ITS BEEN A busy week for Blair. First the announcement of the ditching of policy on Scotland and Wales, then the on trouble-makers followed by the big one - the much-hyped launch of the manifesto.
I ime and again, Labour leaders nave ditched policy with scant regard for party democracy. They have even shown little regard front-benchers who are expected to sell the new line. What is breathtaking is the speed and audacity with which the present changes are taking place.
Blair's 'modern', 'new' Labour is to be totally in tune with the requirements of modern British capitalism - an equal partner in the European imperialist block, in which the workforce is disciplined through a combination of social partnership or 'stakeholding' and a denial of basic trade union rights and desaucion or me we rare state.
To achieve this Blair needs to overcome ne resistance of sections of working class. The tensions in the Tory party over Europe reflect divisions between those who see their interests in the european Union and those who nark back to the glory days of empire.
Big capital is increasingly coming to see the Tories as an albatross round its neck. Desiring a real say in the shaping of Europe, they are increasingly looking to Blair - not only for his pro-European fervour, but also for his ability to restrain the working class.
on Green The postal dispute is reaching a critical point as Socialist Outlook goes to press. After two successful one-day strikes by the CWU, Alan Johnson, the general secretary of the union, has regained the initiative trom branch activists.
The Executive called a truce with Royal Mail in order to explore the various issues in dispute. This period of truce has now been extended over the weekend in an enort to reach a negotiated settlement. This is despite the fact that there has been no movement on two of the central issues in the dispute, teamworking and protection of deliverles Clearly there is pressure on the union bureaucracy and Royal Mail management to achieve a negotiated settlement. The intervention of Michael Heseltine after the first one-day strike with a proposal to end Royal Mail's letter monopoly has pressed the panic button for those in charge.
To sell his project to the Labour Party, and the wider working class, Blair has one major weapon in his arsenal - the ability to win the general election. As long as that looks probable most Labour Party members - willingly or reluctantly - are prepared to go along with his jettisoning of policy. Union leaders will swallow inings inal are even unpalatable to them and do everything in their power to get their members to do the same. vague promises that once Labour is in government they will exert more influence is enough to have them cheeing Blair.
They too hanker after the Social Chapter which proposes that the unions snould nave a say in une running or companies. They seem not to have noticed the fast that in Germany, the home of such schemes, they are coming apart at the seams under the pressure of the recession.
Blair knows that the hard work will come after he's been elected. Whatever he savs. he knows that those who vote Labour will expect him to reverse the damage done by the Tories. That is why he is trying to 'get his betrayal in first', making it as clear as possible that he has no intention of doing any such thing, and attempting to defuse and undermine support for any opposition in advance. The great Clause Four debate was not so much about the content of Labour's Reject Employee Agenda Mark 2 But the settlement proposed falls well short of the aspirations of the CWU membership.
Alan Johnson will present a formula to the strike committee this week that he hopes will suspend the industrial action for a month.
The presentation will outline:
* A 'new office environment' for sorting offices * Substantial improvements in the pay restructuring package * A new agreement on revisions of delivery duties that will provide safe. guards for jobs Assurances will be given that the union will not accept teamworking, however Royal Mail have shown tremendous skill in the past at repackaging the same old rubbish in a new form. The words will be extremely vale ! a new dice Anvironment\ nil the message is clear, a watered down version of the same issues.
it is not clear whether this will be enouch for the etrike commitas Alon