Campaign launch rally Saturday November 12, 1pm St Aloysius Hall, Phoenix Rd., NW1 near Euston Station (Eversholt St. exit)
Affiliations: minimum §10; send to NUM, 2 Huddersfield Rd., Barnsley, Yorks. TONY Blair's attack on Clause Four must be fought by all trade unionists.
Behind the leadership's media-friendly sound bites lies an attempt to get the rank and file of the labour movement to accept capitalism as permanent and unalterable.
Clause Four stands in the way of Blair's desire to convince the bosses that "capitalism is safe in our hands".
He sees it as an impediment to getting his friends in high places to understand that Labour is a pro-capitalist party.
The Labour leadership is trying to build a broad front against socialism — involving everyone who has a stake in the present system.
In this context Clause Four is an important symbol, and the fight to defend it is key test of strength for the left in the labour movement.
Greed
At stake is the commitment to fight for a completely different type of society, - not run by the greed of bosses, but based on an equitable shareout of the fruits of industry.
That's why Tony's friends in the City despise it so.
And it is why trades unionist must take a stand. Getting rid of the Clause is an attemot to demobilise opposition to capitalism and to the bosses' offensive.
Blair's new constitution
aims to break Labour from its working class base. This would be a backward step for all workers.
The removal of the Clause would be a victory for the rich and for all the "new realists" who have given up the fight against the Tories.
Pressure must be put on every trade union leadership, especially on those with a big membership in the public sector, to oppose the change in constitution and to back the campaign in defence of Clause Four.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No.71, 3 November 1994, Page 4 By Aidan Day JOHN SMITH's brainchild, Labour's much-vaunted adthinking of benefit as a right. This is what is behind the vocabulary of targeting. The report accepts the vocabu-