4 June, that "The WPJ and the

Fi least programmatically, a common view of the maior problems fac

this has led to the WPJ refusing to mount an effective challenge to Manley's policies since, in its analysis, this would play into the hands of the right. Ir the 'gas demonstrations' of January 1975 une party onysicals roke up a spon

movement of discontent and allowed the JLP to exploit the situation

The period ahead will see a heightening

tension and mass upheavals nougnoul me English-speaking Carib

British socialists and the black com

nave an important respon sibilly to bulla a movement or sondarit! with the masses of the Caribbean and Cen tral America; to oppose US destabilisation of the Jamaican government, ana to de fend the revolutions in Nicaragua and

Intercontinental Press

combined with / I

Intercontinental Press/Inprecor this week continues its coverage of Cen-

American politics with assessment of developments in E

major article by Livio Maitan on Nicaragua and a report or

attempted assassination Maurice Bishop in Grenada.

featured is coverage on appreciation OI Walter Rodney, and a review of a recently

interview with Andrei Sakharov, the Soviet dissident

issues 40p including

2as tissues ories and is eles!

Orders and cheques postal orders to Intercontinental Press, PO Box 50, London N1 2XP

Page 11 scan of this page

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Page 12 scan of this page

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Socialist Challenge 3 July l

Britain. reformist path to socialism in Britain today. orgamsaulous establisa fight to build a joint organisation'.

withdraw the resolution would be Frame whether one ste over farman

OUR FIGHT to do.

has been

WOrK. substitute your own.

Centrist

ference resolution on

Such 'unity' match between formally united organisation.

the word itself.

forced these suspicions. supporting le

tainly

- SINO AMISSILES those people who

saw is incestaber

Approach

More significant is

approach to the

sniping references our tank ana musi

tions and unofficial strikes.. maintainea since in socialist wilanenge

IMG debates SWP

SOCIALIST Challenge, launched by the International Marxist Group in 1977, has consistently fought for

massive boost. unity among revolutionaries in

That unity is vital not only to fighting the attacks of the Tories but presenting a credible alternative to all those militants who re ject the possibility of a gradual,

The unity of the two largest far left groups, the Socialist Workers

I have been asked by our central committee to reply to your letter suggesting that our two

'the framework of a

You state that at your conference you agreed 'to in July Yet 1978' which, as you will recall, declared that we were a 'syndicalist break with Marxism'. This you suggest enables our two organisations to engage in joint work and discussion with an ultimate view to fusion

As we wrote in our reply to your letter of 1978, if our two organisations were agreed over our analysis of the present situation and what had to be done it

Be very wrong of us indeed not to unite our forces. However your attitude at the time made it ab- presented as solutely clear that we were far from, such agreement.

aven vour view orus vou nao to see has vour ou-

- whether or not we were formally in the same Tactics

our readersmo ano our radicon. since they were likely to lead us 'to cross the clas lines' if it came to any large scale convulsion concluded that for you any talk of 'unity' could only be a manoeuvre designed to make tat easier for you

Have things changed as a result of the resolution that was passed at vour last conterence? Not if the only change to your basic perspective and orientation

terminological, without any real shift in vour analyses are bauce ror wuoul a sum suc Inose wine a tised or anisation to ted in coint our me trid

organisation to try and counter our method as soon as possible. "influence LO

Moe resite in on my are as a needed to be fusion where one side calls the other "centrists" we are opposed to slatlupulli

can only mean a permanent slanging government and opposition' inside a Yet two years ago when you waged an offensive over the question of unity, you did regard us as centrist. We cannot help suspecting that your basic analysis of our tradition remains the same despite your willingness to jettison

The resolutions and speeches at your conference and the article in Socialist Challenge since have rein

resolution in favour of a unity apreal syndicalists. ference) of effectively seeing us as centrist; and cer-

within the opposition there was a grouping. Front small but closely linked to leading elements in the Fourth International, who openly call us centrist

want us to 'fight for a united organisa tion' including all these elements. If the unitarians ir vour organisation were serious about the terms their own resolution, they would have to break with

believe that we are centrists and men aboarusor unry win only chose who do not believe that we are centrists. Otherwise they are asking us to accept precisely the kind of unity they

itself.

But that is perhaps not the most important point.

nothing analysis of your conference or of Socialist Challeng ¡ends us to sunoose toar vou cave salted vour bosi tions fundamentally on the way you judge our basic

class struggle. Your conference's tional strike committee grudging admission that we are a revolutionary' and not a 'centrist' organisation was accompanied by

by speakers for all tendencies to tion against the Tories.

Even the resolution on unity insisted that our tradicted some *rank and file approach starts from a false choice. ference of the SWP we base ourselves on the activity of the rank and fil rank and file teachers group fetishes school based ac

The tone has been

Take for instance the article by Valerie Coultas on

Party and the IMG, would give revolutionary socialism in Britain a

It would put pressure on militants in the Communist Party, on the left-wing of the Labour tion. Party, in the trade unions, and the women's liberation movement to unite in action with revolutionaries.

It would force smaller groupings to re-assess the sectarianism which has consistently held back the growth of revolutionary Marxist ideas in this country.

Here we publish the correspond-

the Great Debate in Central Hall. For Valerie, Paul Foot's argument against Benn could be summed up in the most hostile terms: 'Paul Foot echoed Hilary wainwrignt s semi-syndicanst tneme or going were power lies' on the shop floor.

Valerie claims to be a supporter of unity. With supporters like that who needs splitters? We can only wonder whether being "semi-syndicalist' we are still in Valerie's eyes a 'syndicalist break with Marx-

The same hostility was shown in the major article in Socialist Challenge on the lessons of the steel strike tivities of the SWP only detracted from what is

the major task of the strike, 'the

and support for the key militants involved.

Tons.

Note the word only. Notning we dia in the strike had any beneficial effect. The hundreds of thousands of leaflets, the many national and local bulletins, the ferent parts of the country to discuss tactics, the work around picket lines and flying pickets, even the call or a adora sunke commulice realistic prospect — it all 'only' deflected, the attention from the key task. For comrade Grogan, as for 'only' an obstacle in the class struggle to be got rid of socil fistsed so hide their identity as revolutionary Action But that is not all. Apparently our comrades ir socialists. Instead, week after sure arcas uncy mauc uc 'mistake' of producing SWP bulletins called Real steer News analysing wilal

done from a revolutionary socialist

The result, Grogan claimed in a letter in Socialist Challenge a fortnight later, was the isolation of the

SWP comrades from the real developments of the rank and file movement. By issuing Real Steel New: as well as taking part in the strike committee, pickets

we were trying to impose a party bulletin on the fight inside the structure of the : union, most notably the strike committees. This could only undermine the development of the rank and file leadership

For revolutionaries to be open about the lead ther tone offer to non-revolutionary activists (Grogan ISTS councillors, JPs) stops the development of rank and fie leadership! One begins to wonder who are the

Now the IMG are entitled to their own opinion of what needs to be done and of where we go wrong. But sucn a rundamentany avergent view mom us ma ke strike as to lead you to say we only deffected people away from the major task hardly lays the basis for real unw orom orcansalous

If the articles of comrades Grogan and Coultas were isolated occurences may be we could just let them pass. But they were not. As we have seen, ther followed on from the terms of the unity resolution

And their points have been repeated almost word for word in articles since, for instance in an arti cle by another 'supporter of unity •ener router m Socialist Challenge of 22 May. Like Grogan he objects to revolutionaries being open about where they build a party front in opposition to building a na-

The hostile tone is contained in his comments on an article by tony. in calling for unitea tront ac

We are told that Cliff's call for a united front approach against the Tories con-

postons acoote• oy ine last coll

The lie that the SWP was opposed to united front (because we refused to hide our politics inside them was common currency from the IMG when you still •described us as 'centrist' (despite the fact that year after vear our conference passed resolutions on the united front — two at the last conference and we have

ence between the IMG and the SW about fusion. The SWP's response is a negative one but Socialist Challenge feels sure that this will not end the debate on this ques-

We hope that the dialogue be tween the two organisations will continue both in joint action and through the pages of Socialist Worker and Socialist Challenge. Te this end we explain the positions adopted by the last IMG conferenc on the basis for membership of th revolutionary party.

Taken numerous auces oranese sena can continue to repeat the lie again indicates that attitude of many of your leaders to us. remains !

There is another element of hostilitv in vour titude to our organisation to which we unfortunat have to refer. This is the way you continually rep be me or scarce mr your unty resolution nati 'SWP does not have a democratic internal regime

This must amaze the thousands of our memb • who. for instance. argued our differing analyse the class struggle, the organisation of blacks a

do cal me a suca cust as vigorou over the sort of paper we needed the year before.

Your justification for your lies is tortuous in ! extreme: Steve jettreys supported minority Di

Ine movers or ine malority Dosions dope him being elected to the national committee, and i

' delegates overturned that oppositi

i ne ract unal une conrerence delegates vote do the recommendations of the leadership shows th the organisation is undemocratic! The fundamen

, however your dishonest and illogi

our organisation that underlies it. It is a tone t makes us suspect that 'a fight for unity between c orals tons come ones conta acke strife and sectarian sniping with any attempt ourselves to curtall this in the interest of implemer tion of the democratically agreed majority positic being denounced as "undemocratic":

You virtually admit in your unity resolution t wial you foresee is not in really unica action tol single organisation, but endless arguments betw our two organisations even if formally united

'In fighting for unity with the SWP we wo not dissolve me key bonca orterences.a ween us. ' (ie your contention that we "semi-syndicalist) oolcurit on our positions on the un front, the independent women's movem and so on i will be conducted before, dur

So the 'fight for unity' will involve you arguing in!

we've already heard from cdes Coultas, Grog this really the way forward to building an organi tion that can overshadow the CP and appeal to th WOrKers looke lo we Lavoll Icil al preocll! isn't it really a guarantee of reproducing on a lar and more disastrous scale the ingness that • Characterises groups such as the si

You go on to say 'Public discussion on all points that divide us would be valuable We won wiener vou can reary deneve us. Arune bouts C divide us would go right back to 1947.

No doubt in some of us too there lurks a little s tarian demon that would like to recall the about ti or the rourtn internanonal in 1948 in suade discovering that workers' states had been crea three vears belore without the working class. or y claim in the mid-'60s that there were 'workers a peasants governments' in Algeria, etc, etc, Ilauscall But is that really the recipe for building a pa

rooted in the workplace?

The very fact that you can even suggest that si discussion is Vallavic muicales lo us Ilal a zi chunk of your leadership want not a united interv tionist organisation, but a permanent debate in framework which would lead us right away from problems of the working class todav. What we wo end up with would be a slanging match (the tone your articles already prove that) which would hin the modest work that we have been doing to buil revolutionary presence in the class

We regard it as our revolutionary duty to av

what you mean by 'fighting for unity' we have to

we can have none of it.

•wesaved v because we know nawa the IMG there are many revolutionaries who h

Page 13 scan of this page

al of Disunity!

and who have begun to seriously appreciate what we

ge trying to build. Indeed on the basis of discussion

ira manvadals, some or us oegan to teel in the run

ip to your conference that a reorientation on your

art might open prospects for organic unity.

La cone l cue contribanons al your conterence

nd in your paper since have dashed any such hopes.

It is clear that those elements who are genuinely mov-

ng towards our positions only got a

ponference by compromising with those whose posi-

tions remain in essentials what they always were.

At the same time the essential political differences

twe our organisallous nave u anytig grown

since your conference. This is shown not merely bs

snipes around our

steel strike but also by the way in which you described

29)9i Or une most signinicant

women's movement taking of

against the

February as being counterproductive) and also by the

in which you have slid into

apologetics over the question of Afghanistan

What is the common thread that underlies these

differences?

We base ourselves squarely on the insistence that знанранон or lne working class is tne aci or

he working class itself'.

We regard it as substitutionist nonsense to talk of

workers' states where the working class has no con

-trol over the state power, to see students, third world guerilla leaders or left' trade union officials as able lo act in place of the working class, to identify the

armed forces of the Russian state as the 'Red Army'

ling as the agent of Socialism or to love up to left

Dear Comrades,

An overwhelming majority of revolutionary

socialists will respond with disappointment and

disbelief to your irresponsible decision to evade our clear ofter of discussions on unity and joint

work.

This rejection becomes even more absurd when we consider that your organisation has taken the inSpanish, and Swedish sections of the Fourth Interna- alauve i proposing discussions with the French,

tional to discuss collaboration. One such between yourselves and the FI (represented by the French, Spanish, and British sections) has already

taken place. Your attitude thus appears both bizarre

ana mexoncable.

What is most depressing is not the pitiful cocktail

of sophistry and trivial gossip to which you resort in

order to detena your sectarian positions. It is that your, views on the basis of unity effectively rule out the possibility of building a revolutionary organisa-

tion unless there is a monounc accestance or lne

Current tactical nine or the swr leadership

Your refusal to discuss our specific proposals for joint work must place a big question mark over what you really meant when you made your recent appeal for united action against the Tories.

Faced with the plain fact that your previous excuses lor ignoring our proposals for ioint work and

TOST any foundation with publicised decisions of our last conference, you are

chucco to seraobillg Inrougn tne mies or socialist Challenge in order to compile a 'sensational' dossier of atrocities. Leaving aside the merits or otherwise of specitic letters or articles which have been published in Socialist Challenge, it is undoubtedly the case that there are differences between us. Labour Party

You say that we 'lie' about your positions on the unilca Tront we insist inal tnere remains a Jekyll and Hyde dichotomy in your practice. filism of the 'steer left' period and the launching of tie All Nazi League part and parcel or tne same approach? We reject the former unequivocally. ANL was a tremendous success and, as you are fully aWal Ce Socialist Challenge editoriallv ('Hats Off to the SW') paid tribute to the SWP. But you have so far not followed a similar approach in the trades

For it is here that we need fighting fronts (rather than SWP fronts) which unite all prepared to struggle against class-collaborationist

Line. wcaknesses or te communist farty make such an approach objectively as well as subjec tively necessary today. So disagreements with your tactics on the steel strike are not designed to score petty points, but to chart a course that could unite all steel workers prepared to struggle.

In our opinion your attitude to the Labour Party also suffers from certain defects. Your main reply to those who are groping for socialist politics in the Labour Party is to pose the SWP as an organisational alternative, something which is not only untrue but appears surrealistic given the divisions on the far-left.

Furthermore to regard the Labour Party as a corosc is cically would be foonsh in the ex• treme to exclude for all time to come a tactic which would imply sending all our forces into the Labour Party 11, orac to wii workers "to socialist politics: :

The same starting point underlines our attitude to Afghanistan. over the steel strike. and over the abor. tion campaign. You denounce our approach on all issues 'rank and It is this which explains your repeated insistence against all the evidence that Iront because you cannot understand that for us the precondition for any united front activity, with MPs, union leaders, is our real ability to propagate notions of independent, revolutionary class action.

Nothing in your conference or your letter leads u: to believe that these differences since your last letter of two years ago. This is unforwork round the

us to be able to unify with others forces around a developments in the common appreciation of our tasks would make the direct action job of revolutionaries a little easier.

But that common appreciation does not exist yet and without it we will merely get continual sectarian pro-Russian wrangles. Under such circumstances your invitation

for discussions of a 'fight for unity' is a waste of time.

We do however repeat our call of two years ago to those of your preciate what we are about: break with the sectarians. who still see us as centrists: break with those who talk normally break with those who still see defence of the actions of the 'Red Army' pontics and join with us in building a party to lead the working class self activity in the struggle for socialism.

Yours Fraternally, CHRIS HARMAN

We think you're irresponsible

These are important tactical disagreements, all Chris Harman's attempts to make the SWi membership's flesh creep cannot disguise the fact that these are not differences on the fundamental questions that divide revolutionaries from reformists His supposedly 'anti-sectarian' stance therefore amounts to the revolutionaries LIONS Comrade Harman is perhaps genuinely unable to understand that despite these differences meeung regard the SWP as a revolutionary organisation. In

This eyes anyone who differs with the current tactics of he SWP in a strike or on a demonstation must b breaking with revolutionary politics.

He therefore finds real ding that we do not share this view. In this case we call understand tHat ne rears any unity would 'end up as a slanging match', which reminds one of an old Russian saying cited by Gogol: 'If your face is ugly carried away is comrade Harman by his hysterical method that he ends up by accusing not just the IMG but, by implication, the great majority of SWP members of opportunism and 'hiding our politics.

In the through a united front grouping open to all who agreed on the basis for carrying the strike forward, the well- but through SWP bulletins which thereby excluded

those militants who were members or supporters of hemselves with the SP. By criticising the SPi Lills SWP for failing to hide their identity as revolu- says comrade Harman, we are attacking the

tionary socialists But hang on a moment. In everv other industri than steel, SWP members intervene through rank and file formations which, though their actual degree of independence from the SWP may vary, are cer tally not buce as war duleans. ano deciare tha they are open to all workers who agree with their Is the infan- demands. Does this mean that all SWP members out-

side the steel industry Perhaps there is more of a basis for unity than comThe rade Harman imagines...

The absurdity increases when comrade Harman attempts to argue that the differences between us have widened since the conference - and ends up implying that we cannot unite because we do not agree on what tactics to adopt on an abortion demonstration and on how to evaluate the Russian intervention those who are in Afghanistan. Monolithism While on the subject of Afghanistan, it is worth pointing out that there are tempted to conceal these divisions. We do not believe that differences questions should be hidden from readers of our paper.

We believe that our conception accords with the theory and practice of classical marxism. Comrade monolithism and theoretical Stalinist impositions on the international movemen. It is undoubtealy tne case, ana naraly surprising, that this garbage has left its impact on most verbally intransigent anti-Stalinist curTul-booced rents. It is best, however. to be aware of the origins of

certain party-building practices. Practices which, in

filism' inescapably

we oppose the united of our history

comparison with have diminished Socialist Party,

we are sa mies volt sze tol

the interests of the working class a good thing that the members who are beginning to ap-

towards

as the lodestone for their world We do

— a party regime of the SWP is an obstacle

tions' of your organisation.

Bolsheviks too Ally olel old British sectarian position that should split over secondary post-

.we still like losing

difficulty in understan-

Our Unions Conference,

The makes no reference at all. He hopes steel strike the SWP intervened, not

CP and the Labour Party o present or identil

KAOWS In

posals.

by some SWP comrades for

themselves'. did not exist.

are maing inell laenuty!

: Party would have to invent him!

If you continue to refuse to united revolutionary organisation

on tactics -continue patiently to explain our position.

We know

Wing together could only strengthen a pole differences inside the

national or international the eyes of wider layers of the movement

Your letter does your

remember that absolutism organisation WOrKer.

Britain and internationally.

to give battle to the Tories

centralism in conditions of bourgeois democracy.

Many on the left will see all this as confirming

their view that revolutionary Marxist organisations

given to splittism.

Much of the history of our movement may seem t

No serious observer could claim that the present

differences between the IMG and the SWP bear any

the differences between the British une socianst Labour rary. the In-

dependent Labour Party Left and the revolutionary

syndicalist shop stewards who came together to form

And whatever the accusations we might have

thrown at each other in the past, they pale into in-

significance compared with the epithets these com-

rades had put on paper about each other. But they

were able to realise their greater common loyalty to

True, that was in a different situation. But was it of

arianism were so deep that it took a world war and

the Russian revolution to break them? Must we wall

for a united organisation of revolutionaries until a revolution occurs somewhere else? We certainly can-

not afford to wait until another world war!

not disguise our view inat the present not just to

uniting with the IMG, but to the building of any truly

mass party. This is not out of opposition to the 'tradi.

On the contrary. In the early 1970s, when the SWP recruited workers more rapidly than at any time

since, it accepted the concept that minorities were en • titled to representation in branch and district delega tions to conterence, and to their tair proportion oi seats on the leading bodies, consistent with the majority position at conference having a working ma

. I hese positions are accepted bv the IMG to day, without our becoming as you claim, a 'federation of factions'. And they were the position of the

position means that differences even over secondary questions threaten to turn into splits, and no discussion is possible without slander, accusations against comrades' lovalty or integritv. and a poisonous atmosphere, fuelled by suspicions that the

leading cadre will change the rules if ever they look

The mass party we need to build will contain differences far wider than those between us. By attempting to miseducate his comrades on this question comrade Harman creates obstacles, not only against the IMG, but against the SWP ever developing into anything but the largest fish in the pond of fringe

But while what comrade Harman does say is bad enough, the most irresponsible part of his letter lies in what he does not say. To our concrete proposals for discussions on joint activity around a recalled Defend

around unemployment and for united action in the unions and among youth

no doubt, that those of his own members who did not see our original letter will not notice that he is trampling on the 'united action against the Tories' line laid out by Tony Cliff in the article to which he refers.

Of course that proposal was aimed mainly at the

- and quite rightly too But if the SWP is to escape the accusations of only proposing united action to those organisations

advance will refuse, it cannot continue to refuse to discuss united action with the only organisation in the labour movement that has responded to its

Derek Robinson was asked at a recent CP meeting

This views on the SWP's position on united action. Why should we unite with the Trots,' he asked, 'when they cannot agree among

We can truly say that if Chris Harman Derek Robinson and the Communist

accept the idea of a lor unal is une meaning of your position on the need for unanimity

- we cannot do more for the moment than

But on the question of united action we refuse to accept that your present disunitary position is the last

that many the SWP realise that for us to discuss ways of work- culaacs di all levers oi

the against the Tories and increase our ability to provide

atraction to ine lelt or tne cr, in inost areas where we were able to reach agreement.

By clarifying why we could not in other areas, it might lessen the scandal of revolutionary disunity in

We hope that you will reconsider- your position Written in a style and tone designed to provide your own membership a disservice members with 'ammunition' against the IMG, it will backfire and have negative effects inside your own

As such it will be a setback for the task we face in common: building a revolutionary workers party in

Once again we urge ar Immediate meeting of our two leaderships to discuss joint work and to map out a united approach in orde

Socialist GAY PRIDE MARCI TORY DOLE Worker DISGRACE! Socialist Challenge TORY JOBS HOLOCAUST on the

LOBBY THE TUC FOR

JOBS Socialist

Worker AWOMAN'S RICHT TO

Socialist Challenge OUR BOD

AL DECIDE

Socialist Fight the Worker VICTIMISED!

Socialist Challenge DEFEND OUR UNIONS

Sociabit Chattie 3 daly 1

Page 14 scan of this page

What basis

AT the centre of Chris Harman's reply to the IMG there lies an important statement about the basis

building united tionary party: ...if our two our organisations were agreed over our analysis of the present situation and what had to be done it would be very wrong of us indeed not to unite our forces'

'In the absence agreement', • the letter goes on, 'any talk of unity could only be a manoeuvre'.

Finally the letter concedes that 'to be able to unitv with other forces around a common appreciation of our tasks would make the job of revolutionaries a little

tion does exist we will merely get continual sectarian wrangles.

Chris Harman is making a point about the basis for the unity of a revolutionary party in a general sense - that the basis on which we come together to bulld a party 15 'our analysis of the present situation and what has to be done'

In other words, revolutionaries.come rogerer to our dardes on. we oasis or prior agreement on the precise tactical tasks of the period

Many conclusions flow from this. not least that since there is supposed to be this predetermined disagreements that develop within a party have to be described as sectarian wrangl ing.

Serious

of revolutionaries requires this level agreement, makes any internal discussion 210 debate Lask. dangerous. If any disagreement is allowed to develop on questions of tasks or tactics, then a split is potentially threatened.

The essential thrust of this argument is saying-that unity between the IMG and the SWP is impossible without agreement on our tactical approach in the class struggle today. But this is a polemical point on Chris Harman's part, ratner than a state ment about the actual practice of the SWP.

For wamnle at the last SWP con. ference a substantial minority led by Steve Jeffries were in considerable disagreement with the maion over tae analysis present situation, and also over what has

done Did Chris Harman move the expulsion of this minority from as perhaps he should have on the logic of

own view?

Of course not. In fact he had a sense of proportion on the degree of seriousness of the disagreements that were developing inside the organisation and saw minority view nonetheless expressed itself

withine Some, brame ski

being a

The tionary organisation. does

inside Debates are serious and ranks lightminded way. taken serous v. Minores wnch alsarice over any number of questions both great and small are not usually hounded out of une organisation

wnen new . comrades ioin the SWP they don't promise to agree with every new line or analysis that the leadership pro«uces. struggle is not set in aspic; that arriving at

analysis of the present position where cone ever a conn discussion, reassessment, and reappraisal ol new laclols.

Disgust

So if we are to reject Chris Harman's sketch of the basis for unity of revolunonaries we nave to put somelning else in its place.

Following the First World War and the victory ol ulc Russial nevoluton, revolutionaries everywhere founded new parties

elements working were disgusted with the attitude social democratic parties

In Britain the Communist Party was founded in 1920 through a fusion of a number or smaller revolutionary groups.

the period preceding obstacles raised because terences Delec wese groues on une cues• tion of whether it was right to take part in elections to Parliament, attitude to the Labour Party.

Writing to Sylvia Pankhurst in 1919 Lenin expressed his view of the overriding issue in this debate:

• I am versonery convinceo mao re nounce participation in the Parliamentary elections is a mistake for the revolutionary workers or endana. our better that mistake than to delay the formation of a big communist party Englana renuencie. elements, with Bolsherism = the Saviet republic. i Socialist Challenge 3 July 1980

BATTLE OF IDEAS

revoluor tne

the SWP

serious revolu-

HOL teal Class class WoO of the

to both the war If. for

refuse, the ourtcution un ramament of dif- once tendencies 4, inte

and on the correct amen inese sorsheviks.

it elections analish Pankhurst, 28 August 1919.)

the unity of

to. make

to bounceos samaners.

with sympathies and stand sincerely 505w= enerbig party?....

e503 crie 101l5i322 First of all we have to dismiss any im-

Page 14

THE revolutionary party seeks to politically unify the working class.

example, among the British Socialist Party (the maior element in the was future CP) there are sincere Bolsheviks

because of differences over lo merge communist party with the 6, and 7 (three other groupings which later helped to form the CP)

opinion, would be making a mistake a thousand times greater than the mistaken refusal to

to ine bourceors Parliament.' (Letter Sylvia

So in 1919 Lenin was quite clear that

revolutionaries, in one big formed communist rarty, was or an importanc hat for outweighed differences over ques tions as far-reaching as the correct attitude

Why did Lenin put se much weight on this question of anity of evolutionaries in

Programme not tactics

for unity?

plication that from Lenin's point of view it

one big manoeuvre. Consistently through the history of the Bolshevik faction in Kussia up to its final split with the Mensheviks with the outbreak of the First World War, we can trace the same consis tent attitude on Lenin's part

"LCHIES saeene an the Bolshevik faction after 1905 presents a silmilar example to illustrate this point.

After the 1905 revolution in Russia there was a big debate within the ranks of the Bolshevik faction on whether thev should boycott or take part on the elections to the newly established Duma. Factions

alu ucle was a nerce debate. but both Bogdanov and Lenin, who led the fight on either side were agreed on one thing - neither tel -Enis disagreement justinea a spilt ana lne formation of seperate parties. •• Chris Harman refers to out 'aifferent lacues in une stee suke as amalor meica.

tion of the impossibility of unity between our two organisations. The difference of approach embodied and the Steel Sheet are important. Bu since we no doubt agreed on the central issues that the subordinate their interests to the viability or ne maustry, mat le present cadersmy of the steel unions would in no way lead

the fight to win; and that a new leadership is needed based on miltants at the base of the unions •Cal questions really be used to argue against

were What would Lenin have thought of these excuses from our lack of unity - he did from

with took a compete v outerest amude on unt fundamental issue of the correct approach to institutions of the bourgeois state:

So what were the principles that Lenin

tionaries!

perialist Especially countes

whole working class

bring, about

unity

But this

Lanc

many tionaries

Lask by forming

as a whole

jority. ing' (a

onestor because

icvolutiollar

Unify

working

allow

have moved

from them the Soviet potentially

in our opinion.

Cruise missiles

the soviet Union

by Real Steel News

should not

Ine Class

outerences on olne

revolutionary crossed into the

being in the same revolutionaries who

For tre worms cas.

against discussing

looked to which allowed him to take such a consistent attitude to the unity of revolu-

The revolutionary party exists for a very socc burbosc — to cao ana unl the working class in achieving its historic interests, the overthrow of capitalism and social revolution. This is no easy task

rirst, it is no easy lask because the im

very advanced industrial a will only be overthrow capitalism will only brine working social onenty all - Thil

• or nearly all -nave to be we mus asks ™ ocer

the social revolution that marks the end of capitalism

Revolutionaries in building a party are unity of the working to towardse

working class towards this goal in tne nela or pontics

brings us slap up against another big problem The working class

of its destiny as a whole. It is divided by

skill, age, pontical and cultura levers. between Dro ductive and unproductive workers and in se differences Even among revoluthese and divisions express Inemselves, so tnat alscovering unt best route to achieving the interests of the working class as a whole is again no easy

This explains the whole history of the among revolutionaries, who are seeking to revolutionary movelc, Il exolas la realise the historic interests of the working class as a whole, there has to be the liveliest of debates and continual discussion.

It is this process of debate and discussion, of approaching problem:

Buner TOHOWIN! through differences and fighting for then

tendencies anc factions when accessary. Wal s unc olly way to begill te approach the interests of the working class

Coupled with this full debate within me ranks orrevondonares mere nas to de the utmost unity in action around a set of tactical prescriptions agreed by the ma-

This is the way that revolutionaries who are serious about the tasks confronane nen dave to benave shortcut to ensuring that the ideas of revolutionaries are right except to debate oscuss and unen to act. assess. and dcoatt again. This is not the 'sectarian wrangl-

favourite CP phrase) feared by Chris Harman. but the liveliest and bes tradition of the working class movement.

iy of revolutionards was an edering.

revolutionaries overriding • use nam revolutionary party is to unify the working class against the capitalist class. How can a

DarLy nOD! succeca in unifying the class in the field of politics if it cannot even unite with others it sees as revolutonary because or arrerences over secondary questions?

Once we understand that the main task of the revolutionary party is to unify the

become. clear that it is the height of irresponsibility

divisions continue among

camp bourgeoisie then we may well have to split

The IMG believes that the SWP is an organisation of serious revolutionarie.

: camp of the working class. • We de think our differences with the SWP are a

Hallel WElICI we should con tinuously debate and discuss.

We consider that the SWP's analysis of Union is no only wrong bul • dangerous.

ȘWP out of the camp of the working class

We make no secret of this bul l we can agice on a campaigi lo stor

being stationed if we can share a position Tavor or luatera asarmament ana ol Britain out of NATO, then we • should work together and carry on the debate on

This is not a manoeuvre, nor is it sec tarian wrangling. It is a matter of having a sense of proportion in lacing up to in huge tasks of building a revolutionary par ty that overcomes the divisions inside the class we are based on

rartles. as ooooseo to secis, are baser on the historic interests of whole classes. For revolutionaries this means the work

In our view the SWP is a revolutionary organisation. It does seek to pursue the in. terests of the working class. Unless it is the view or me we tae s or a

/ organisation - that it has camp of the bourgeoisic

we should not unite in one organisation, That is the best way to pursue the interests

differences we Cal •agree. To fail to do that would be careless of the massive tasks that confront us.

Page 15 scan of this page

LETTERS

WHAT'S LEFT

pole inch. Wend's Left. Full Chalcot Road 10 SP. Te 01722 Cal.

La Class IX. , High Si, Sat, 12 lly, 10am to 6.30pm

Saville Lhores Medvedev, Thurs 10 Sly Westminster Central Hall. COmpaRE No to Caned national child-car

SCEVENTS

BRADFORD: SC available from Fourth Idea

Gorton, Thorenzel apers aine Hill Brisk Bail and Tee information about local actres: To. 061-82 urday outside

SORD: SC supporters sel

in Cornmarket STOCKPORT: SC

Borough 11610,10200 ric ry Friday S-6pr i supporter

- Bristol: The Black Venue: 15a Richmond WOLVERHAMPTON: a Socialist Challenge

tne Cannock Red. Speaker

IMG NOTICES

Satur

et akenequired anis on

ting starts at llam. All branches to send

MG conference

letin. All bulletin orders to be taken through

neat two weeks. Doc

Irish solidarity

- a necessary addition

WE were pleased to see con-

siderable coverage given once

azain to the Irish struggle (19

June).

We do however have one main

criticism of this article and of

inose orececanne I.

page spread ("No Tory plans for

Ireland"') there were contributions

Provos, and the IMu none ol

which mentioned the all too fre-

quently forgotten sympathising

section or the rourio interna-

tional in Ireland, Peoples

Democracy

As Dart old

from:

Connolly Bookshop,

Andersonstown, Belfast E 70 PD has always fought for a broad-based campaign on the H

Block issue despite criticism from

voll dian rem and ine Icil day, ine campaign arguea tor by

PD has massive support. PD has

been involved in the campaign unrousnout irciand tive in Belfast, Dublin, Limerick,

and Cork.

Fi ney nave been in une

forefront of the Armagh

Prisoners Solidarity Committee

and nave deen acuve in tae urade unions and student movement.

PD's-paper Socialist Republic is sold across une sz counues

In all our solidarity work on Ireland in this country it should ve one or me Mall Dollical lasks or tne Ivu to boin consult and give massive support to PD in-

be casing talas

wehose tial our CHuCSOs

will be noted and acted upon for

the sake of the Fourth International and the rish strugge

PAULINE ROE, Birmingham

IMG and TOM,

STEVEN McGARVEY, Birm-

ingham Revolution and TOM Defend Chinese dissident

WE. the undersigned. protest strongly against the sentence of 15

ver Jinesnene wno was arreste on 29 March, 1979.

We believe the case brought by the Chinese Government against Wei is not an isolated case, illustrates the government's inten-

struggle for basic human and democratic rights.

Since his show trial, the Chinese Government has not rejudged Wei's case according to the people's will, but on the conulary, ll nas acevenco une repression against the democratic move-

At the same time as Wei's arrest, the Chinese Government arrested other democratic movement achvists mcluullig ru ruenua. Ren Wanding and otner sur porters. It had revoked the Si Da (four basic democratic principles),

Dan) and numerous unofficial magazines.

LONG TIME SINCE I SAW A BRIT DRING Ur in tae couole

Based on these facts, we believe that the Chinese Government's policy is undemocratic and repressive. with such moves and demand:

1. The immediate granting of all basic citizen's rights to Wei and other dissidents and their unconditional release.

a canese cuozens nave une constitutional right to freedom of speech, publication,

ine bonlical Darlic.

Chinese Government should protect these rights.

3. Immediate reinstitution of the Democracy Wall for the people to exercise their rights of treecom or socech.

TARIQ ALI, ROBIN BLACKBURN, TREVOR GRIFFITHS, HALLIDAY, QUINTIN HOARE, STEVEN LUKES, RALPH MILIBAND, E P THOMPSON, Committee to Defend Democratic Rights in China, P.O. Box 50, London

Dyslexia -

not an illness

H Block I WAS horrified to read the note Brain aamage. on tne letters page of the 12 June issue of Socialist Challenge.

Manv peonle who have dvs exia are stigmatised as "sick' by competitive capitalist societies wich are oosessea will 'intelligence'. corporated dyslexia and the 10 stigmatisation of people who have dyslexia into the wider class

Your attitude to dyslexia is ¡ney are ad codes coco done to the way you cover gay and related news. 1 all bay lwchly Tour ours andy. trade unions, and not just in every five or ten issues of Socialist Challenge.

EDWARD BELL, London

Wise not to

unite?

EVEN by your own standards the decision or cne Lcazuc 101 Socialist Action not to fuse with the International Marxist Group is printuica. • Drincioca

You reported (19 June) that the 'LSA disagreed with the posinons acootea oy une aw conference on revolutionary unity..'

It is a disagreement with the IG's strategic and programmatic position that the Socialist Workers Party is a revolutionary organisation with whom the IMG could unify in principle

It would appear that the 'Bishop of Chester has a clearer understanding of this than the unity zealots of Upper Street. In a letter to the limes recently on unity between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, he , but it

'However, a dictum of Lenin concerning the desirability and

. uming ine varyllig. bodies of the Social Democratic Movement on a common platform is worth repeating:

we calling, and In order to unite, we must decisively and definitely draw a line of separation. Otherwise our union would be merely fiction, covering up the present confusion and preventing Is radical removal.

Although not a member of the LSA, it seems to me that they nave drawn a line on the questio have crown a ne on the oi your attitude to the SWP. In the present circumstances they would be wise not to cross it. TONY MARSH, Bootle.

TOO SOON POKE UH-OH!

Defend

anti-racists

. We strongiv disagree

LAST Saturday, 21 June, the police attacked an Earlington meeting on the Seven Sisters Road, North London. They rally, formforming trade

Imperialism!

right Imperialism. has streel meeling. 1.30pm.

Seven Sisters Road, merature and raise support fo the struggles of black people.

we fact that une four arrested

well known for their allacks reason for this attack on the

perialism! and the meeting is

Our society has in-

Wing what we have done for the

Behind the

"democratic

socialists'

PHiL Hearse gave a good ac

question. reversed.

Leo van • Yates. avallabic

Rodgers,

Novel

omer wise our union

• Ica Icaves.

POOR YOUNG LAD!

IT'S THE OF HIS THE STRESS about the

Family Defence Committee street

broke uD me meeue ano arresteo tour supporters of Fight Racism! Fight

In protest against this and to detend the ront to nut forward anti-racist views, Fight Racism!

called a Bay Assemble a Saturday 5 July, hear the junc-

hon will holoway noad, near

orevious occas ons wher Donce harassed the street meetings. They were told in no uncertain terms Lilal we Had no call slob ping the meeting but would con

Their sole aim was to stop the

This is proved by

were not even immediately charg-

Police of Holloway area are

on black people.

sellers of Fight Racism! Fight Im.

because they were exposing the truth of vicious attacks on black people and the growing revolu-

avallable tionary struggle of black people

We will be back on 5 July, do- member

all your readers to support this

One mulux or new

Stand up against police harass-

to the MAXINE WILLIAMS, London

amost loenica

an SWP member saw It would

• A whip round worries wett

- to pur up ine

328/9 UPPER STREET LONDON N1

Cruise missile craziness. He should be questioned publicly

funding of the CamDalzi lol bemocrauc docialisill

Should he continue to keep these financial arrangements hid. den. people are liable to suspec he has something to hide. This would particularly be so if he trica ine sale Wick arain. con fronted by mounting opposition

, will he create another organisatior Anonýmously — in an attmpt to undermine the protest movement? RAY CHALLINOR, Whitley

Looking back

on the SWP

THE letter from Colin Herd and Steve Treloar (5 June) dealt with their experience in the SWP and we suoscoucil acus on to icave and join the IMG. I've been through a similar process myself and would like to add to what uney sao or two reasons

Like many people, I'd been around the left for some time and never scen any reason to joln any particular organisation. I eventually joined the SWP because I was moressee ov me Aloa League and saw them as the main initiators of that movement. I had also been reading women's voice regularly and saw it as the best women's liberation journal

My experience as a new

of the SWP was that no aliciol was made to caucale 11t in the politics of the organisation The one and only training schoo I attended occurred as a result of

mender. through the ANL. It was devoted

'turn' away from the ANL ana back to rank and must

This 'turn' was never discussed by the whole organisation either perore me scnoo or aterward

My experience of Women's Voice (the organisation), was

• Il gradually became more directly tied to the SWP. A woman joining Women's voice was in lact loinine caeow r but without enjoying the rights of

Women's Voice allowed the swr leadersnip, and Ine

La whole, to do and say very little regarding women soodression orone women's movement - all such discussion being channelled off in to a seperate organisanon. Une o] the results was that the rampant sexism which exists in the SWP goes largely unchallenged.

For the SWP a cadre organisation is unnecessary, the implicahon being inal joining Ine swr (or Rebel or Women's Voice or a rank and file group) is in itself

I hope that the debate between our two organisations continues on a political basis. Like Colin cal ana steve, I met many commitec revolutionaries in the SWP for whom I have a great deal of respect. My personai nope is tnal we will eventually convince these

Micro-chip

miscalculation

Granule of military might,

mischievous molecule comprising

million megatonne micro-mind:

Omniscient atom brain

suddenly last week got muddled.

made a monstrous minute error,

all-but split and split and split again...

in a brilliant flash so searing,

massive earthquake roar so thundering

our globe would have exploded, shrivelled

like a pin pricked toy balloon.

Pat Arrowsmith

AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M NO ORDERS, e#!

comrades of the superiority of our

organisanon and win them to thi ranks of the Fourth International.

H MACPHERSON, London NW10

Orwell prize

FOR the fifth year of the George

Books Ltd is offering an award of €750. The award wil be given for all arlice cosay. ora scries oralticles commenting on current cultural, social, or political issues any wice l tic world

The work must have been published in the UK, in a licwsparel, clivuilal, Ul Dalllphlet in the preceding year. For the 1980 award any article or pamphlet which appeared in 1979 will be eligible The judges will be looking for originality, literary

, and expressive powel

ne quages are Lore Bovie (chairperson), Dan Jacobsen Francis Wyndham, David Watt, Mirlam Uruss

Submissions should be sponsored either by the editor of the publication in which the article appeared, or by the organisation which commissioned the pam phlet. No entry will be considered unless it is so sponsored

The closing date for receipt of entries is 8 August 1980. Entries lo: Barbara buckley, Nanona Book League, Book House, 45 East Hill, London SW18 203.

EORG ORWELL

EMORIAL PRIZ

'Petr Uhl and the jailed Chartists in

Czechoslovakia'

Excellent new campaigning pamphlet, 40p plus 12p (p&p)

From SC Pamphlets PO Box 50, London N1 2XP. Bulk order rates on request.

INTERNATIONAL

Inside INTERNATIONAL theoreti-

journal of the IMG Now available at a 25p discount to IMG branches. Send in your orders right away.

Page 16 scan of this page

Socialist Challenge IRELAND- NO TORY SOLUTION NO BRITISH SOLUTION

_ Registered with the Post Office as a newspaper. Published by Cardinal Enterprises for Socialist Challenge, 328/9 Upper Street, London N1. Printed by East End Offset Ltd (TU), London E2.

AFTER months of and delay the Tory Government has finally announced its plans for the North of Ireland.

And although State Humphrey Atkins says he is still considering a couple of options, the overall principle behind the plan is clear — to hand over authority to the Loyalists.

Some limitations may be placed on this power but the Tories have once again decided to play the Orange card. ine people or we wort Ireland can now look forward to the establishment of a 'devolved' regime with the Rev Ian Paisley at its head.

The Tories argue that this is a 'democratic solution. that the rule of the North of Ireland majority must prevail. It. peculiar democracy which needs the protection of 15,000 British soldiers and the same again recruited soldiers and cops to survive.

And it is a strange concept of justice and equality before the law which this week member of the Royal Ulster stabulary to be let off with a suspended two-year prison sentence for kidnapping a Catholic priest.

Truth

The truth is that 'democracy' is a sham. It is based on a North of Ireland state established in 1921 against the wishes of the people ot ireland as a whole and without even the support of the majority in ine nine-county province or wister. The only way the state could be born, the only way it has survived since is through the presence or the armed might of the British state.

The truth is this simple and this obvious: the war in the North Ireland is being fought, the thousands of British troops are there because the majority of the people of Ireland are opposcu to lue partiuon or ureland.

The Tories, as the Government before them, determined to enforce the division of Ireland at the point of a gun. The proposais announcea dy not see the light of day if British troops were not in occupation of the North of Ireland.

The majority of the Irish people will offer: no welcome to the plans, and that rejection should be taken up in this country.

It is an encouraging sign that for the first time in ten years the national executive of the Labour Party has broken from the traditional 'bipartisan' approach. This is the meaning. of the statement agreed last week by the NEC criticising the torture in the

speculation

Secretary of

sort of

locally

allowed a former

COI. such of are held and brutalised daily.

Labour are still

in the Warrington Atkins would

fight against steel closures,

ment figures rise.

Tory

planned economy

. to fight the Tories effectively.

infamous Long Kesh and Armagh

prisons where Irish political prisoners

It was only to be expected that the

Socialist policies for the crisis

SOCIALIST Challenge sold 70 copies

week. The reason? Steelworkers want to read a paper that takes up their

that tells them about other struggles against redundancy as the employ-

But to take a stand against volun- want tary redundancies in the workplace today requires clear answers. Socialist Challenge provides the only answers, the socialist answers — for the right to work, & alist une pront system, 101 a

that militants are finding they need more and more •J Carroll

*To contre doing thris the paper

MOVEMENT

leaders of the Parliamentary Labour Party would show their contempt for Labour Party democracy and savagely attack the NEC's mild statement

needs cash. In the autumn we intend

relaunch Socialist Challenge in a big way. The staff will be touring the country to uscuss improvements we can make.

We know that large numbers of people will be fighting the Tories vicious policies next winter and we Chalene To be there in witt improved Socialist

appeal readers to dig into their pockets and give us some cash before they hit the beaches, or the floods.

Our thanks this week to:

M Tupper Cumalative total: $865,32

criticising the prison After all, those created by the last Labour government.

Britain: 12 months £12.50; Abroad: 12 months -

Name

regular Address

:£,1.00 * 15,00 Cheques, POs and Money Orders should be made

Struggle

8 November.

build the • demonstration

unequivocally

conditions. conditions were

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Unfortunately some of the 'left' in the NEC have already back-tracked on the statement they voted for. The reverse should happen. The only socialist solution for Ireland is to allow the Irish people to decide their own future, and that is what the left in the Labour Party should be saying about the Atkins' proposals. A determined struggle needs to be taken up within the Labour Party to break once and for all with bipartisarship.

With or without such a struggle. the fight against the Tory 'solution and all British 'solutions' for Ireland needs to be stepped up. Three weeks ago the Committee for Withdrawal from Ireland called for a demonstration based on opposition to the Tory plans, and called instead for British withdrawal. This initiative was taken up at the Troops Out Movement conference last Sunday.

The date for that demonstration is

That may seem a long time away. But it gives all those in this country committed to ending British presence in Ireland an opportunity to

demonstration into display • opposition to "Britain's pursuit of the İrish war.

The easiest way to end that war is for Britam to get out now. That is why Socialist Challenge is supporting a troops out now contingent on the

Atkins and the Labour leaders who support him need to be told

that they have nothing to offer the Irish people. Let them and the troops they con. trol leave Ireland to find its own peace and its own solution. Let the call on 8 November be for them to do that without delay.

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