=~ ta ty f Jntroduciion At the coming conterence ct the group the task before us is to firmiy establish the priorities ot our activity, to stabilise our political tunctionirg and to enable us to recruit more quickly. A smei! organisetion canno! tunction as if 16 were a mass party or even a smal! party of 10,000. One of our key probiams since the last conterence has been the enormous overstretching of our activities which has piaced the centre, the leacgership and the wheoje membership under an enormous strain. There :s no getting around this problem ny dodging the issue; establishing priorities means making choices and deciding where our collective weight is going to be put. Doing one set of activities means that we sre not going todo another, because we do ant have the cadre and the resources to do everything. This text thererore attempts to grasp the nettic and outline those priorities, to give a coherent perspective, although we have to recognise that the development of the poiiticai crisis has gone way beyond the buiiding of a Marxist party, and we are compeijed to toke vo a range ot tasks we do not have Uhe luxury of concentrating on one or two issues, which might be possible in a ditferent polilical period.
In cur opinion comrades who disagree with the pernpective outiined should counterpose alternative priorilies, rather than atlempting to amend ‘the text and ‘add on’ halt a dozen more pricrities. Thet is the way to have clear debate. one which the organisation can sensibly and ciearly decide upon.
Establishing priorities does not wean issving edicts about which activities comrades can or cannot participeie im. Our group is largely mad= up oi established activists in the labour movement. (iten they have a history of activism in campaigns or around issues whicn are not part of the priorities oullined here. There is no proposal that individoals or proups of comrades ‘drop everything’ to concentrate on the prierities which we enumerate, That would be futile and unproductive, and mean the organisation losing contact with important aspects of the class struggie. Priorities are whal the organisation as @ whole molbilises arcund and gives its weight to, Mey are the unitying themes of our work, key activities which can give us clout end enahte us to recruit.
Any other conception of a perspective in this pertog is unworkabie. fhe priorities argued to: here are the toilowing: 1). Building the socialist movement and its associated projects - Lhe trade union conference, Nomen for Socielism, and the aliempt to bu:id ieft currents jinked to the ©M in the Labour Party and among students <3) the pricnilasation of our trede vnion work In generai, our intiatives round industrial solidarity, wmcludang the building of the Selidarity Network; iniatives ta rebuild tin: left in the unions theough moves like the Socialist Movemeni trade union conference, ang the strengthening of our trade union fractions. 3) Wilbia the perspective if building a revolutionary yout}, organisation, we ave to siep up ovr youth work, wifi) priority to our student work and attempts to buiid a new flert current in the NUS Linked to the Sociatist Movement 4) voiitical campaigning prdorities centred on most importantly the Poll Tax, but also the NHG . As 4 Ccentralising project at a national level over the next period our tight to win pelitical hegemony within, and build ourselves from, the Gociafist Movement and tts proajects represents the framework for our perspectives and draws together the strands of our work.
in our opinion this series of prigrifies gives @ coherent perspective, a set ot inter-Linking tasks which mutuaily reinforce one another. We think inat these tasks Logically flow out of the current political situation, the recomposition oi the leit, and the stage of party ouildang we are al.
A_New Internal ionai Situation Since our jas} conterence there has been 3 ¢ quickening of the crisis ot the Stalinist states; a anew resurgence of st imperisiism in the semi-colonial worid and a deoneniog of contradictions; and new 2Shenes to the anta-working ciass ati ensave in the imperialist The most momentous: of these developments nave been the uramaflic crisis oF bureaucratic rule in the Soviet Union represented by Gorbacheviom, ang tne revolt against the purenucracy In una However, dn te oc rencuiding the framework of intornmationst ooiit is inorhectien: in the Soviet Union and Hastern “urope which is having ihe BOS *, wapact. .
The Gorbachev project is transtorming word petatics A way which woulG have been unthinkable .nict @ jw years ago. Ne other proce an the worid is having anyt? bee the same proicund impact on worid poiitics, Ail the other hey face o! shine, South Africa, i Salvador - take place Lene re of ine impact of Gorbacheyvism ard have been profoundly aftacted 5 one way or another. Uncertsanding,, relating to and intervening in this process {ts a ceatral task for the worid movement. ov) i or strug: ay ait eee - thine, Pa.
We do not bélieve tnat Gorbachev is consciously unleashing @ process of political revolution. His project emanates from within the bureaucracy aad refiects the interests of a section of the bureaucracy, technocrats and tne inteiligensia., it is an attempt to sive the system of bureaucratic rule a new lease of iife inrough limited warketisatinn and democratic ilberalisation, to establish 4a new fisce ior the Soviet Union in fhe international division oi labour through undermining the Cold War, establishing new and Geeper reistions ot ‘peaceful coexistence’ with imperialism, and modernising the Soviet economy and technology. But Gorbachev has unicashe: @ mighty dynamic which threatens to BG way beyond the inhentions of Gorbuchey himsell, both in the Soviet Union and the rest oF the post-cagiluiist world. Seviel working, Class, one oi the main bastions of the worid proietar:ai, is at iasi necotiing re-poiibicisea. The mass democracy movement im China Gas reawakenc'’ demande for socialist democracy among oroad seclors, In eastern &urape rane tmpact of Gornucheviam us redrewing the political map ~ stimulistine more radicai soritmiist snd democratic currents ilke the Polish POP, but also berinnieg bo open up Lhe danger ot copitelist storation.
The international politics of Gorbachevism represent a new ‘historic compromise on a world scale’. While this has undermined cold war idaciogy among broad iayers of the population in the West ~ itself a peoitive thimg - if can also Jead to illusions that peeceful coevistence is tne way iorward to solve humanity's probiems, and such illusions have aiready had a negative impact on the peace movement, especiatiy after the INF deai. in the labour movement opposition to peaceful co-existence and Lorbauhev siyie detente may well be highly unpopuier in tne next period, even among the ieft. Gorbachev wiii lead to a strenthening of “Stalinism with a human face’ currents in the labour movement.
Nontheless, explanation of the ultimately reactionary nature of peacetul coextistence wilh imperialism is an important propaganda task for us.
At the same time, tne impact of Gorbachevism within the third woria will have a much wore immediate and direciiy counter-revoiutionary effect. Liberation Struggles can expect less military and pratics! support, and deals struck over their heads withe imperialism. fhis has already bad a negative cffect in Centrat America and Southern Africa. But whiie confrontations with imperialism may not be on Gorbachev's agenda. they will remain on ours jn terms of solidarity work.
We will also make the Gorbacheviem - the crisis im the workers states and its uapact on world oolitics - at the centre of our ed-cation programme ior the organisation, and a consistent and central theme in all our proparanda. li Gorbachey tes jieft US imperialism on the dipiomatic defensive, so tar without a clear and systematic overail peliticai project, the ruiing classes in bhurope are groping towards one. Closer political and economic union to intervene amore ettectively in the inter-unperistist economic war is the atm. fhe tirst stare ot this is i862 and the Single European Market, whose goal 13 simply nto strengthen European Capita: at the expense of She European workxing class. for different reaons closer political and economic links suit Gorbachev anbd the Eest European bureaucracies and the West European cuting classes, aifftiough Gorbachev opposes a united Burope, which could pot possibiy pe created on a Stalinist basis without war. in britain the steps towards 1992 have provoked a major crisis within the Tories between European and Atlanticist options tor British capital. The lebour bureaucracy has seized upon this crisis te flipflop from ‘Little iingiander’ hostility to the ERC to uncriticaliy welcoming 1992. For the ieft in the Labour movement the issues raisea by 192 open up big opportunities. The combination ot deiensive struggles by the Western turopean working Classes against tne onset of 1992, with the deveioping crisis in Eastern Europe heralds a period ot increasing ditferentiation within the kuropean working class, and within the mass parties and the trade unions. This will become increasingly posed due to this twin crisis. fhas applies not just to workers struggies ~- health, rail,docks, Fords etc. - but also to stiruggies around icsues such as disarmament, ecclogy, racism, sexuality, yourn and nationni cppression., The whole question of an aiternative on 4 Eurepean scale - o Unified Secialict Stutes of kurope east and West ~ wiil become irersasingiv uaportant. if aisn pives the worid movement excellent opportunities tor kurope-wide political intervention end eoluiarity.
The Thatcher government is now racen with an escaleting economic and politicai crisis. Betore examicing that, the purpose of this section 1s to record the character of the Tory project and its successes so far. As we have ciscussed on numerous occasions, Thal.cherism has now been transformed from tls early ‘monetarism' and detiationary project which ertectively closed down whole sections of unprofitable capitaisst concerns and recreated mass unemployment an a gigantic scale, to a wholesale project. ror restructuring brikien capisaliom, and in the process completely reversing the baiance ot cless torces. rhe political preconditions tor tits project, of overturning the post-war social
democratic’ welfare state and mixed economy settlement, has been the successive defeats inflicted on the working class, which could only be done first and foremost by defeating decisive mass struggles.
The precondition for Thatcher's third electoral victory was the defeat of the miners' strike and the print strike. While it is true that Thatcher sustained a more-or-less stable base among the middie class, and cven detter-off sections of the working class who found their real incomes holding up during the mid-1980s period of mini-hoom, ia fact electoral support for Thatcherism remained level at about 43 per cent. This was only poccible however because of the utter collapse of ‘new realism’ in face of the Thatcher onslaught, and the utter lack of credibility of the Kinnockite political aiternative. 2. The economic and social restructuring developed by Thatcherism iscludes the following elements;a) The destruction of the state sector of the economy through privatisation, a process which is all but complete; only a few public utilities (and of course local government provision) remain in the state sector and they will all soon be sold off or come under sustained privatisation attack. The privatisation offensive has gone beyond that in virtually other leading capitalist country with the exception of the USA. b) The sustained offensive against the welfare state,including major clements of privatisation of welfare provision, the massive reduction of state benefits and entitlement to such benefits, and a drive against public provision for basic social need such as public housing. This has also involved 3 major attack on the education system at every level, with the overall objective of fitting education to the needs of business and the labour market, rather than the objectives of free universal education as desirable in themselves. c) An attempt to restructure the labour market through a) the anti-trade union laws b) wide-ranging employment legislation to de-regulate the labour market, through abolishing wages councils, de-gutting protective employment legislation and running down statutory inspectorates, and removing comoletoly some employment legislation such as that regulating the employment of young people and women workers d) reducing the statutory powers of workers — limited as they are - to appeal aginst employers’ decisions through such bodies asindustria] tribunals «) the drive to reduce the value of unemployment benefits and f) the YTS and ET ‘slave labour’ schemes aimed at pushing down the value of labour power and disguising the unemployment statistics. dg) An attempt, through housing legislation and measures like the poll tax to restructure the social composition of whole areas, especially in the inner cities, with the intent of destroying working class communities, the social base of Labour's inner-city strongholds. 3. The overal! effect of the Thatcher project has been te globally worsen the relationship of class forces to the detriment of the working class and the oppressed. Hand in hand with economic and social restructuring has gone an attempt to politically weaken all the bastions of the labour and trade union movement,through the abolition of such bodies as the GLC, ILEA and the
Metropolitan counciis. It has also involved a wide-ranging attack on democratic rights, and the social, economic and political situation of all sections of the oppressed.
Women, black peopie, lesbians and gay men heve been the first victims of the social restructuring and the attack on the welfare state, but also the victims of specifiic attacks designed to weaken their social position. Women, especially women workers,have been attacked on a wide front, falling victim to low pald, part time jobs in the restructured leboour market, abolition of child benefit and other welfare provisions, and the attack on childcare and other social provision et iocal authority level; biack neopic have become the victims of strengthened racist laws leading to a massive increase in racist deportations; youth have been attacked through YTS, and changes to the benefit and housing laws leading to the emergence of massive youth poverty and homelessness; lesbians and gay men have been attacked through Clause ?8, and the related ideological offensive against their position which has been spearheaded by the AIDS hysterta.
The net effect of the restructuring of the labour market, social restructuring and the attack on the oppressed - together with the changes in the benefits and housing laws - has been the generation of a huge ‘underclass', the re-emergence of mass poverty on a scale unseen since the 1930s. While this has affected a minority of the population as a whole,it involves millions of people trapped in dire poverty thnrough homelessness, low pay or drastic benefit reductions —- a substantial proportion of the working class have failen victim tothe Tory project of restoring the profitability of British capital te the axtent of finding themselves drastically impoverished.
The whole Thatcherite project has been knitted together with a rightwing ideological discourse aimed at boosting the values of individualism as opposed to collectivism; ‘self reliance’ and the market as opposed to collective provision; and the family as eppesed te real individuai autonomy and freedom. It is summed up by two of Thatcher's most famous sayings: that she wanted 'to rid Britain of socialism forever‘; and the theoretically absurd ‘there is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families’. The attack on the education system and teachers and lecturers is a pivotal point of the Thatcherite ideological offensive, which sees even the values of enlightened liberalism and critical social incuiry as inimical te its project. The attempt to submit higher education to increasing control by business interests and the laws of the market is utterly symbolic of the anti-rationalist character of Thatcherite ideology. However, all the opinion polls show that Thatcherite ‘values’ are highly unpopular; Thatcher's (minority) electoral support has been on the basis of apparent economic success and the iack of a credible alternative, as well as pleying to the reactionary impulses of her core supporters in the petty bourgeoisie and ruling class. 4, Finally, the Thatcher governments have continued the systematic erosion of civil liberties and democratic rights begun by Tory and Labour governments during the 1970s. These have included wide-ranging limitations on the right of assembly and demonstration, the gagging of the media, extensive new police powers including the arming of the police etc. But at the centre of these attacks of course has been the trade union laws, making it extremely aifficult to conduct legal strike action in any circumstances. As ever, the key to establishing democratic rights is not just propaganda campaigns for democratic
freedoms, but establishing democratic rights in action. This can only be done when the trade union defy and break the trade union laws.
4. The crisis of Thatcherism Thatcherism is now beset by a growing crisis at both the economic and political levels. Not only has the pre-general election mini-boom turned into a major economic crisis, but the 1989 wage round has produced a wave of industrial struggles. High interest rates and falling living standards are producing growing unpopularity for Thatcher. The dramatic defeat for the Tories in the Euro-elections and the huge opinion-poll lead for Labour are the result. The economic situation is not going to improve dramatically in the short or medium term. It may now be that Kinnock cannot engineer a way of losing the next election, although given his special abilities on this front it is too early to make a prediction.
Despite the utter failure of the Labour and trade union leaderships to effectively respond to the mass mobilisations of the working class against the Tory attacks, and the numerous victories handed to Thatcher on a plate by the bureaucratic leaders of the working class, and despite all their victories the Tory project is coming unstuck. The task facing the British ruling class in restoring the profitability of British capitalism is a gigantic one which involves a total reversal of the relationship of forces with the working class and the imposition of world-historic defeats on its capacity to organise and to struggle, Such defeats have not occurred. Only a vast increase in profits, and hence investment and the overall manufacturing profitability could restore British capitalism against foreign competitors. Thatcher has been the beneficiary of the inflationary boom in world capitalism started by Reganomics, which Britain with its heavy invelvement in finance capitel and financial services benefitted from disproportionately. As this mini-boom in the advanced capitalist countries runs out of steam, with the crisis over the US budget and balance of payments situation, the basic structural crisis of British capitalism — which has never been overcome by Thatcherism - reemerges in full view.
The net effect is a growing balance of payments crisis; the spectacular resurgence of inflation which Thatcher and Lawson thought they had ‘squeezed out’ of the economy; and a government response based on crude deflationary tactics. These tactics - simply increasing interests rates - hit the working class, but also sections of the middle class supporters of Thatcherism - very hard. Incomes are being eroded among a wide swathe of the population (especially the 60 per cent plus of home owners) who find their mortgages crippling, and prices rising fast. The preconditions are being created, despite — and partially because of — rising interest rates for a new inflationary cycle which unmask the real failure of Thatcherism. 5. The net result has been a wave of wages struggles to try to keep abreast of inflation. Although ‘average earnings’ are rising at allegedly 9 per cent plus per annum, in fact these figures are based on an average of all earnings, not just working class wages. Most workers find wages increasing slower than inflation and find themselves overall worse off, somtimes a lot worse of, than a year ago. This extends right into sections ofthe middle class. The continued organisational strength and capacity to struggle of the working class has been shown for example by the strikes on London underground, British rail, the coming strikes in local government and a host of other wages struggles. in many ; sectors high wage increases have been conceded by the employers to avoid strike struggles. . f 3 Ed
6. In the late winter/spring of 1988 a series of defensive struggles against Thatcher heraided a new militancy. These included 4a rise of struggle among health workers; the seafarers’ strike; and the Ford struggle over wages. This new militaicy was not sustained in the kind of generalised way which was objectively possible because of the complete sell-out of these struggles by the TUC and Labour leaders. However, in a new situation of growing government unpopularity and erosion of reel incomes through inflation, a new situation is being created which is the basis a more susteined explosion of militancy. The rise in inflation is compounded by the systematic attempts of employers to undermine national negotiating structures, which in the new situation workers have been more dtermined to resist.
The economic and political situation has been tranlated intc a more directly political crisis: for the Tories. This crisis combines the perceived economic failure of Thatcherism and the linked crisis over what attitude to take towards the European monetary and eVentually political union. Both the economic Situation and the crisis over Europe came together to ensure the swingeing defeat of the Tories in the Euro-elections. It is necessary to restate however that they key to Tory. fortunes is the economic situation. All the signs are of a @rift towards higher unemployment, rising inflation and indeed ‘stagfiation’‘.
Huge sections of the middle class as well as the working class will continue to be hit by this crisis. there is no easy or short-term way out for Thatcher. 7. The state of the Jeft in the unions and in the Labour Fariy.
Despite the beginnings of a change in the objective situation the Labour and trage union leaders remain wedded te ‘new realism’ more firmly than ever. The call by McCiuskie for the EETPU to be readmitted to the TUC Cragically symbolic after one year of the seafarers’ strugeie) shows that the ‘left* in the TUC has lost rather than gained ground. The response of Ron Todd to the threatened dockers’ strike in insisting that it must be within the law, is another sign that even the ‘left’ in the general council - on many issues (for example employment training) including the leaders of the TGWU, NUPE, MSF and on seme occasions NALGO - are themselves sinking more deeply than ever into the 'new realist’ mire. The matter of being prepared to defy the law is the biggest single issue facing the trade union movement.
New realism is the ‘common sense* of the trade union bureaucracy in the late 1880s. Even those unions which have displayed a high degree of rank and file militancy in recent years - for example the NUT - have leaderships tetally won over to the nestrums of new realism. New realism is simultaneously reinforced and reinforces the shift to the right - the wholesale flight to the right -— by the Labour leadership. The pplitics of new realism are directly transmitted, or amplified back, inte the unions leaderships by a whole section of the ‘union leaderships whc are more or less direct allies and agents of Kinnock — in particular Edmonds of the GMB, Swayer in NUPE and Todd in the TGWU, not to mention the likes of the AEU leadership. The ascendency of the right inside the trade unions is virtually unchallenged, and unlikely to be significantly challenged without a substantial new wave of struggles. , The bureaucracy is attempting to maintian membership levels and a role primarily through publicity campaigns and US-style union membership fringe benefits (cheap mortgages, holidays and credit cards). However, the work of the fighting’ the new realist leaders in the unions cannot be simply a function of a @ i eee
series of spontaneous struggles which graduially outflank and unseat those right wing leaders. [t must also be a function of sustained work aimed at building a new leadership in the trade unions. Where there is a substantial left ~ for example the NUT — it is not just a product of rank and file militancy but of years of organising and politicel work by left militants. Just as the Scanlon leadership in the 1960s was not just a product of the growth of the shop stewards movement, but also the organising rule of the CP network and broad left, so the work of organising Lhe left in the unions remains a crucial strategic task, over and above support and solidarity with struggles. 3. Kinnock has spearheaded a headlong flight to the right inside the Labour Party. The policy review process is almed at firmly entrenching the sub- Thatcherite political framework of the Kinnock leadership which involves a complete abondonment of Labour's attachment to the post-war social concensus, and mejor policy gains for the left. It is only necessary here to recapitulate the oullines of what this will involve in policy terms: a) a commitment of Labour to multileteralism rather than unileteral nuclear disarmament b) Lhe abandonment of the mixed economy io favour of the ‘markelt, and an abandonment of all promises on renationalisation c) an abandonment of central tenets in Labour's commitment to the NHS and other welfare provision d) an acceptance of the oulline framework of the Tory anti-union laws as the working basis for the next Labour government. These four points in themselves sel the neo-Thatcher ite poitical framework of the Labour leadership.
The political project of Kinnock however involves two other elemeats which are crucial to the chances of any succees: 1) an altempt to witch hunt, demoralise, and marginalise the left, so that the ‘re-centering’ of the party can go through unhindered ii) keeping open the possibility, for the most part kept on the back burner, of some sort of eventual coalitionist project at the electoral level. nile the Beun-Heffer leadership challenge gave the left an opportunity to organise Jast year, there is no concealing the fact that Kinnockism has carved large swathes through the constituency parties. The vole for Hattersley In the deputy leadership contest showed clearly that it is no longer the case that the constituency parties are bastions of the lef!. In most places the left is a minority even in the constituencies. What is involved here is an attempt to ‘europeanise’ the Labour Party into something more like the French SP or the PSOE in Spain. If means shutting dewn every possible centre of opposition to the leadership — the LPYS. Womens Conference, Black Sections elc, including an attempt to sever the basic links between the unions and the party. The latest proposal is for direct representation of the PLP in the elections to the NEC.
What would be left would be the domination of Lhe structures of the party by the MPs and the leadership with a ‘plebiscitary’ democracy of postal votes. The rights of constituencies to choose their own MPs, even sitling MPs, will be sevrely undermined.
The ‘soft left Is as a result of these developments in a total crisis, which amounts to a crisis of political identity. While the LCC has acted as the organsising shock troops for Kinnockism in the constituencies, it did so only on the basis thal it imagined that by cuddling up to Kinnock they could ‘influence’ him and ensure thal be remained a ‘left leader. Such fantasies have been totally exposed as worthless. In the surge of Kinnockism the position of the LCC/Tribune/Blunkett et al has been rendered Lolally untenable. They are caught between capitulation to Kinnock or opposition which would put them in the camp of the hard left. The failure ~ for ultimately it is a failure - of the Labour -~3-
Lefl Liason-type of approach is precisely because these ‘sefl jeft of the hard’ defttoositions rely on there being a soft left Le base Chemselvean on. When the soft left: disintegrates, then they are exposed for what they are - tiny groups and fragmants, given mythological life by the fantasies of Seocieslici Action and Viadimir Derer.
There is one caveat to this general analysis of the soft left. Livingstone has a significance which goes completely beyond his current tactical thinking and tactical alliances, which can easily chaige, or even his current political line and apperenily Jow profile, wiich can alow change within (ive minules if the ovcasion calls for it. Kem Livingstone: is the only half credible Jeeder for the Labour left i the 1990s. In a new political siluatlion he will swing lefl and oulflank his erstwhile allies - dragging them with him. However, his project is a jong term one, and while we cuntribule with all wur ability to the unravelling of the sofl left, to pulling what sections of it we van to the lefL (for example over the markel and disarmament), io imagine that the neal period by any significant growth of the soff left is wrong, ald would land up with us facing in the wrong direction. Wille cerlain soft lefl leaders may be able to relain their independence and distance from Kinnock, on the ground the largest part of the soft left has gone over to Kinnockiom lock, stock and barrel.
The soft deft at local government level has either peeled of f to Lhe hard left in oppusifion to culs and privatisation, er gone over Lotaily to a Kiruiockite pro-culs position -— with a clear majority going on the latler course. While this may have a clarifying effect, of course Lhe isvlation of the hard left is not a4 good thing, and of course it is a defeat for the working class that so many Labour councillors have capilulated, Despite the difficulties fur the left inside Lhe Labour Party since the defeat of the miners strike in 1985, a new mood and combativily in the working class could Indicete the beginning of a new conjuncture and with it the possibility of a revival of the teft. In this new situation the crisis uf leadership is more dramatically revealed than before, and more and gore al odds with the seeds of the rank and file. if the Labour left is Lo renew itself it must base itself on tie new economic and social struggles thal we can expect as the economy moves into crisis and Thetciter's government begins to unravel.
Over ail, we can say that the siluation in the Labour Party is a parsdoxical one.
The increasing domination of the bureaucracy and the right wing takes place at a time of ascending mass slruggles. Despite the retreat of the left and the departure of many iefl wingers from active participation in the party, lhe new radi:alisation wiii eventualiy work ifs way throug! the structures of the party, Siving 2a potentisi for a strong revival of the left. That is why there should be no éttempt to revise our special lactic. imieed, we must ailerpl to build the new co-ordination of the ieft proposed by the Socialist Movement te prepare for the future bailies. This year's conference will be horrendvus. But it is likely fo mark the high lide of Kinnockism virtually unchallenged.
The last period has seen a massive recomposilion of the centre ground of British politics. The Alliance could not be kept forever as the bourgeoistie's reserve force to prevent Labour from forming & government, wilhoul beginning to suffer a perceived ineffectiveness as an opposition to Thatcheriom. David Owen's in -19-
long-held admiration for Thatcher and many Thatcherite policies could aot but eventually come into conflict with much of the base of the old Liberal Party.
But Owen has discovered thal his huge financial backing is not enough to keep the SDP afloat - he seeds members and activists and they are disappearing fast.
Now the centre ground is under seige from the Greens. At the Euro-eleclion the Green vote increases almost in direct proportion to the decline of the SLD. aud the SDP was wiped oul. Paradoxically, the Green have a programme which is well to the left of the SLD, SDP and Kinnuck, but their vole was disproportionately taken from the Soulh and the rural constituencies. they achieved their highest votes in the Coiswolds and Somerset and Dorset West (). In seals won by the Tories there vole was on average 100 per cen! higher than in seats won by Labour. In other words se far their vole is disproportionately rural and petit bourgeois. But the Greens ere set to become an important political force, and there is ne bound to be both an influx of new members and a big debate about policy. Already the right wing of the Greens is talking aboul merging with the SLD, Will the Greens become a left Green force like the German Dle Grunenu, or will they become a cenire party with ecological pelicies ? In the latter case there is no barrier to fusien with the SLD. The problem for the SLD is the unilateralist and unequivocally anti-nuclear power stance of the Greens. If the Greens remain an independent party, their problem at a general election is their lack of credibility from the viewpoint of forming a government or even winning a single seat. pe in eny event the crucial thing for the left is that the importance of acclogica issues can no longer be evaded. From a political point of view, the key programmatic points for us that neither capitalism nor the Stalinist bureaucracy is capable of solving ecological problems, but neither is the solution a nilgrowth economy or ecclogically-sound poverty. The best mechanism by far for linking up with the left and socialist-orientated Greans is the Socialist Movement.
Tf our analysis ig right, the bas deepening offensive of Theaicher isi, Lolal surrender vn pisieaders of the class, with a gice ing destab! ion grow Lng unpopularity of ihe government. Gur political line therefore has Lo be 3 of the obiective sjtuatlion compr ise the the park of pureaucratic 3 : ue ury pro fect and first am! foreaust for an ead to the politics retreat, that the povitical comiiitions are emerging for ¢ real fightback against Thatcher ism. Bul in ihe . present context it is diff icult Le realistically address this fo the Lapour aad a propaganda line - since no one thinks they will trade union leaders, G8+%: fight. Noojheless, as oh overall Line, the posiiion nas to be to yaita the maximum unity of the class Li struggle, including whet sections of the pureaucracy ca be draged In to resist tie Tory attacks, and turn whe present crisis of Thatcherite strategy Lo the advantage of the working class.
Against those who say that the key Ling is simply 19 struggle, and to support giruggies, ¥e insist on the necessity for the pollticel weight of mass elruggies to be translated into 8 poiiticel fight inside the labour movement against the pureaucr ats, which can only be done through @ jong- ter @ poiicy of organising the lefl/class struggle forces. Against those who want Lo concentrale solely o8 the inner-Labour: Farly Fight we insist on the necessity of the left Laking initiatives in the class struggle, organising mass camapigis, and bullding suppert for industrial struggies, © the crucial lever to uniock the dow inet lot of the right. Our Line combines the necessity to organise jand organise SUppr? i far) the mosh combalive sections a7 the class and its sliies, while simultaneously organising the proadest possible Jeft, on & Class struggle Line, incide the mass oF gan ine’ ions of the clase. Every other political tendency op the jeft either plays down involvement in and support for the mass struggle, OF ignores Lhe exist ing political recomposition of the labour movement ~ or in the case of the pr opagandistic ‘par ty~ building’ sects ignores uobin The fight pieide the lahour novemedt for 3 presk from cless collaboration . cannel go round the fight ove: Labour Perty policy, posed in tarms of the policy for tthe next isbour governuaent” and in the present stage this opviously takes the form of the fight over the policy raview, in particular the batiie over uonllateral nuchesi disermament, and the oper embracing of the yalues of Lhe market against even the traditional social dumoc atie interpr atations of ‘Clause a, But the present political Situelion enables us to otart to rebuild supper t for transitional deaands, elements of our exicting programme, giich ace aimed at utilising strags les Lo raise the issue of wocialish solui 20s to the crisis.
Apart from propagandislic expressions of these socialist solutions - in for saree} &, . ee | ee a Oo 3 . £ oe the demand for nationalisaliod unast workers comtrod and so of, we have yw Opporiunit to raise in wee alet Zen? £75 = : * wanes cotidi x te: — in a more agitational way demanus for indexing of : w otaled, fc rend che 5 f i anjies w! aiferd. ¢ é =" x | or opening, tle: bucks of companies who say they cannet pay increases, for workshariog with no loss 6 } starts to stagnate and risis infl. ‘ no loss of pay ~ 35 the 2conomy sing inflation is coupled with rising unei x : + : peer e§ unempioy heit. 160.The overall fre overall framework of our Lactics a) The framework of our tacti the objective sihontion —— and tbe priorities of our work flow from bot ad Lhe strategic orientation which we have Sn bolh Be TS adepled. The <9 Paes
primary contradiction between these two factors today is the difficulty of our special tactic In the period of the ascendency of Kimweckism. It would be wrong, short-sighted and utterly impressionistic te prooese any fundamental alteration of the special tactic. What we have to do, however, is tu explicitly modify the emphasis of this tactic - along the lines we have discussed many times; and spell oul a series of priorities ~ reai ones ~ which guide our overell work. It is @ perennial probiem of the group thal we have too many tasks, too many ‘priorities’. The branches, the group as a whole, then bas political work presented as an ‘a la carte’ cheice and not a menu. If we are serious about collective, democratic centraiist functioning, then if is a question not of limiting the number of projects, campaigns, areas of work thal comrades are ‘allowed’ to be involved in, but of being clear aboul what are the unify ing factors which the organisation as a whole is involved in.
The situation inside the MO, the difficulty of recruiting there and the headlong Flight of much of the the constituency left towards Kinnockism — not to mention the virtual demise of the MO youth - poses the issue of priorities in a sharp way. While nol abandoning the special tactic al all, work at a local branch and GC level oniy assumes importance if if is as a means of taking forward our political intiatives. The stress and the central focus of our tactics must be campaigning work, trade union work and specie) party building tasks within which our MO work hes to be filted. Local MO work which is mot directed by such concerns is in this period generally worthless, al best routinism. It is into this framework that the Socialist Movement also Fits, Our strategic objective remains to build an organised and democratic class struggle current accross the entire labour movement, similar in some ways to the Minority Movement. Such a movemen! would represent a tremendous step forward for the self-orgenisation and self-confidence of the working class and oppressed and a power full blow against the Jabour bureaucracy. It entails a perspective of longterm work fighting for leadership within both the unions and the Labour Party. It will take momentous events in the class struggic before such a movement is created. Nevertheless our organisation must at al}. Limes grasp the concrete stage of cadicalisation witnin the labour movement and any recomposition pointing towards such a long-term direction. Hencethe importance of the Socialist Movement. il. The Socialist Movement If the Kinnockites have established their ascendency in the labour movement, and the soft Jeft have collapsed or peeled off to the right, the centre of the opposition to Kinnockism in an organised political sense is provided by the array of forces organised around the Chesterfleld Socialist Conference movement.
This movement is key for our taclics, our system of alliances and for party building, because if represents the current stage of the cystalilsation of a tlass struggle left within the labour movement. In order to asses its significance we have to be clear what it is, and whal it is not. TM is not, al least for the moment, an organised membership movement! wilh branches or even much significant local or regional organisation — which remains fragile at best.
It is however an alliance of forces which understand the need to link work in the unions and the Labour Party, to build alliances with forces outside the Labour Party including socialist intellectuals, and to support those in the struggle in order to build a socialist alternative. Why is this movement 4 + i iw
important to us, in a way which if is no’ fundamentally important to the SWP who see il basically as a forum for propaganda f First, because LL represents an alliance with that section “ very smail section) of the Campaign Group which has understood the need to organise their forces on the ground which is a very important step forward. Secomd!, because it represents an arena for generating campalgas and nelworks which can Lake the class strugyie and socialist ideas forward. The support thal the Socialist Conference has given intiatives lixe the Solidarily Network has buen very important; Women for Socialism would nul exist without if; ome of f initiatives like the conference on democratic rights aid tue Gurbachey conference are essential slaps.
But above ell that - the rele of the Socialist Conference as an organiser and mobiliser - if has @ special significance precisely because it is concerned with a debate about policy, with debuting oul the question of what is the programmatic aitermalive fo Kinnockism and wew realiom. This gives if a special significance for us, because on a whule range of issues if can act as an ecthechamber for our ideas —- and of course our initiatives. Thet doesn't mean that our ideas are hegemonic within it - far from it - but is dows mean thal it provides us will: a framework for organising inilialives and debating our ideas which will aiow us to xéin a much greater purchase on the political recomposition cf the socialist left. it it imporiant tc understand thal we cannot go around the political recomposition of the left and appeal directly to the class wilhoul building alliances, movements and frameworks which enoble us to give cur initiatives some waight. The specific role of the Socialist Conference as an organiser, a ‘generaliser’ of specific iniliatives, and a sounding board for political debates and ideas gives il a special weight in our work and alliances. This doesn't mean - and if doesn'l make sense to say ff - that ‘all our work goes through Chesterfield’. This is a bending of the stick which is pratically implausible and unworkable by the branches.
However, what is true is that a wide array of Lhe issues we take up and the campaigns we supporl can garner more support and muscle by bedng teahen through, and associated with the Socialist Conference. The support given by the Socialist Confersnce to the Solidarity Network, Women for Socialism, the conference on democratic rights, the Gorbachev conference sud tic tiade union conference aré all examples of this process. Chesterfield ip however, nol a panacea o1 all-time formuia fer us. Ti is a specific stave of politicel recomposilion within the organised lefi. Its precise characterisation doesn't matter a lol provided we have agiesement about how we relete te if and use it.
In two ur three years Lime if might have Lreansformed ilself Into somelhing different.
The very low key launching of the ‘Socialisl Movement’ in Sheffield was a missed opportunity. But the polential is there for creating 4 powerful movement on one condition - that we taku jiold of the sectoral iniftatives, and build them, trying to establish our own political hegemony in the process. What needs to be done ?
First, the Socialist Movement needs to be turned into a real membership movement with real internal democracy. Sheffield was nol a particuialry democratic event. Next year's conference needs to have an “AGM Lo debele policy and elect a leadership. Second, we oeed to become the backbone of not only Women for Socialism (which we are to a large extent)? bul aiso the real Ry +
organising force of the new Labour party co-ordination, the trade union initiative and the proposed student co-ordination. The balance~sheet of using the Socialist Movement as 4 co-ordinator and promoter of our initiatives is a largely posilive one. TL remains very open to our proposals. The key is not local organisation which will be difficult to establish, but nallenal political projects. While we do nol advocate the SM becoming a separate party, it «should act insofar as possible like a party - responding to key events in the national and international class struggle, building support for struggles, and clarifying its policy in a positive direction.
There are two key political obstacles to such a develupment. First, the pressure of the Morning Star/CPB. Thin pressure will be particulary exerted in relation to the trade unions. We should be under no illusions on this score. Despite the sponsorship which the SM has given the Solidarity Network, the links of the left bureaucracy with the Campaign Group are Likely to eventually meke themselves felt. We shall have a hard batile on this front. Second, tne weight of ‘Beyond the Fragments’-type libertarian and loose-courdination type ideas will represent 6 pressure against a more organised and politically focussed movement. Again, it is a question of our comrades being the organising cadres of the key national initiatives of this movement. 12. The prioritised framework for our intervention remains our participation in #8. The roie of #8 is generally well understood in the organisation, bul we have .o be clear about ils real relationship to the group, ifs influence, priorities and perspectives. In no way is #8 a ‘uniled front‘ of the MO left, involving significant broad forces otber than ourselves. In fact, the successive waves of Kinnockism, and the headlong retreal of much of the MO left, have made it essentially a journal organisationally and politically dominated by us. However, the beauty end the value of this mechanism is Lhet #8 retains a prestige, a legitimacy and a reputation whicis enables promineni personalities of the left to associate with it and for us to push forward our intitiatives ullijising it. it would only be realistic to abandon this way of presenting ourseives in the broader labour movement if there were an allernalive on offer - for example if there were dramatic new developments with the Socialist Movement. In the mean time #B remains a unique tool, which acts as a priveleged transmission belt between our politics and intiatives and the broader labour movement.
But the scenario of our use cf #B cannot be that of a growing number of #8 groups rallying round the journal in a growing MO left. The scenario is rather that of #8 wore and more basing itself on the trade union struggles and mass campaigns, and devloping its association with the Socialist Movement, There is one qualification - a very important one - that we have to put on our continued support for #B. if the Socialist Movement develops into a more structured and organised membership movement, Lhen the question of a journal/newspaper comes up immediately. Interlink as it presently exists is highly inappropriate: jt would need a more agitational and popular ( and, vitally, democratically controlled) paper. Such a paper while kicking Campaign News into touch would also pul a let of pressure on #B, In this situation we would have to seriously rethink our system of press. If it became necessary for #B to go into an SM monthly newspaper, then we would have to ensure a mechanism for the regular agilalional expression of our own Line, probably a weekly newspaper under the name of our presen! journal, Such a development is far from certain, if presupposes the best outcome of the SM development. While 15-
the loos of #B would have some aegelive consequences, our own more regular paper would have many advantages from the viewouint of centralising our political discussion and iniervention. While this is to a certain extent speculation, ii in as well thet we are aware thal the production of an SM paper could mot bul have repercussions fur #8. b> The conceplion of ou tactics which flows oul of this of this snalysis of the State of the Labour perty and unions, the Sucialist Movement and #8 is the followlag. 1) In the trade uaices, apart from our ongoby solidarity work and the Solidarily Network, we raed Gur irade union fractions essentially on the axis of a fight to regroup all those class siruggle forces prepared ta fight mew reeliom. The key dividing bie on nis is precareaducsos to defy the law, the key Inslrument of the ruling class in its attacks on the organised working class, defying the Isw is as relevant in the fight against the poll lex as in successfully pursuing industrial struggles. 11) Striving to build the new MO coordination propose by the Sheffield SM conference, in order to prepare the ground for an evemtiuei new offensive of the left agsinst the leadership a giving much higher prigrily to our student and youth work, in the overall framework of fighting to build a youth organisation hepeefully within a —_s of yearn, with the orioir any emphasis on Student work, ageing linked to the proposed SM initiative iv) beilding mass campaigns against Lhe Tory allacks, especially the poll tax and the NHS.
iS, Central Themes of cur Political Work UWlilising the political framework outlined here —- maintaining our special tactic and #8; deepening our trade union work; priorilisiag our oriestation to the Socialist Conference Movement and building our youth and student work - it is necessary to articulate this framework with key political issues of long-term strategic importance and prioritised conjumctur al Campaigns. Our approach to these issues is guided by four conceplioas which mark oul our tendency against workerist, economist and ultra-left groups: i} our understending that the growing crisis of Tt ate therism is pari ard percel of the long lerm decline uf British capitalism, which itself has engendered a crisis of tha British state, in particular because of the irish struggle and the resentment against Wenbminster rule in Scotland ii) our unde:ctanding that the decline and crisis of British capitalism has also undermined traditional. ‘labourism’, creating a pulitical crisis of the labour bureaucracy aad the conditions for political recompositiun. iii) the emergence of iefi currents reemphasises the importance of the method of united front. We are the most unilery of revolutionary currents, taking the united front approach, aeximising the forces in acticn on a class struggie line, inte every area of our work iv) our understanding of tie ‘combined’ character of the revolutionsry process, thal the specially oppressed are both key allies, aud a key part, of the working class and hence our commitment tu self-crganisation aad autonomy of the copressead. a) Rebuilding feminist current a socialist f The struggle for womens Liberation in Britain ~- tugetier wilh many advanced capitalist countries - faces a contradiction which we should consciously fight lo overcome. On the one hand, the organised womens liberation movement of the late 1960s/1970s has been dispersed, surviving only in the shape of womens centres, refuges, rape crisis centres and self-help groups.
As a co-ordinated and coherent movement it has dispersed, On the other hand, feminist consciousness is al a much Higher lewel Lhan 26 years ago, especially among young women. In the Labour movement, at the level of the bureaucracy, this is translated inlo pelicies for ‘equal opportunities" and womens rights. Bat it also has permeated scciely as a whole.
This contradictory situation enables feminist themes and the trend towards self-organisation to manifest themselves during struggles (Women ageinst Pit Closures) and in the face of specific allacks upon women (Alton , Bill}. Qur policy should be the fight for an autonomous womens movement; the” fight for Self{-rganisation of women, especially in the labour movement; the building o mess united front campaigns oa specific issues, but. especially around abortion and contraception rights; bul within thal fo consciously strive to rebuiid a socialist feminist current.
While the oppression of women affects all women, an aulonomous womens movement will be overwhelmingly based on the working class and the labour movement. We should consciously fight for the self-organisation of women a
within the Labour Party and the unions; we should contribute to building a permanent campaign (NAC) on abortion which will be an issue subject to repeated attacks; within thst we should uiilise the opportunity presented by Women for Socialism as a key organiser of the fight for womens liberation and a movement able to articulate and iead on the relationship of class, sex and race within the anti-capitalist struggie. While a huge wave of industrial activity by working clas women was a vital part of the creation of the womens liberation movement, the organised socialist faminist movement was overwhelmingly based on the socialist left and intellectuals. The most dynamic socialist feminists however hed a consistent orientation to the struggles of working class women and many became active white collar trade unionisis themselves.
The development of Women Against Pit Closures marked a new development in the struggles of working class women and, along with the struggles of black and lesbian women, has encouraged a revitalisation and a new search for unity among a layer of activists within the Labour Party, trade unions, student unions and feminist campaigns. Building Women for Socialism is a key part of our labour movement work, backed up by work in NAC and our trade union, youth and MO fractions taking initiatives aimed at women in those sectors. The link between W4S and the Socialist Movement gives it automatically a series of alliances and key Links which can be used to this end, b) Black Liberation, anti-racist and anti-fascist work The overwhelmingly proletarian black population in Britsian is going through a dual process of increasing attacks against it and increasing politica} differentiation within it. Hardest hit by many of the Thatcherite attacks — especially unemployment and low pay — the biack population faces unrelenting racist attacks, new immigrations laws and a growing fiood of racist deportations. In some weeks 200 people have been deported from East London alone. While the fascist organisations are unable to make the kind of political impact they did in the late 1970s, they are reorganising and are behind numerous racist attacks.
The organisation needs to redouble its commitment to black iiberalion and anti-racist work. A strategic goal within this work is the fight for the self-organisation of black people, in the community, in campaigns and in the labour movement. In the labour movement the key examples of this kind of work are Black Sections and the NALGO Black members group. The precise tactical form of black self-organisation in the Labour party is not the key thing; the principle of self-governing organisalion for black people is the decisive criterion. A decisive development ever the past period has been the growing self-organisation of black women, often against the hostility of traditionalists, the right wing or even fundamentalists in the black community.
We should be aware of the growing political differentiation inside the black community. The Rushdie affair is one sign of this. This campaign has helped to consolidate the influence of right wing and fundamentalist currents, especiaily in the Pakistani community, although the challenging of this campaign by groups like Southall Black Sisters is 4 major gain. The Rushdie affair was also a gift to racists like Hayes Tory MP Terry Dicks and the fascist organisations, only too keen to defend Rushdie without an ion
sharing one iota of his personal politics, which are socialist and antiracist. Black militants who are fighting for self organisation in the community or the labour movement are only to well aware of the problems of the right wing wing in tne community and opportunists and right wingers in the Labour movement. In order to aid their struggie, they need the support of ihe left wing of the labour movement. Only by the Labour movement and the left proving their commitment to self urganisiation will it be possible to forge # permanent alliance of the left and black self-organised groups.
Black self-organisation and the commitment of the labour movement to antiracist action is the key to fighting right wing currents within the black community. Wherever possibie the hard left, including our organisation, need to take up the fight against racist deportations, attacks om black people and support black struggles and black self-organisation. Antideportation campaigns are of decisive importance, because the day-by-day and often hidden terrorisation of the black community is centred on the threat of police attack and deportation, and because the deportations are symbolic of the subordinate positon of black people in British capitalism, The fight for self-organisation goes hand-in-hand with the struggie for positive action for black people, especially ia employment and job opportunities, whereever precise goals for this can be mobilised around. c) Lesbian and Gay Liberation work Lesbians and gay men have come under repeated attack as a crucial part of the Thatcherite ideological offensive to bolster the family, ‘law and order’ and ‘Victorian values’. While the nuclear family is not, from a theoretical point of view, essential to the maintainence of the capitalist mode of production per se, it is crucial to the maintainence of the capitalist social formations in all the advanced capitalist countries, especially in a period of aconomic crisis. The role of the nuclear family in the production and reproduction of labour power is irreplaceabie outside of a complete restructuring of capitalism - which could only be done on the basis of fabulous profits which do not and cannot exist. Clause 28, the aids hysteria and the consequent reinforcement of homophebla and heterosexism should be seen in this light. Just as with the attack on women, the attacks on lesbians and gays is an integral part of the attack on the working class which has an eminently material, as well as ideological function. It also helps conveniently to divide the working class and altack the left, especially the local government left.
In this context, defenme of lesbians and gay men from these attacks is an integral part of the fightback against the capitalist offensive; and the fight for lesbian and gay liberation is part and parcel of the fight against the basic structures of capitalist opression. Revolutionary marxists must work for both the building of an autonomous movement for the liberation of lesblans and gay men, for their seif-organisation in the labour movement, and to win the labour movement to the struggle for lesbian and gay rights. >In the first place, this means the fight against both the effect of Clause 28 and the ideology which gave it birth; against discrimination against lesbians and gays as 4 result of the AIDs hysteria, especially against people who are HIV positive - in employment and fields like insurance and health care; and against homophobia by promoting positive images. is-
Our intervention in, and leadership of, the LCOLGR remains the crucial mechanism for organising lesbians and gays in the labour movement and raising our demands on these questions. We are in favour of the development of self-organisation of lesbians and gay men withia the trade unions and Will be working to place more emphasis within LCLGR on this, aswell as continuing to work in ithe unions themselves, mosi particularly NALGO. The opression of lesbians and gay men has a particular resonance amongst youth.
An integral part of our work must be the fight against discriminatory legislation against youth sexuality, and police harassment of lesbians and gays. £0=
d) Democratic Rights Central to the attack on the working class and the oppressed has been the persistent attacks on democratic rights. Our approach to democratic rights is governed by Trotsky's phrase that democratic rights are the ‘embryo of proletarian democracy within capitalism’. By this he meant not the paraphenalia of parliamentary democracy but the right of the workers to organise and operate politically. Our first line of attack on democratic rights therefore is against the anti-trade union laws, the most fundamental attack on democratic rights. This must involve the fight to commit Labour to repeal all anti-trade union laws. In any camapign on democratic rights we fight for the inclusion not only of the right to belong to a trade union, but also the right to strike, and the right to 'secondary' industrial action.
However, while propagandising for our conception of proletarian democracy, we defend and support all attempts to widen democratic rights, against the encroachment of the government and state. This must include the right to free demonstration and assembly, against any form of censorship, especially the encroaching control of the government on the media. We cannot oppose the demand for a written constitution, provided we give it our political content. Equally, we should support the call for electoral reform, including proportional representation. While we fight concretely on each issue of democratic rights for the working class and the oppressed, we do not oppose the cali for a bill enshrining those rights. However, we combat the illusion that formal rights under capitalism are any guarantee; the only final guarantee of imposing democratic rights is the relationship of class forces. Charter '88 has opened up an important space for discussing and debateing this issue; we should fight within the Socialist Conference for a Charter of Basic Rights we revolves around the key liberties which allow the working class and oppressed to take forward their struggles. 14) YOUTH AND STUDENT WORK The renewal of our organisation means the renewal of our cadre through student and youth work. Although this is understood in theory tn the organisation there is insufficient attention from the leadership and the organisation as a whole to resourcing and leading this work. Every other major organisation of the far left has a major student or youth component — a moment's thought about the SWP,Militant, Socialist Organiser or RCP reveals that fact. We need a younger profile to renew the militancy and dynamism of the organisation.
Student work is important because there is a growing militancy and movement among students, the result of the attacks on higher education and students, which have shaken the yuppie complacency of many university campuses. New cadres and leaders will be won from this work, if we combine a fight for a fighting orientation against government attacks with our strategic orientation to a class struggle wing in the labour movement and above all our internationalism and commitment to the struggles of the oppressed.
Unless we turn to this work we shall lose out on a layer of activists who will be won by ultra-left groups. Our student comrades are in a difficult tactical position. The decline of SSiNand the new SO front laughingly 21=
cailed ‘Left Unity’ pose us with awkwara problems. We must seriously investigate, and if at all possible try to develop, the proposed Socialist Movement student initiative. This would give us a basis to link up our student work with Women for Socialism, and our trade union and MO initiatives in this field. We should consciously use ea link-up with our teacher comrades to build a campaign on education in this milieu.
Youth work also means more resourcing, which means a turn by branches where there are no youth comrades towards using RS and building our youth initiatives. The key axes of this work should be among AA Youth; Ireland; anti-racist; womens iiberation and lesbian and gay liberation work. Youth are particulariy cpen to questions of anti-imperialism and sexual oppression; presently the issues of the more general attack on youth over YTS, housing and social security benefits are essentially propaganda tasks until we have sufficient cadre, especially working class youth, who can lead and intervene into campaigns on these questions.
SCOTLAND The Thatcher government lacks any legitimacy in Scotland, with a pathetic level of electorai support and huge unpopularity over the poll tax. But the pathetic showing of Scottish Labour MPs against Thatcher, and the refusal of the LP leadership and union bureaucracy to seriously fight the poll tax have once again posed the issue of the constitutional position of Scotland, expressed in a resurgence of Socttish nationalism and the SNP and the new Scottish assembly, boycotted by the Tories and the SNP. Our position should be for a Scottish assembly as a genuine ‘constitutent assembly‘ of the Scottish people, to take full powers. The issue of independence is a question for the Scottish people to decide, although we do not raise it at this time as a demand. we oppose the Jim Sillars-inspired slogan of an ‘independent Scotland in the EC‘ as a reactionary utopia.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT The hard left has been fighting an increasingly difficult rear-guard action against the attacks on local government, and the capitulation of Labour councils to this attack, since the collapse of the GLC and rate capping fight, which was a decisive turning point. Our line on this issue - no cuts in jobs and services, for a fight based on the trade unions and the community is wall-estabdlished. We have been in the leadership of ‘na cuts' groups on a number of councils and in 19883 played a key role in launching ‘Fightbacks* in a number of London boroughs and in the 9 March day of action. The balance sheet of our work as councillors is positive despite a variety of problems. We must learn from these problems so that in the next period, which is going te be qualitatively more difficuit for the left in loca! government, we do not throw away the politica! credit we have built up over the past period.
The key to our activity around local government is the bhuilding of trade union opposition and community groups in opposition to the cuts and the poll tax. It is only useful to have councillors in this situation insofar as they can provide direction both in the council chamber and by linking up with Labour Party and trade union and community resistance outside. Our comrades are under increasing pressure to stand as councillors, with the 1m aa
pressures of possibe surcharges etc. But in the next period there fs no chance of even modest pro-working class reforms. In such a situation the decision to be a councillor is a very serious one. Comrades who stand will come under great political pressure from social democracy and it is essential that the following criteria are fulfilled- 1) Cdes standing as councillors must be experienced activists both in the labour movement and in our organisation. They must have proven themselves in the class struggle. 2) Branches must be strong enough to manage the extre work and discussion involved. It must therefore have proper functioning in terms of regular and prepared meetings, a branch organiser and branch committee. 3) Cdes standing must have the agreement of the branch, and this must be confirmed by the PC/CC, It is inevitable that working in the mass organisations our comrades are expected to follow the logic of their political arguments on local government and this leads to pressure to stand for councillor. As long as the above criteria are fulfilled it will be possiblke In the next period to make gains by standing. As in the past it will be possible to draw other councillors towards our politics and even possibly recruit them; we can lead and support opposition as it develops both inside and outside the council chamber. Our model must be Trotsky's ‘tribune of the people‘ not reformism or municipal socialism.
This is an issue of great political importance; we cannot afford, by ommission or commision, to take any political responsibility for the antiworking class policies which all local councils are bound to implement in the next period. Local government is not a mininature version of the national state. [t is bound by the constraints set down by the national state, and for that reason it is an absolutely reformist logic to make ‘the best of a bad job": this is the logic of ‘caring cuts* and the ‘dented shield', and will badly damage the credibility of our organisation and lead to massive internal ructions if we get involved in it. a) The poli tax. By far the most important mass campaign for us is that against the poll tax. Our line for the campaign remains the oosition of no registration, collection or payment of the tax. Despite the immense damage done by the ‘no illegality’ line of the Labour and trade union bureaucracy, there is still a tremendous development of community-based campaigns. The crunch points in this campaign, with the partial exception of. Scotland, have not yet been reached. There is still a possibility of obstructing a defeating this tax, especially in the light of the new Tory crisis and squeezed living standards which will make the tax an immense budern for millions of working class people. Although the main resistance to the tax can be expected when payment is due, plans are already underway in a number of areas — for obstruction of the registration process. The key to the whole fight ts community-based campaigns, and utilising local LPs and other labour movement organisations to build and support these. We should oe ae iw
maintain the fight inside the unions for no co-operation with the tax - : especially in NALGO ~ and fight against the collaboration of Labour councils. Given the defeat of the non-coperation at the 1989 NALGO conference, action by council workers is much more likely to come once a mass camapign of non-payment is already under way. In every area where there is no community-based campaign we should set ourselves the task of building one. There is hardly an area where mass meetings and campaigns cannot be built. Despite our iine for no registration, no payment and no collection, in fact the crunch point is much more likely te be over payment than registration, especially as tens of thousands will not be able to pay, whereas registration costs nothing until payment ts due. While mass campaigns can obstruct the registration process, they finally cannot prevent it. b) The NHS The crisis in the NHS has not bean damped down by the pay increases to nurses agreed last year - in some ways the regrading fiddle has sharpened the confiict. The attempt to extend priivatisation and ‘market values' to GPs and even the ambulance service, has produced a revolt even among the stuffy corridors of the establishment BMA. Consistent work on this issue has been obstructed by the lack of a clear tactical framework for our activity, depitte the useful work which the group did around the nurses' strikes in 1988, particulariy the way we built the LHE rally. We should try to cut through the tactical imprecision by prioritising building meetings among health workers and the community in the name of Health Emergency and building campaigning groups linked to Health Emergency. Wide labour movement sponsorship can be built for such meetings and campaigns — indeed LHE has been able to organise significant meetings quite independently of the activity of the organisation. Circumstances will differ from area to area, but there is no reason why the work which has been done by some branches cannot be significantly extended on this issue.
THE ECOLOGY AND GREEN MOVEMENTS The rise of the Greens throughout Europe represents a new political development which revolutionary socialists have to respond to. The broad radicalisation on ecological and ‘green’ issues particularly affects youth.
However this broad movement and the radicaiisation around it should be simply assimilated to the the Green Party which is a radical populist party that does not claim to be based on the working class, but rides this radicalisation. It is therefore urgent that the labour movement does not allow itself to be outflanked by this party, but takes on board key ecologicai policies.
Our job is to fight for the labour movement to adopt radical anticapitalist solutions on green issues, defending the rights of the working class and arguing that while only a socialist society can guarantee permanent improvement in the quality of life for all, steps can be taken on this front now. We are critical of the no-growth stamnce of the right wing of the Greens, but will enthusiastically unite in debate and action with those forces on the left of the Greens who are orientated to the labour movement and who emphasise a radical perspective on green issues, on defence and on non-payment of the poll tax. Our work in the student 24-
movement will help the development of our line on these issues. the journal must begin an urgent debate on these issues.
15 IRELAND The Anglo-Irish agreement, as was easily predicted, has failed to solve the most intractable problem for B itish imperialism — the continued resistance of tha nationalist population of te Six Counties tc the Organge State and British occupation. Despite tactical errors by the armed rasistance, the authority and popularity of the republican movement ramains high. At the same time Sinn Fein has gradually undergone a long evolution towards mass polilicai work, and an increased understanding of the need te or gantise on an all-ireland basis in the fight for a 32-county workers republic. The Angio-‘rish agreement has failed in its primary objective - to undermine Sinn Fein and elevate the SDLP and other ‘moderate’ nationalist forces to the undisputed leadership of the nationalist community. The unpopularity of the agreement's central security arrangements — like extradition - have led to deepened conflicts between the UK government and the fire government.
The key internationalist and anti-imperialist task of the sroup remains the fight to build a mass movement for British withdrawai from IrelandYhe main problem and contradiction in this work is that our correct priority to building this movement in the lehour movement runs up against the continued ‘bi-partisan‘ betrayal on this issue by the Kinnock and trede union leadership. The move to the right in the bureaucracy refracts itself in pressure cn the ‘lefts* to pull back from a clear stand on this issue, and this pressure is transmitted into the LCI, with help from the LCC, Socialist Action and now Socialist organiser. This has ied to a failure to maximise the opportunities provided by the ‘Year of Action’. Following the August events, the Irish commission and the leadership need to review our tactics in this work, without abandoning our orientation to priority work in the Lebour party and the unions. [ft will be particularly Pepor tant to review the progress, and our participation in, the ‘Time to Go' ampaign end discuss the bast way to build an anti-imperialist ‘self— dekorel batt fon’ wing of the movement. 16. A New International Situation In considering our international solidarity work we have to take into account the evolution of the international situation, the strategic priorities of our work and the resources available to a small organisation to engage in this work.
International sclidarity work requires stable teams of cadres able to give this work a continuing priority, and therefore it is inevitable, given the plethora of international solidarity campaigns which we support politically that we should choose - taking inte accent what is crucial both from the point of view of the development of the world revolution and from the point of view of strategic importance inside the Brit ish labour movement.
From the point of view of our political iine, the key priority is the huge crisis in the workers states. Stalinism, while able to reap the befits of a planned economy is the initial stages of industrialisation, is showing itself less and less able to cope with ‘intensive' economic growth. On the other hand, political revolution is showing itself to be a protracted and complex process involving many diffcult oroblems of analysis and political Line for revolutionary marxists.
We have to constantly pay attention to the developments in the USSR and Eastern Europe, and do what ever we can to promote a dialogue between the socialist left in Britain and oppositional groups in these states. So far the Socialist Movement has shown itself the best vehicle for such initiatives. Our propaganda has to repeatedly answer to false dichotomy set up in the debates on these questions between bureaucratic centralised planning and the market ‘socialism’, with our own answer of democratically planned socialism. 26fa
The gigantic crisis in China adds a new dimension to our international solidarity work. At the time of writing it is not clear to what extent it will be possible to stabilise a solidarity campaign with a labour movement orientation. Whatever organisational form a campaign takes, solidarity with the workers and students of China must be a permanent task.
Already referred to are the incredibie sustained revolt of the Palestinian masses, and the growing crisis in El Salvador, with the arribval of an ARENA semi-fascist government and the new upsurge of the mass and military struggle.
The setting up of a central America commission is a big step forward for the organisation; its prioirty orientation should be to the El Salvador campaign, gievn the difficulties we have in working in the Nicaragua campaign and the size of our own resources. We should continue to build the LMCP as the best vehicle for our intervention on the Palestinian issue.
The struggle in South Africa is going through a period of lull and consolidation, a result of defeats suffered by the blows of massive repression.
The political consequence has been a sharp rightward turn by the NAC and the CPSA. We urgently need to discuss and reinforce of work on this issue.
Schematically, the priorities for our international solidarity work are: * Solidarity with the national struggle in Ireland, and within that buiiding the Lei # South Africa solidarity work ® Solidairity with the Palestinian masses, and building the LMCP % Central America, prioritising the El Salvador solidarity camapaign. * Building a China Solidarity Campaign.
It is outside the scope of this document to provide detailed perspectives for each of these fields of work. Wp to the conference we need discussions about the perspectives of our Southern Africa work (which is rather urgent) and Irish solidarity perspectives after the year of action.It is envisaged that each of the commissions will submit a discussion document to the conference. 17) Stalinism and the Far Left The Stalinist movement in Britain continues to be wracked by a crisis, which is in the last analysis a function of the international crisis and decay of Stalinism. Marxism Today has established itself as the ideological centre of a new rightist populism, which is at least as far right as Kinnock, and probably more so. The contradiction here is that by making itseif the key public face of the CPGB, and locating itself on the right of the political spectrum, MT has made itself a popular magazine, but one useless for building the CP. The contradiction is that if you accept what MT is saying, then the CP is at best a marginal irrelevence. The drain of ex-CPers into the Labour Party, the Greens and the Alliance is the result. The CPGB is incapable of doing anything except be dragged along behind MT: the real leader of the CPGB is Martin Jacques, not Gordon Maclelian !
The importance of MT is that. it is the more systematic theoriser of new realism and the Kinnockite right. It is because of the highly systematised nature of its ‘Post-Fordism/New Times’ discourse, and because it is going with the rightward trend of developments, that if has such a purchase. A new wave of class struggle would throw it into crisis. But we have to take its theories seriously in terms of a polemical response, because they are the counterpoint to a class struggle/revolutionary marxist answer. Although a high proportion of M7 readers are seleried/ white collar workers and intellectuals, nonthless MT‘s ideas find their way into the labour movement and the movements of the oppressed through a plethora of channels, especially the iower ranks of the trade union and Labour bureaucracy. Not only should we systematically challenge its ideas, but we should also encourage other forces, especially in the Socialist Conference, to do the same. Drawing up a revolutionary answer to MT, point by point, is a key theoretical and political task which the jounral should take or.
The Morning Star and the Communist party of Britain are a different matter, with much more organised purchase in the labour movement. [t is not suprising that the issue of the trade unions played such an important role in galvanising the split in the CP because the key orientation of the Star is to the left trade union bureaucracy. The problem for the CPB/Morning Star is the deciine of the CP network in industry and the old-style ‘broad left‘. Nonethiess the MS js a pernicious danger for reyolutionaries precisely because it is capabie of combining a militant rhetoric with class collaborationism in key struggles, and because of the links which it has with the lower levels of the TU bureaucracy and with sections of the parliamentary Labour left. ideologically, however, Gorbachevism has thrown the whole MS current into a crisis. While the paper has had to go with Gorbachev, on his visit here he met with the CPGB not with the CPB, and many of the old-style Stalinists are deaply suspicious of developments in the Soviet Union. This has been reflected by constant rows among the staff on the paper about how to cover developments in eastern Europe. Thus although Gorbachev has acted as a focus for reuniting Stalinist parties in many countries, in the short term this is very unlikely in Britain.
The Morning Star/CPB forces often orientate to movements anc struggles in which we intervene. Their potential influence with Benn/Scargili anc in the Socialist Conference are important for us to combat. In RALGO, for example, the CPB is the sole effective ‘left' force on the executive. If is especially important for us to put in the forces to combat with the CPB is Chesterfield, because this is the one really effective force which could derail it to the right, although its — efforts have not been systematic enough to do this so far. The same is petentiaily true with Women for Socialism. And it goes without saying thet the CPB/Morning Star is an obstruction in a series of unions and international solidairy campaigns.
The major forces of the far left remain the Militant and the SWF. Militant is suffering the consequences of its essentially parasitic propagandism. In the period of the upsurge of Bennism it was weil placed to gain from the lack of organised forces at the base of the Labour Party. Today, with the situation turned round in the LP, and the closing down of the LPYS - in addition to the discrediting of their style of work with many more experienced activists - the influence of Militant is waning, and it has probably numerically declined fromits 5000 or so highpeint. But it remains a well organised force, with a longestablished cadre, and important bases on Merseyside and in some unions. It is still probably the largest organisation of the far left, although in practice often not an obstacle for us because we don't meet them in our work.
Nonetheless, they will be an obstacle for us as we grow, especially in some of 28-
the white coliar unions and in our attempts to establish a viable branch on Merseyside.
The Socialist Workers Party remains a dynamic and influential force, especially among students and young white collar workers. Despite their ‘right’ turn to the ‘united front from below’, the SWP remains a basically ultra-left organisation heavily influenced by syndicalism. In the short term it is much more important for us to engage in en ideological battle with this current than with Militant.
Our debate with them should revolve both around overall theoretical questions, but especially around concrete issues of how to build a revolutionary party — this means essentially the united front, the mass organisations of the class, the question of the construction of a revolutionary Internationa! and the movements of the oppressed. But in the end, they will be challenged only by the construction of an orgencisation with the size, wieght and striking power that can seriously compete with them. Part of the answer to that is the development of our student and youth work - especially student work. But the fundamental issue is whether or not an organisation can be built which can become a serious ‘third force' in the British far left - large enough and dynamic enough to become a pole. of regroupment against the Militant and the SWP.
This poses the issue directly of which organisation is placed to challenge the two major organisations of the far left, Militant and SWP. There are only three organisations with a look-in from this perspective - us, Socialist Organiser and the RCP. The RCP recruits mainly among students, and is only there a major challenge to us. Socialist Organiser is much more of a direct competitor, and we should continue our polemical debate with them over their new ‘schachtmanite' rightist policies. But overall, the key to reshaping the far left is not polemical struggle, although that has its place, but building our own organisation. The issue o° gaining student and youth recruits has come up repeatedly in this review. While our strength has been that we are a pole of regroupment, we lose out on chances to win new recruits because of our neglect of student ond youl. work. This is also an issue of our own party—building profile and profile which is dealt with below. 19) PARTY BUILUING AND 5102 PRESS There is no doubt that che public profile of the organisation needs reinforcing.
While we have mede som: gains over the past period in becoming known as the current around the journal, and have organised our first contingents on demos and produced cur own leaflets, there is still hestiancy about presenting the journal as part of our public face. part of this is tied up with our support for #8. But in general the-e fs little percentage for us in getting everything to go through #3, wiihouic ocpenicing forum and meetings, including contingents on demonstrations, pampuipiiici., leciiets ete directly in the name of the journal.
Only this type of activity will enable us to recruit to our own organisation. We must continue with tne turn on this question made around the China events.
So long as ihe SM dccs not produce a journal and we continue to work through #B the vexed ques‘icn is therefore how to articulate #8 with our own journal and a system of press which can serve the needs of establishing our own political/programmatic identity. It seems incontestable that if we maintain our building of #8, the primary function of our own journal must be to explain our programme and serve the needs of recruiting to us. But how is that best done ?
It can only be done by engaging the crucial ideological debates which animate the labour movement and the political left, and is pitched in such a way as to argue and convince, not just dismiss the ideas of the right. 20—
It seems equally obvious therefore that while adherents of the dominant ideas of the right in the labour movement, the type of ideas of new realism and Marxism Today, will not be the prlsaary readers of our journal, our journal has to arm the militant socialist left to combat these ideas. To do that the journal has to be precisely 6 journal of ideas, of ideclogical combat, and not primarily journal of record, of agitation and mobilisation - which is par excellence the role of #B. Such a journal is capable of reaching a wide audience in the labour movement, and of course especially among the milieu of the Socialist Conference.
If the issue is that of making sure the organisation knows and understands our ‘line’ on all these issues, then it is necessary for our leadership to write the appropriate articles for #5, and for us to strengthen the internal mailing. To dismiss the notion of a journal of ideas as ‘academic’ is to misread the way in which political and ideological ideas permeate the lebour movement. Above all, we cannot make ou: monthly journal a substitute for the weekly paper we do not possess; indeed there is no successful monthly journal in the labour movement which attempts to play such a role, which is structurally impossible to pull off.
Unless our journal has the reputation of being a journal of ideas worth reading, then we siiail not optimise the possibilities of of developing and fighting for our programmatic ideas.
We should resist the idea of developing the journal in the direction of the world movement's fortnightly journal. While analysis of world developments and particlar international struggles has an important olace in our journal, it cannot be the primariy carrier of our ‘badge’ as part of ihe world movement. We have the world movement fortnightly and quarterly theoretical journal to do that job. Selling these journals is the primary way of expressing our identification with the world movement, and regular coverage of @i} the key developments in worid politics.
The issue of the public profile of the organisation and sales of the press and major demonstrations and political events needs reviewing. The lesson of the past period is that to be effective, such interventions need to be organised by the leadership and cannot be left to spontaneous activity by individual comrades and branches. This means reviewing and identifying public events at which such interventions will occur and allocating leadership comrades to lead the intervention on the ground, and mobilising mininaum numbers of comrades from each appropriate branch to be there. Without this form of organisation our public profile gets buried.
The organisation has suffered a defeat in the past period in not being able to hold, since our successful Conway Hall rally on the soniversary of the FI, major public national events. leadership resuurces have to be put into changing this situation; they are major tools of political recruitment, and reinforce the contact work done by the branches. Equally, because of the lack of leadership resources, the lack of progress in the projects of the education commission has harmed our education and recruiment priorities. A new team needs to be set up around this work, who are not burdened by a plethora of other tasks.
The world movemeni's congress will be held in the middle of next year. This ts a4 major opportunity not enly to educate ourselves on the issues of world politics, but also strengthen our identification with the world movement, and deepen the understanding in our ranks of the role and structures of the world movement.
The crisis of the S# and the weird evolution of the C# give us a good chance, if we continue to make progress of being recognised as the British section of the world movement. This should be our goal. 30>
wat.
CONCLUSION The 1989 conference of the group is crucial because we have urgentiy to renew our political priorities, our organisation and party-building. Since ils formation the group has gone forward and made important progress, establishing ilself firmly on the left and gaining a minimum foothold at the level of apparatus and organisation. Now we must take a new step forward, based on the aew siluation which is opening up with the crisis of Thatcherism. The crash of '87 heralded a new slump in the world economy and now we are into it. Economic decline, rising inflation and unemployment — indeed ‘stagflation’ - are the future of Thatcherism. The British economic and social crisis will emerge at a new and higher level. Despite all the damage done to the welfare state and trade union organisation, Brilain is not Chile. The reserves of organisation and militancy which the working class possesses are beginning to reassert themselves sharply - as is the basic and persistent unpoularity of Thatcherism. Renewing the organisation in this period means renewing our commitment to the Socialist Conference movement; overhauling our trade union work, with the aim of trying to extend the range of our implantation and the level of participation in the work by the immense majority of comrades who are in trade unions; committing each branch to carrying forward the perspectives of the youth and student fractions; building mass campaigns, especially on the poll tax; and upping the party~building profile of the journal - this is e perspective which can be carried out. It will win us new adherents towards building an important section of the world movement, and towards the foundation of a revolutionary party.