But the old banger refuses to budge.
He has gone too far down the road to Europe to turn back.
The rabid racist right are too true blue to be convinced.
His attempts to stir up a chauvinist Summer whirlwind to propel him back into office has turned into a pathetic whimper.
With the Tories fighting like rats in a sack, Labour and the unions must organise the fight-back.
OSTAL workers are al strike since 1988. The negotiations between Royal Mail and the union have failed on the issues of teamworking and delivery standards. This makes a national strike inevitable.
The Communication Workers Union conference outlined their demands: no teamworking; no-one to be worse off under pay restructrial Mail failed to coedelivery. Royal Mail falled to meet any these demands.
Teamworking is the buzzword used in the Royal Mail's "Employee Agenda". Postal workers must cover all absences and vacancies for no extra pay. The union fears that bosses secretly aim to completely abolish the second delivery. Massive job losses would result.
Despite this conflict the union's joint General Secretary, Alan Johnson, is doing everything to avoid a prolonged strike. he is a keen supporter of Tony Blair and frequently at odds with his own executive. Johnson does not want to upset Labour's electoral prospects.
The one-day strike has been called in a confusing way. Instead of calling a simple 24-hour stoppage Johnson has issued complicated instructions to branches stating which shifts workers should not turn up for. This will mean some will strike while others are working.
This confusion may influence un. Ion members to stay at home rather than join a picket of their workplace. The lessons of the last national dispute are being ignored.
The 1988 dispute also began with a one-day strike. When union members returned to work, some found their offices were full of casual labour. This caused an immediate walk-out in 14 offices.
The dispute escalated when other offices refused to handle the work. Royal Mail forced a lock-out but failed to defeat the union's membership. It was left to the union leadership to sell out its workforce despite solid industrial action initiated by the branches.
None of this has been lost on Royal Mail. Managing director Richard Dykes has spoken openly about the possibility of a lock-out this time round. Post Office bosses have at their disposal a vast array of anti-union laws, not all of which were available in 1988.
The stage is set for a major industrial confrontation. The task for CWU branches is to put pressure on the leadership of the union to call an Indefinite national strike. They should continue to organise independently of the leadership. This will encourage the executive to stand firm against the manoeuvring of Johnson.
CWU branches have shown time and time again their ability to take effective industrial action. If the dispute is to be won the branches should not allow the executive to become isolated from the striking workforce in secret negotiations. If action is effective and pressure on the executive is maintained, Alan Johnson will find it difficult to sell out the workforce.
The dispute could turn into a long hot summer of struggle. Labour movement activists should be preparing to back the postal workers in their demands and set up support groups where this is possible.
News in brief Socialist Outlook 104 • June 29, 1996.