Irish question they are all asking is "what are we going to do after up. Which has gained the invalu Supporters of Socialist Ou Graeme Cockson able practical experience At the end of the 'Year of Action' to mark the twentieth anniversary of British troops being sent to Ireland, the solidarity movement is in a bealthier state than it Many of un were talk of an enormous march culminaling in a carnival with the Pogues rather too optimistic in the early stages, with and Christy Moore play- ing to an enthusiastic was 18 months ago. self determination of unpicanant SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 18, October 1989 Here lies the potential disaster Solidamos. latter certainly imply economic attacks on the leaders of Solidarnose are likely to be forced to betray their own base, The demoralisation that could be caused by the spectacle responsible for this should not be Walesa has in fact recognised the government was the biggest mistake we ever made; but goes on to claim that there was no choice. We can agree with the former remark, but not the latter. The Polish working class is as a result faced with the ganisation being spit from top to This is not to say that there rent situation al all. The situntion will legitimise the principle of political pluralism; and a small, the fledgling Polish The PPS may be able to make the bureaucracy, their defence of and their call for a democratic tially disastrous consequences of more on the immediate agenda. possibility of its own mass or but politically clarified opposi- tion may emerge. Revolutionary socialists should do all that they Socialist Party (PPS), the only socialist such demands as their forthright op position to any collaboration with working class living standards. However, we should be clear that are clearly outweighed by the poten the игслистасу. These are dark days indeed for the Polish working are no positive facets to the cur which means, in practice, sup Patrick Baker can to support such an outcome such positive possibilities with headway through cIcarly revolutionary force in Poland today. entering the of Walesa being congress of comprise However, the in the current underestimated. working class. some class. thin
NEC's ditching of Labour's 1985 ganised effectively against the Remember when NUPE chiefs like Bickerstaffe (right) backed unilateralism? Preview of Brighton Conference flashpoints DISARMAMENT suaded the constituencies and trade unions of his "lie-low' NUCLEAR UPDATE cates of this change, encouraged Graeme Cookson process to review the fu- ture organisation and role The NEC, eager to give Walworth Road officials time to line up the trusty union voter, want their report to be held aver to next year. But the advo. of annual conference. with Labour! Backwards ment and even less prospect of Conference's main job, as seen by the party managers, is to endorse the Policy Review, to This year's Labour Party Con progressive policies to arm Labour to fight the next elec- ference promises little excite- tion being adopted.
like they will get away with it. review process to delete any such proposals, will no doubt be keen to keep he lid on the debate at commitment to equalise the age of consent for gay men with that for heterosexuals. 6 resolutions ference demand that a positive framework of lesbian and gay rights and specifically the equal age of consent he included in the policy review. The right, who have already exerted behind the scenes pressure during the policy conference too. It doesn't Took submitted to this year's con mined efforts to pull key unions into line on defence in their recent prospects of victory are slim. The TGWU and MSF are the only major unions prepared to defend strategy. The left is aware of the significance of the debate. 55 CLPS and one trade union (MSF) have submitted a total of 51 unilateralist resolutions. 11 CLPs and one union (USDAW) have expressed support for the switch to multilateralism. But with most of the union votes sufely with Kinnock's camp (following deter- round of conferences), These are: reform of the NEC (to panded role for the NEC in for- concentrated in Fleet Street) that defence, must go, are pushing for sons to be leamed from the way in which other European socialist call for the 1990 report to con- sider four important options. marginalise and dilute the already tiny influence of the left); an ex- by the new "consensus" (mainly In a motion which tellingly ar- gues that there are valuable les- parties develop policy, the GMB block vote, along a decisive move this year. members, and the about the policy-making role of the positions taken on them by the leadership. First, on the new restrictions new powers assumed by the leadership in policy-making. Con- ference resolutions which conflict with the policy review will not be treated as amendments to it, nor ing ovation to the Leader for the television cameras, and to forget Two key debales coming up at give a show of unity and a stand- conference, and make this clear. imposed on new powers
Electoral reform has attracted more resolutions than any other Issue bar defence. 28 CLP's have submitted resolutions arguing for some kind of electoral reform. with & specifically calling for PR. Although it is not an issue on which right and left reliably align for or against, it is certainly the case that the righr has organised, with some success, in promole this issue, trying to channel it into their framewor of pro-consen- and ultimately
sus, pro contro pro-pact politics. The return of key utilities munications ete) to public owner- ship will also be controversial. Press reports have already indi- cated that Kinnock is poised to shift policy control away from the NEC to the PLP in the run up to the next clection, with a retreat on Following the TUC decision to call for the phasing-out of all nuclear reactors within fifteen years, and the NEC and front- bench split on the issue, the water a major aim. mulating and directing policy: downwards through new policy Ference to be restricted to amend- ing policy commission proposals; reduction of the union block vote If these two slip through the weakening of Labour's base in the organised working class; more concentration of power at the top. less say for members and less chance of progressive policies to around 50%. net, the dangers being adopted. will they override it. Any conflict- ing resolutions, say the NEC, will simply be laken into account by the special joint NEC/PLP meet- ing after conference, which will produce a "synthesis" of positions from the policy review and agreed This "synthesis" (read stitch- up) will provide the party's cam- paigning platform between now and the next election. Whilst two leadership-friendly constituencies have tabled resolutions giving an ancritical welcome to the policy review, this centralising move is
Jane Wells However the left should not jerk oppusition to such right wing pressure to divert away from the fight for a more democratic sys tem. The notion that PR equals pacts is an invention of the right wing and the media: the left should clearly mobilise to oppose any composile proposals favour- ing clectoral pacts, while where possible supporting the principle allow a (nomally healthy) knee- SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 18, October 1989 of proportional representation. in challengung Again following the TUC's immunitics must he supported as Kinnock's collapse in front of the Labour Campaign for heated and close - and offers the decision, the dehate on trade union legislation will he closely walched The TGWU call at TUC and again al Labour Conference for legislation to protect union Lesbia and Gay Rights have or possibility of a left victory. debate at conference processing policy decisions is cause il may be a last chance decision making used, there will be policy clashes around clear, left policy options must he maximised - not least be- under what remains of the party s Defence will he the major debate at conference, and the vore will provide a measure of how far, in the run-up to the next elec- tion at least. Kinnock has per- at this year's conference at least. The opportunity to mobilise con- stituency and trade union support conference agreed a consultation: Conference permanently of its policy-making role. Last year's to be treated as amendments to the policy review, where the two condition to the rest of the left's Second - more fundamental hind-the-scenes plotting to strip tions submitted so far. They call instead for conference resolutions procedural resolutions is a pre- and even more sinister - is the be- opposed by 31 CLPs in 23 resolu intervention having
FEATURES Much has been made of the new liberalism' of tories, transport and even the mines, where the Though De Klerk's Nationalist Party managed to THE WHITES-ONLY elections in South Africa took place as a general strike ripped across fac- defeat of 1987 seems to have been overcome. hold on to a majority, it has lost ground to its politi- cal rivals, and been unable to prevent a major es- A new