Taking the Group Forward introduction troduction certain that nothing short of an economic miracle (which | is not on the horizon) can save the Tories and stop Blair forming his alternative capitalist government - with the backing of wide sections of the bourgeoisie.
The bourgeoisie ts looking to Blair to further European capitalist integration and to drive through the reduction in the welfare state budget. This whole project rests on Labour’s ability to discipline the working class, hence Blair’s . obsession with making it clear that Labour’s policies will _ not differ from those of the Tories in their fundamentals, and to reduce the influence of the unions on Labour Party policy-making.
This will be the fault-line of Br itish politics in the ext few years, not only in the sense that the contradictiogs in the character of.the Labour Party.as a bourgeois. workers’. ; basics; our branches should, for example, be the people | touring strikers around the labour movement and beyond, ' building support groups; illustrating the effectiveness of The British political situation will continue to be dominated by pre-Generaj Election manoeuvring. It now seems | struggle and calling for workers’ solidarity of every kind.
This involves actively building up our organisation and the wider ones we participate in, both politically and organisationally, so that they can intervene to maximum effect when future widescale conflict occurs, In general terms this means:
Encouraging, promoting and giving practical support and tactical advice to struggles which break out now.
Arguing, wherever possible, for action now in defence of workers’ interests rather than waiting for a Blair gov-ernment, pointing out among other things that a fight now makes it more difficult for Blair to avoid the issues in government. - Building campaigns around-key issues (minimum wage, defence of welfare, anti-tinion laws. state racism etc) which have the dual: role of both promoting / supporting action.n now and of Fighting for: a labour movement commit-. ~ party ‘have ‘always bééi* grunibling “away, but in’ their explosive potential if revolutignaries position themsél ves correctly.
The'situation in thé class struggle is extremely: “unlikely to turnaround in. thé-short:term. Overall,.low levels of. strike action will continue. This does not mean that no industrial action will occur, but that it is. unlikely té be widespread. All the major unions (even those whose lead- -erships- are critical of Blair)-have made-it-elear that-they will not Jead action over issues like pay and jobs. In the current climate unofficial (illegal) action is highly unlikely | to break through into a major dispute, although there will continue to be a steady spate of sharp outbreaks. . Nor can it be predicted exactly when this situation2will | turn around (so many months / years into a Blair government) or its form (it is unlikely to be a precise re-run of the events of 1974-79 under the last Labour government).
The driving force for conflict with a Blair government will be working class action (especially in trade unions) in defence of its interests, with or without sections of the trade union bureaucracy. A-layerof the MO-membership will be radicalised by such an outbreak of class struggle.
It is important to appreciate the linkage between the MO | and trade unions. We should fight for the left in the unions to mount a serious political challenge to the MO bureaucracy, and to link up with left organisations in the MO. This will mean both winning MO members to active solidarity with the current disputes and ensuring that those members radiculised by such struggles take up an organised political fight with the MO bureaucracy. [tis therefore necessary fora revolutionary organisation I “ment. ~~ Within each union and also across the unions building open democratic left organisation which not only argue for and build for action now, but which also mount a challenge bureaucracy’$:opposition t te a_fight now.-and -its 7. / support for Blair, -In:the MO building a left organisation which attempts to link: up with the left in the unions, politically and structurally, campaigning around all these issues-and-pur--- suing a challenge to all aspects of the right’s agenda.
There are important issues (Ireland, European Union etc) on which no campaign currently exists. Although we will not be able to devote large resources to these areas, wé recognise the importance of thé issues involved and will attempt to raise them throughout our work and provide propaganda which can be used at relevant events. : ™Ovef and above all these - the stfm being oreater than. the individual parts - we promote our analysis of what a Blair government will mean and what this implies for the tasks of the Left, the wider movement and the working ‘class-as a whole. While buildingsunited frontstaround © various individual and mulliple issues, we do not fail to raise our own politics, nor do we avoid, when it is necessary, though not for its own sake, raising our disagreements ° with those with whom we are engaged in common campaigns. The line we advocate is designed to educate and | win militants to a line that can take the struggle forward rather than to simply ‘‘make the record”.
Our general slogan for the general election will be along the lines of ’Vote Labour and Fight for Our Needs’. We - need to take the lead, wherever possible in setting a posito prepare for this conflict. We have to re-learn some tive agenda for the left which poses socialism as a realistic
alternative to the policies of Blair and the Tories. Our propaganda will need to engage both with those on the Left who say Labour is so right wing that the left cannot have anything to do with it and those with illusions in what a Blair government will or might do. We will encourage trade union and MO left organisations in which we are involved to produce material along these lines.
Running through this activity must be the importance of building our own organisation, paying particular attention to the recruitment of youth, both tn our propaganda and in areas where youth are active.
We will be involved in campaigns which are nol’ labour movement based’. We do not present an ultimatum to such campaigns that they should become so, but do argue that in order to further their campaigns their arguments and activities need to be taken into the labour movement, while doing this ourselves. We attempt to convince individuals of our orientation to the labour movement as part of winning them to the organisation.
TASKS Critical in implementing the tasks outlined below is the understanding that they represent a politically integrated whole. For example, if a comrade is not organisationally involved in anti-racist work this does not mean that they do not raise this issue in their trade union or MO work, or in campaigns around welfare. provision. It is important to _fepresent the whole of. the political.liné of the > groilp i in.this.5 period. These tasks are centralising task for the gfoup and nota pick and mix. They need to be carried out collectively by the group in order to have both maximum political impact and to enable the group to, draw a balancésheet at ‘the-next conference:-This-will-inevitably mean-a Feining: in of the federalism that i is currently te) debilitating. 2 Through our own propaganda we must, while calling clearly for a Labour vote and putting forward demands on a Labour government, also explain what role at Labour » government will play and the tasks of the Left in;relation to it. 7 ; There is also the need for a wider campaign from the ° Left of the movement linking up those in the trade unions, CLPs and campaigns who are willing to continue the fight over LP policy and link up with existing struggles (such as against education cuts). Despite the problems awith the | policy and building of the Birmingham conference of | Socialist Policies for a Labour Government, this is still the best vehicle for this and we will insist on its recall in early ’96 to formulate plans for a campaign. We will need to play a major part if such a campaign is to be built, while recognising that its scope will be limited in the current situation. Our emphasis will be on the demands which are lam key to the struggles of the working class and specially | oppressed, such as the anti-union laws, defence of welfare provision and opposition to the Asylum Bill.
G EES) 1. Trade Union Tasks The anu-union legislation passed by the Tories since 1980 attempted to shackle the unions by a dual strategy.
Not only does tt strengthen the law against all forms of effective industrial action by the rank and file but far more importantly it immensely strengthens the trade union bureaucracy against this rank-and-file. The fight for the repeal of all anti-trade union legislation is a key task.
Victories in this area are central to beginning a working class fightback. Such victories can only be achieved through mass working class defiance of these laws. We should fight for the unions not to comply with these laws.
Despite the best of intentions our organisation’s trade union work is patchy and disorganised. Many comrades’ activity is based on years of personal experience, with a deep implantation, key positions etc. Branches understand the need to turn around events in their local trade union movement and how to raise issues of a national importance. However, our work remains poorly coordinated, with weak fractions and little integration into the overall work of the group. For some this is seen as a validation of the argument that we have concentrated too long on an “entry” perspective. We refute this view and believe it is vital that we rebuild our trade union work as an important part of our perspectives, Strike activity is at an unprecedented low. While we believe-that it may be.some time. before-we.see any-major struggles against the capitalist offensive breaking out, it is nevertheless the case that isolated instances of struggle will occur. As an organisation we have to be ready to nurture;these. ‘“‘green shoots’’..Because of the current.low . pointéven’ fairly minor:local disputes can take*on an’ exaggerated national importance. We wish to build broad based campaigns of solidarity, which we cai take into the wider trade union movement but which also are able to be taken up at a political level. Clearly struggle inside the public sector immediately comes up against the question of Labour’s aspirations as a party of government, but in the current situation this is also the case with private sector struggles which. confront.the whole issue of how Labour relates to the current anti-trade union legislation.
Inside individual unions we argue not just for solidarity with others but for our.own problems to be resolved through struggle. We aim to build broad left formations of all those willing to practically promote such an attitude, against a line of waiting for a Labour government. How- | ever this does not mean we abandon the fight to develop policy denfands to be placed on such a government. On the contrary we see a key integration of our MO and trade union tasks the fight for left formations to adopt a practical _ attitude towards determining Labour policy.
Building from the ground up Whilst it is impossible to prescribe tactics applicable to all workplaces and all unions, the general thrust of all our work in them, should be directed at their ‘regeneration’ or “revival’ (as far as this is possible) from the grassroots upwards. This will, under the direction of the CC / trade union fraction consist in the first place of basic agitational
whi ‘ ‘ work around such things as pay and conditions, our own campaigning priorities, the strengthening and democratising of workplace / branch / national organisations, building up local Trades Councils and County Associations, work- | ing with the above mentioned MO left, etc. The principal objective of this work is both to strengthen the labour movement and our base in it, to help bring us into closer contact with the best (if only few at this stage) activists within each workplace / branch / national union or local TUC, who should be seen along with the youth as our principal audience in the next period.
Building the existing union ‘lefis’ The forthcoming pamphlet will help our practical work and assist us all in coming to a better understanding of the | forces at play in our trade union work. An elaboration of a ° clear line of march for each union and across the trade unions as a will inevitably involve fighting (within whatever formation(s)) for a policy of greater accountability of officials and for rank and file control over the unions, maintenance of the trade union link with Labour (where this exists) and for a Labour government as early as posunorganised sectors, the fight for full employment and a minimum wage, better wages and conditions, defence of the welfare, opposition to racism and“fascism. It should also include a rigorous fight on our part against the sectarian and-opportunist division of.the genuine left forces into competing left formations in the unions, against the methods of the SWP, Militant, CPB, Workers press, etc, which rather than leading to an effective challenge to the bureaucracy leads to its maintenance and strengthening. “a Existing trade union alliances Sectionalism is the curse of British trade unionism. n In order to build workers’ solidarity we must.break dowd the sectional barriers within and between.the unions. :
Trade Union Socialists (formerly SMTUC), is no longer viable as an independent entity. If is has any relevahce, then it ts as helping to build a broader cross union alliance than it was ever able to do. We should argue for this and seek to involve its supporters as far as possible in such a ‘project. The STA’s proposal for a cenferenée of broad lefts could be a useful springboard which we sould supportand build. UNISON’s CFDU is certain to support the initiative and other unions’ lefts are likely to follow. Whatever its aims, it is likely to be dominated, at least in the short term, by public sector (or recently privatised) union lefts. Our comrades are likely to be playing an important, though far from dominant, role in this new development. . ~ a We also need to relate to Trade Union News, the paper of the National Trades Council Conference / movement.
We should argue for TUN to support any attempts to build | a left wing link-up across the unions. The last TUN AGM | agreed to call a conference of the Left in the unions; we | should support and build this and argue for it to link in with the STA initiative.
The biggest fatlure of the SCG and the MO left gener- _ sible, repeal of all anti-union laws, recruitmentincurrently : ally, despite its intentions, has been tts inability to build and develop comprehensive links with the larger trade union left, over concentrating on individual left activists in the CLPs. This is a deep historical problem. At a local ' level we should seek to build links between Socialist Campaign groups and Trades Councils. Nationally we need to build on its verbal support for our cross Trade Union project.
Within certain union lefts, such as the RMT and UNI- SON, there is support for Scargil?s SLP project among some key activists. While engaging them in constructive discussion we have to make clear not only our opposition to this project but also to any idea of tying trade unton Left formations into support for it. This would not only split these organisations, but also divert them from some of the key tasks facing the Left in the unions.
Trades councils These are an ‘official’ vehicle through which to promote both our campaigning priorities and our general methods and ideas, Further, the programme of work adopted by the National Trades Council Conference in Bristol, prioritised similar campaigning issues to ourselves - full employment, minimum wage, defence of welfare (including support for the WSN and Action), anti-racism / fascism (including support for the anti-detention centre: initiative), repeal of the CJA and other anti-union laws We must be wary, however, of seeing Trades Councils as a substitute for working in an MO left formation locally. The opportunities for working in both arenas should be taken.
MO lefis Qvorth: their salt) either supporters of the | SCGN of not (or sol B* , Tribune etc.) should be encouraged to be: active in local TUCs. Caucusing at Trades Council level could also provide a new axis around which ~ to carry forward our MO work, since many local TUC delegates (from LP a affiliated unions) are also delegates to local CLPs etc, 2A) ‘great many. TUCs are in a position to. propose direct urlited fronts with thdir corresponding CLP/DLPs, Labour MPs. MEPs and couhcillors, plus the wider working class movement around specific issues. This opens potential opportunities to us both tn our agitational and propaganda work - putting us fi contact with broader layers (to our | right) who we could not hope to reach via our own efforts alone.
The trade union movement is in general conscious of its own age profile. Th¢ openness of the bureaucracy to new ideas on this creates a potential opening for us. There is also the question of Jow pay and JSA etc., and a growing awareness of the néed for unionisation in the fast food industry. Youth comrades should attend trade union fractions to see how these ideas can be incorporated into our overall work | in the tf ade unions.
Géneral ~ - * - Our other main areas of work should be to build up and strengthen left forces within the various unions. In unions like the TGWU where there is no existing open organised left body, attempts should be made, even at a local level, to work closely with left activists and perhaps to set up groups.
We should continue lo give committed support Lo extsting union left bodies such as the STA and CFDU. We should not allow ilusions in grand alliances with bureaucrats to cloud us on the basic issues which are for the democratisation of the union, the fight around pay and
conditions and so on. These inevitably involve a fight against the bureaucracy however anti-Blairite they may sound. We cannot sacrifice these basic issues in favour of an anti-Blair platform.
MO links The fight to maintain the trade union / MO links will be one of the crucial battles in the working class, at least for the duration of the Blair leadership. We must actively engage in that struggle. The ties between the trade union / MO are far deeper then the formal ‘links’. Our demands to repeal the anti-union laws, restore government cults, renationalise services and industries; are all demands on the MO and a future MO government.
The close connections between the MO and the trade union bureaucracy also run deep. This is why the bureaucracy has swallowed changes detrimental to its own interests. Yet they still retain considerable power in the MO and could command powerful support in the PLP if they chose to mobilise it.
Sections of the trade union bureaucracy will come into conflict with the MO leadership in the coming period. This will be because their own material interests are threatened and because they are pushed forward by their own mem- . bers. We will find ourselves in temporary alliances with 2 these bureaucrats. Although we must support themrdgainst = Blair, we never support them against their union member- = = ship. We are fighting to overthrow them. 4 Internal tasks of. the group |. - 4 Building and developing our trade union fractions must be seen as an absolute priority for our organisation: Trade union comrades must be won to the view that their ffaction work, 3 Trade.union fractions are responsible for developing (in conjunction with leadership bodies) our group’s dine in their individual unions. The fractions should act as coordinators of the work of our comrades in their unions. They must also take responsibility for promoting our group and recruiting new members to our branches. Although we cannot anticipate large-scale recruitment in the unions in 3 the short to medium term, experienced trade union recruits are worth their weight i in gold.
The trade union Commission must be reinforced and deli lntid {ait § [le at fraction. The first and foremost responsibility of the Cssn. is leading, coordinating and learning from the trade union fractions. The Cssn. must act as a two-way conduit, be- =; tween the leadership and the trade union €adre. Where it. -“ is not possible to organise an effective fraction, the Cssn. must take direct responsibility for the coordination and support of the comrades affected, with a view to the eventual creation of new fractions.
The Cssn. must also take responsibility for organising the training and development of our trade union cadre and the recruitment of trade union contacts. This would involve a programme of cross-union educationals and discussion forums. Collectivisation of our experience also means that the trade union fractions and commission should report to the leadership and organisation as a whole (via the [DB) on their activity. _expanded to include a representative of every tradé union is at least as ‘significant as their branchin organising their | ’ Union work generally must be made more a part of ° branch culture, not left to the individuals directly concerned, cas 2. MO Tasks The profile of the group is defined by tts location as an organisation, not the activity of every individual in it. We are located within the MO, as well as the trades unions and campaigns. What is done, and where it is done, at a branch level will be the product of two things. First the overall politically centralising tasks of the group as decided by conference and, second, on the basis of specificities of each locality, e.g., the balance of political forces, the nature of the local MO and trade union movement etc.
Socialist Campaign Groups now exist tn virtually all the places where the group has members. Our comrades should be centrally involved in them. We should aim to get the local SC Groups to do three things:
To fight politically in the local MO for a defence of. welfare including a fight against Labour's attack on youth through ifs benefit and workfare proposals; for a maintenance of the trade union link, for the minimum wage and other key i issues. In doing this we build broad campaigns in order to draw in new forces.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the battle for policy will not be the only focus of our MO work. It is critical to turn SCG members—and with them other party members—outwards in order to give practical support to local struggles and campaigns, and in doing so to win new members, to the MO left from outside.
It:is important for local. SCGs, to get seriously involved | in the national network: to:send delegates to its steering committees-so that local experiences can-be generalised, so that the Network nationally can be given a higher political profile and, in due course, be seen as acentral part of the political alternative to the Blair leadership.
A central task of the SCG nationally is to build links with the left in the trade unions. Another task is to encourage the Network to take itself seriously in policy terms. A first-step inthis will be to ‘develop a policy discussion-especially on economic policy.
We have to vigorously oppose Scargill’s intention of _ Setting up a‘new. Socialist Labour Party. While there are ¢g important question as to its programme, constitution, commitment to democratic functioning etc, the overriding reason why we oppose this is because it comes at precisely the wrong time ~ when the class’ struggle isat:an extremely low ebb, Labour is about to win a general election overwhelmingly, and there is a battle to be fought within the labour movement. Scargill’s project diverts a section of the - Left away from this task. We will need to attend meetings called, particularly their founding conference, to argue this line. There will be a layer of activists who will be interested in but not committed to the Scargill project; these are the people we must concentrate our argument upon. Meanwhile we should be completely open to working with Scargill’s supporters in our campaigning work.
td Malic ee * say 4 wang 3. Youth Work Every branch should have the project of winning youth to our ranks. The primary area for this will be where youth who have a socialist orientation and are active. Where they are will depend on the locality; it might be students, or | Young Labour or young trade union activists. The issue | might be anti-racism, welfare provision work or direct action on an issue of ecology.
Where possible we should participate in YMO. We | should be prepared to stand for positions in local YMO | groups where this will be useful. We should participate in | student MO clubs, but we do not counterpose MO clubs to | building other broad left groups in the student union, We ! attempt to involve these groups in campaigning activities We should fight in each location for a united campaign | against Gordon Brown’s proposals on ’workfare’, and for the minimum wage and full employment. In the YMO this | means taking up the fight against policy and linking with | trade union activists and other youth activists outside the MO. This is an issue which affects youth across the board . and an ideal way lo carry out our integrated approach to | * our work in this period. In our trade union work we should } | . system of press as outlined below. campaign against 'workfare’; however, at the same time we must fight for the:unionisation of youth brought into | the workplace on any-such schemes. No one should have , the illusion that this will produce large numbers of members inthe short term. This-work. will..be. impossible, however, without propaganda aimed at these youth which | is political rather than. cultural?
Liberation! should:be made the youth paper of the ye and built through the.structures of the I**. In ‘particular youth work should-be-co-ordinated through-the branches“|"; All branches of the organisation should regularly : discuss Liberation!, which should declare itself as Socialist Outlook’s youth paper. Liberation should have a more eduicational and far less commentarist character. The frequency of publication should be part of the discussion on our i FT q £ Not least because of the Maastricht conditions; a Blair government will continue the attack against welfare provision - in the broadest terms, the NHS, benefits, education, housing etc. - and this will be one of the issues around which conflict between-a Blair government and- the working class is most likely. We need to combine building: the limited struggles happening already around aspects of welfare provision at the same time as taking the fight through the unions and MO both for support for those struggles and demands on a Blair government in terms of the maintenance and extension of provision.
Branches have to become involved in campaigns around | defence of aspects of the welfare stale locally, building — FACE groups and selling ACTION, at the same time taking the issues involved into the local labour movement, winning focal NUT support for FACE. 1.
As part of this we have to take this fight to those bureaucrats who claim to support the battle (such as the Campaign to Defend the Welfare State), calling on them to give their support to action taking place now and in the ~ future and to mount a real fight throughout the labour movement against Blair's assault on provision. | 5. Ant ‘racist fand anti-fascist) Work The implementation of racist immigration laws throughout the EU is central to the project of capitalist i integration through the EU. In Britain this ts already underway. Blair will, in accordance with Schengen, further . strengthen the implementation of the Asylum Bill. With the attacks on welfare being carned out by Blair in gov- ; ernment, it is possible that there will be a resurgence and growth of far right activity—that is, if this space ts not closed down by a defeated Tory party fatling into the hands ! of the Portillo / Redwood current, The proposed new Immigration and Asylum Bill repre-sents the most important attack on black people in Britain for several decades. For the Tories it is motivated both on grounds of capitalist competitiveness and for ideological _ reasons#ie a conscious determination to play the race-card.
The response of Blair’s New Labour, equivocating on repeal and calling for a-standing committee to achieve ‘consensus’, panders to both the economic:and political’ =: ‘progratfime of the Tories. At the same time, these propos- ~ als have the potential to bring together the most important sections of the anti-racist movement and the labour movement in "a campaign of opposition. The setting up of the hese launched at an impressive meeting ‘at the House of Com- -mons.calling for a lobby of Parliament on Dec 19th anda .. mass demonstration on February 24th, provides the opportunity to build the most united anti-racist activity for years.
The task of our organisation, which has long argued for anti-racist unity, must be to build the broadest possible support for these initiatives, participating in and where necessary setting up Jocal meetings and rallies with wide sponsorship from black, anti-racist and labour movement bodies. — - Atthe same time we efight within the trade unions, where | the balance of forces permits, for non=cooperation with the * bill by those members who will be required to operate the pernicious internal controls, and for their support across the labour and anti-racist movements. Within the Labour _ Party we seek both to jnvolve the brpadest sections of the = party in the campaign against the bill and for a clear commitment for repeal from an incoming labour government. We should also take up the campaign in the student movement, probably though participation in the Student Assembly against Racism.
None of this is at all counterposed to our continuing involvement in the Campaign against Immigration Detentions and activily around the particular camps such as Campsfield and Harmondsworth, Bul the detention camps, baneful as they remain, are no longer at the cutting edge of the state’s offensive against black people and can there-
fore no longer be the central way we take up anti-racism.
The national campaign should however be an integral part of the campaign against the bill, and we should continue to put resources into it and to link up with other anti-deportation campaigns.
This should give the basis to take the anti-racist movement forward.
We argue for a transitional programme to tackle the problems of unemployment, poor housing, education, social provision and so on, which give the breeding ground for racism and fascism.
A central principle of anti-fascist work is “no platform’’. The trade unions and all workers’ organisations must fight the rise of racism and fascism. They must put no reliance on state forces to defeat fascism or defend oppressed communities and minorities from attacks by racist / fascist thugs.
The anti-racist and anti-fascist movement we argue for is a democratic united front bringing together all groups fighting Racism and fascism and recognising the autonomy of those groups directly under attack from racists and fascists.
The existing anti-racist and anti-fascist movement ts in a very disparate state, both at local and national level.
Branches will have to make local decisions on how to do anti-racist work based on local conditions. The basis for our work is to take the campaign into the labour movement, pressurising the official movement to take up our demands.
The spring conference of the National. Assembly is something that we should be building extensively with the widest possible delegations. The Assembly has wide labour movement support, but has political problems—it i is close to the ARA line of being content to win token support of Labour and trade union bureaucrats without challenging their reluctance to build mobilisations. This line needs to be challenged at this forthcoming conference. . % We should call on ARA, YRE and ANL to diop the belief that they can outflank the labour movement bureaucracy — they should join the fight to force the bureaucracy to take anti-racism seriously. At the same time support for particular YRE, ANL or ARA mobilisations will dfepend on a concrete assessment of the situation.
We should make use of our record of long term activity around anti-racism and anti-fascism, our production of the Bob Smith Memorial book and our membership of the WM to-organise-forums:/ public meetings-onm anti= racism to~+ further our profile and party building. cca 6. International Solidarity Bosnia While the peace settlement holds, we should (critically) support independent trade union initiatives in ex-Yugoslavia, specifically the proposed Tuzla trade union paper, getting trade unions to order and distribute the English-lanwuage edition as 4 solidarity task.
At the same time we should be making propaganda around multi-ethnicity linking it to our anti-racist work, ‘ ” the continued NATO occupation, and what's wrong with * the peace settlement.
If the peace settlement breaks down, we will need to discuss resumption of more active Bosnia solidarity work. freland We recognise that treland is an important issue tn any discussion of tasks for revolutionaries in Britain. There is a separate discussion on Ireland at conference. We expect the incoming leadership to carry out ther line and tasks decided in that discussion.
EE 7. Build the International — The international remains one of our most under-used resources, not just in terms of its press, but also tts personnel. It would be, for example, of great benefit to both us and our comrades abroad to have regular British tours of comrades from other sections discussing politics. The same is true “‘in reverse”’ At the moment we should have a member of the LCR going around our branches, and beyond, discussing the current wave of militancy in defence of welfare in France, our - we should be talking to them. involvement in the struggles, and how British workerscan "— both learn from and give support to the fight. This is basic internationalism. Jt does not need to cost a great deal of money—indeed, such is the enthusiasm in the group for stalking-to comrades from abroad that it could easily.-be financed. It is a matter of political will and organisational ability. > We need to be urging Europe-wide initiatives of the = Ss ve Als properly informed of the debates in the international — ‘knowledge is essential in informing discussion. It should not be the sole property of particular individuals or tendencies.
BUILDING THE GROUP The health of the group, bad enough at last conference has deteriorated since. It has almost reached the state of ‘meltdown The political situation (low level of class strug-gle, domination ofthe labour movement by the right, etc) “plays an important role in this, as does the ageing profileof the membership, but at root is the Jack of confidence by the membership in the organisation. An organisation with aclear analysis of the situation and of how itcan buildatself ‘can go forward in éven the worst circumstances - mofe so if its analysis and perspectives are correct. Instead, we have stumbled along for years with an eclectic mishmash of | perspectives designed more to keep the same core leadership in control than guide an organisation. Only with a break from such practice can we begin to stabilise and Brow.
There is widespread feeling in the organisation that our financial situation is a downward spiral - however much dues comrades pay, however much they fundraise, makes no difference, the organisation merely seems to reel on from one financial crisis to another, While the finances are Evéry comradé“in our own’ group needs to be “kept
I hot in an actual ongoing crisis, we remain under enormous pressure because of our declining dues base — we are in retreat not advance, This cannot be ignored. The basic structures of our finances are, not to put too fine a point on it, ina mess. A thorough restructuring is posed. This demands leadership resources, if we are not to put our guarantors in serious danger. To get to grips with this we need a total audit of the finances of the organisation - all assets, debts (both recurring and historical), accurate accounts for the paper (sales and costs) etc. Only with such an audit is it possible for us to make informed decisions about what our resources allow us to do. This thorough audit must be an urgent priority of the incoming CC, followed by a laying out of the options for the organisation (such as selling the centre and acquiring cheaper premises), This must be followed by proper discussion throughout the branches and a one-day conference to take | decisions on finances. Only by such means can the membership feel informed and involved in crucial decisions.
Similarly over the question as to what type of press we sales and costs and information from the branches about how many papers are actually sold rather than merely paid . for, decisions are mere voluntarism, divorced from the | questions of sustainability atid usefulness. Only within the parameters of viability can we have a proper discussionias to the system of press we need. Decisions need to be taken after the widest possible involvement of the branches ag to the type of press we need and is viable within our financial constraints. This should similarly be taken at a one,day | conference. Only on the basis-of full financial knowledge can we be in a position to make these decisions. We should continue the current system of press until the next CC has carried out a proper audit of resources. _ ~ 4 The incoming leadership has to take responsibility { tor restoring confidence in the organisation and its effectiveness. This can only be achieved in several (interactilg) ways:- ; Forward planning - the organisation is at best reactive, responding to events as they are about to happen. We are | letalone , no longer even ‘‘the best builders of campaigns”, organisers of our work. A regular informative IDB is essential to this. it is vital to return to the practice of drawing up balance sheets. Such are not intended to allocate praise or blame; they are necessary in order to collectivise our experience : and learn for the future. The incoming CC is charged with . preparing our own interventions. To be effective the or- | " ganisation needs to discuss major events sufficientlytin advance that we can convince the branches of our line and argue it publicly. _ The leadership need to be leading our work, not just: “aS members or even convenors of commissions, but actually involved in the work itself.
Liaison between the branches and the leadership needs to be considerably improved. The national office mist ensure that every branch receives a full CC report-back shortly after each CC meeting, rather than leaving it up to the branches to contact the office. Similarly, we need to re-institute branch organisers’ meetings and ensure that branch organisers recognise it as an important political task to attend.
Our work must be collectivised, centralised and inte-— grated, so that not only ts the leadership aware of what we are doing in the various spheres; but this knowledge is also shared by the branches to enable them to become effective conducting or commissioning balance sheets on our experiences both of our intervention onto campaigns and of the wider class struggle.
Having adopted a “‘line’’, the leadership must take responsibility for arguing for it tn the organisation and ensuring that the organisation fights for it publicly. The process does not end with CC decisions.
While the annual summer school has been a success, this is too often seen as virtually the be all and end alt of education in the organisation. The strategy discussion has shown up the problems with this. Regular educationals are not only essential for newer comrades but also for ensuring long-standing members do not ‘‘forget”’ the essentials of ' Trotskyism. should have. Without full information about paid paper | The incoming CC is charged with continuing the strategy debate and developing it within the group. It will be a. major item at next conference.
Where the functioning of our structures is rusty or even non-existent — whether branches, commissions or trade union and other fractions — the teadership, must share responsibility for helping to organise and motivate comrades to ensure they function. Again, without such collectivisation we-cannot be a revolutionary organisation, rather than a collection of individuals.
We have to use our limited human resources as effectively as possible. While it is not going to be possible, in the.short term, to increase our apparatus there is an untapped resource which we do not make use of - our membership. Members, particularly London ones, should be positively encouraged to put time in at the centre, wherever during weekdays, evenings, or at weekends, to assist the office with the many tasks which currently fall on fulltimers. This would free up fulltimers for more effective liaison with the branches and leadership of areas of work.
We have to become a recruiting and welcoming organisation. All branches,:as well as meeting regularly must have a meeting at least.once a month, whether public forum or branch discussion, to which they can invite contacts.
With our limited resources we have to make much greater use of leaflets for particular demonstrations, conferences etc to publictse our line and draw people around us.
We should collectivise our understanding of other groups that we come! into contact with in our political work, to guard against distorted views arising from partial experiences. The leadership should direct any debates with other organisations, To this end, the incoming CC will commission and discuss sertous analyses of other left organisations, These can then be used as a basis for both internal educational material and to inform articles in our press. Itis only by such a serious approach that we can also judge whether approaches to other organisations for closer work and/or discussion about the levels of programmatic and strategic agreement are realistic.