Labours' disappearing Mass support for Rock Against Racism: no such echo for Tom Sawyer's plans PHOTO: Carlos Guarita/Reflex youth This year's Labour Party conference made constitutional changes which alter the party's youth structures beyond recognition. DAVID SHEPHERD asks: whatever happened to the Labour Party Young Socialists?
their Tailure In huild the LPYS into anything like the mass movement it had 1980g). Such views are Consider the Labour Party women's conference was a pillar of the left, passing socialist policy positions on a range of issues. IL waR not Militant-led - and yet it was not spared the Kin- nockite steamroller in the form of a reorganisation designed to marginalise tre the potential to become (especially in the early completely misplaced. For many years the women's organisation. URES m but by a "wider franchise' was an attempt to smash the other agreed proposals and actions. All regional LPYS abolished: the LPYS ago- Limit was reduced from 26 to "23rd birthday" (that is, tively abolished and it was executive would be elected not hy LPYS conference whose exact dimensions 22); the LPYS paper decided that the youth rep LPYS was shattered by youth committees were Socialist Youth was effec- resentative on the national were left deliberately vague.
ation process wluch led to Despite the difficulties which they will face. itiative in the party. Meanwhile the task of regaining the youth vote for Labour is far too predicament of young people in Thatcher's position from a party leadership which has cal youthtul voices than witning youth back to SOÇIALIST OUTLOOK no 11 December 1988/January 1989 left and reimpose central control. It is clear that the party leadership would have moved, similarly, against any fonn of left leadership in the LPYS - and the duty af all prin- cipled socinlists should have beca unconditional against bureaucratic inter- There is another parallel with the experience of the women's organisation. ing Militunt, Socialist Ac- tion and Socialist Or- gunter, took the view that 1l was appropnale to par- ticipate in the consult- the destruction of the LPYS as Labour's youth inovement, just as Socialist Action argued, amongst others, for participation in the "review" of the wonen's organisation. This was wrong, It was also unprincipled. From heginning to end the 'consultation" was an exercise in witch bunt- ing: participation by the left gave it legitimacy which it did not deserve. So what of the future young socialists should continue to participate actively in the new youth structures of the party - at every level. The demand for a real youth movement - with its own structures, canipaigns and policy-making procedures - remains valid, and will be taken up increasingly in the important to be left to the dead hand of the party leadership. It involves developing and fighting for encialist policies which rcally address the Britain - and it must be done in the teeth of op shown itself to be more intent on silencing criti- defence of the LPYS future, especially when the left regains the in Sections of the left, includ ference. for Labour's youth? Appealing to youth? Bryan Gould, the new face of the party The quorum for LPYS branch meetings has less than 25 memhers and to eight per cent for doubled from five to ten and a number of other rule changes in relation to branch functioning at the meicy of constituency Labour parties and The role of the NYCC and the 'national youth conference have heen codified in the new rules. Itisclearthat this "broad' conference is to have no policy-making function: its role is exhibitions, meetings and events of a political, ly that youth in Kinnock's new model Labour There are some on the left who have argued brought all of this upon themselves because of their undoubted sectarian propagandism and activities' has heen axed! (One wonders just what is the LPYS now allowed to organise?) been raised from five to six for branches with larger branches, the minimum number of mem- bers required to set up a branch has been have the effect of putting branches very much to 'organise workshops, debates, discussions, cultural and sporting nature'. The view is clear- Party are to be seen and not heard - expecially that the Militant leadership of the LPYS have on questions of policy. regional officials: stitutional changes which destroy the LPYS as party — and have bounced back when the left as: The administration of the LPYS itself is no longer the job of the LPYS national committee, governing the proceedings of LPYS national moved against the left wing Lahour League of tion and reducing the age-limit to 21. Again in 1955 the League of Youth was dishanded, with the abolition of all national and regional stnic- tures, Predictably enough, Labour's youth movements have tended to come in for attack in times of right wing ascendancy within the This year's party conference brought the current chapter of the chequered history of Lahour's youth movements to a closc. Con- the national youth wing of Labour were carried whose function is now to 'advise" the national executive on such matters. Standing orders conference are now subject to approval by the Even the rule which allowed the LPYS to or- ganise "summer schools, rallies and political visory Committee and the youth paper New Na- Youth, closing down the National Youth Ad- on the leadership's rocommendation. a whole has been on the offensive. Edgi Wayne inton party's youth organisation groups represented on the An annual "broad' youth NYCC, at which the youth 198B LPYS conference was for many years no LPYS precedent. In 1936 a right clected by 'electoral college'. A review ofLPYS with the aim of bringing proposals for constitutional structures, to the 1988 party conference would be con representalive would be rules was commissioned, change, in line with the new cancelled by the national executive: for the first time Is not without historical wing Lahour leadership vened, involving the Soon afterwards the conference tonk place. conference. Page 14
FEATU Edginton Wayne By a happy coincidence the Union of revision conference took place only a dustrial action, in the middle of a half- baked campaign (against crown office but fails to Communication Workers' (UCW) rules couple of weeks after one bout of in- holds back Communication the tears stem the Tuffin Union of Workers tide
Alan Tuffin (left) with right wing Engineers leader Bill Jordan closures) and a series of one-day strikes Bearing in mind bow solid the action over the Difficult Recruitment Area Supplement by clerical and counter staff.
Page 15 way of overcoming its present political problems, its lack of national profile and its low level of activity. It is certainly nowhere near representing a national alternative to the present one hundred percent Kinnockite executive council: yet that is what, if more effective, a If the broad left is to break out of its isola- tion it will have to find a way of tuming to the devclopments on the ground which we have al- sibility of providing a lead to tens of thousands, rather than pockets and handfuls of postal workers. However if past performance is any- The failings of the hroad left so far should not leave us too pessimistic about the future. In an industry where many thousands of workers were still in primary school when Thatcher was places, aggressive and confident after its first Recent elections in branches have scen left knows that after the debacle on the shorter working week and the shoddy DRAS settle- ment, they will have to give a good account of themselves in the next fight - unless they want Billy Carron thing to go by, the pruspects are not encourag- elected, the rank and file is, though unevenly in wingers elected or re-clected with their authority enhanced. The Tuffin leadership to risk finding themselves out in the cold ready referred lo. This would offer the pos experience of an undefeated national strike. hroad left should aim to he delivering letters again! working - traditionally the touchiest subject in start: but it is likely lo be only a matter of weeks the industry. I is not possible to predict when exactly the next cruphon will be or how it will cial in the strike. The national leadership found itself reacting to initiatives from branchen and districts, and failed to build or lead the strike it- self. Credit mus go to excellent local leader- ships, particularly in Cardiff and Liverpool. Large branches much as Manchester which have their own office premiser were able to lend practical support to Amaller branches in outly- There in a lesson in this: the crusting district council structure of the LICW was in areas like South Wales supplemented by organisation which developed to mirror that of the Past However the role of the broad left in the strike was barely perceptible. The UCW broad ly dominated by supporters of Militant: so much so that they used their numbers to prevent porters onto the broad left's national steering committee. Nevertheless the broad left is the Banising members on a national level on a ing areas, despite the vacillation oflocal leader- left, as is so often the case, is almost complete- the clection of Socialist Workers Party sup- ouly group in the union which is capable of or- It goes without saying that all left wingers in the UCW should join the broad left. That is one The cole of branch organisation proved cru Office'wwn letter territories: perspective of class struggle. ships ou the eventual deal. SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 11 December 1988/January 1989 (DRAS) had been — the national strike spread around the country horizontally through branch action, with only the retrospective endorsement of the UCW sexecutive —and given the intense The anticipated public hanging did not take place, but Tuffin did lose votes on preventing broken down - apparenty irreversibly. Tuffin, fice Board, and congratulated himself and the Both the govemment and the Post Office want while in Glasgow there are five hundred people on the waiting list for casual and temporary johe Although the Post Office management was anger felt against generad secretary Alan Tuf- bi-annual elections al branch and executive leveL and seeking to cut the amount of money refunded to branches from the UCW's nation- Atthe close of the conference came two very significant speeches Les Hewitt announced that talks with the Post Office over DRAS had literally choking back the tears, angrily com plained about the "Thatcherism' of the Post Of. executive for their previous moderation. He then announced that he, and they, were This will take place sooner rather than later. to impose regional pay selllements, because as postal workers, virtually every office in the south cast has vacancy levels of berween ten as surprised as everyone clse by how quickly the last strike spread, it is already provoking workers by limiting overtime for Christmas and fifteen per cent for full-rime jobs, prepared to lead the next fight! fin, he got off pretty lightly.
R E FE A T An