For the umpteenth time, the 'green shoots of economic recovery have be shown to be a mirage. The apparent surge of consumer spending after Christmas was merely the cash-strapped masses trying to pick up bargains in the sales. Official unemployment is hitting three million; the real figure is well over 4 million. Manufacturing output is down again. In short, all the efforts of Major and Lamont to 'talk up' the economy are pure hot air.
At the same time, the succession of disasters which have befallen the government show no Sor cover on pitclosures, leaving Michael He L for cover on pit closures, leaving Michael Heseltine holding the baby. Maastricht looms in the background, and will re-emerge as a parliamentary crisis in the spring.
Tax rises
The government is desperately unpopular now among sections of the middle classes; and they, together with millions of working people, are likely to be hit hard by tax rises in the budget, as well as by the new Council Tax. In other words, the fundamental crisis of this government which exploded with the BRM fiasco last autumn has not gone away.
When John Major described the new unemployment figures as deeply disappointing, he was not joking. The Tories know that only some good news on the economic front will resolve this rumbling crisis. But with the present situation in the world economy, with a tiny blip upwards in North America, but gloom in Germany and Japan, there is no short-term way out for Britain's bosses.
The second aspect of the situation which has radically changed since last autumn is developments in the working class and the labour movement. There is a new mood to fight back, but it is very uneven and lacks leadership. Last week there were major protest strikes among Andrey Major: dependant on Labour capitulation pit closures continues.
Tories.
sector alliance. unionism. local authority workers in Newcastle and Birmingham. The round of protest actions over But the problem remains that all this is mainly just protest action, and does not translate itself into sustained industrial action, which remains at a very low ebb. And at a parliamentary political level, Labour is frozen and immobilised. While a host of would-be 'new thinkers' busily devise ever more waysof accomodating to Tory free market ideology. the party drifts rudderless in the class struggle. It is bereft of ideas and policies to fight the But there are two aspects of the situation which could give decisiveopenings for the left. In the trade unions, there is a growing realisation of the necessity to co-ordinateaction in the public sector, of the need to forge a public All the statistics about trade union membership show that it is in the public sector where the unions have the highest proportion of membership. The Tory onslaught against local government, health, rail, the post office, the miners and countless other public services is not just about the ideology of privatisation, it is also about smashing up bastions of trade While fighting for the miners, and pushing for action in their defence, the left has to grasp that this is just the leading edge of a much more widespread struggle. All the various moves aimed at building alliances at national and local level of public sector workers must be vigorously supported.
Fighting cuts and redundancies is always a difficult struggle; but to this battle must be added a unified fight to smash the pay freeze, a struggle which will accelerate as the pay round develops into the spring and summer.
Disquiet
In the Labour Party itself, the discussion over the trade union link and 'Clintonisation' is unlocking internal debate and creating sharp debates at even shadow cabinet level. John Smith's abject support for raids on Iraq has caused widespread disquiet in the party. And a left formation, the Socialist Campaign Group Network, is in place which can act as a real focus for galvanising the left in the party.
A public sector alliance is long-overdue. The decision of several unions, led by the NUM and RMT, to organise co-ordinated ballots for a day of strike action to defend the public sector must be built on.
John Major's government is presiding overa basket-case economy which is drifting everdownwards. It is a government with a small majority, fragile and accident-prone. If it survives it is because the Labour leadership have learnt nothing from three election defeats. It is up to the left to turn the situation around.
NALGO was contained in a mailing some time ago, this had clearly not had the desired impaci nominations received by the deadline were from the Manchester area - esMovement group. Sinc re-opening of nominalory situation was opposed by the or. available when it came to the elec No. 36 January 30, 1993 Page 3