havoc on the unions, taking on and defeating section after section of workon king advantarc of the weakness of the leaders. They privatised the public sector to the benefit of their fat cat friends and the detriment of services and jobs. They have undermined the NHS, education and every other part of the welfare state.
Unemployment
They have vastly increased porerty and homelessness and used unemployment as a deliberate weapon to discipline workers. Workers' ability to resist has been weakened by cight packages of anti-trade union legislation which possible. And they plan more of the same - total privatisation of pensions and the London Underground system, and further curbs on the right to strike.
It is time to end the Tory nightSocialin Outiook is calling for a tole for Labour. A fifth Tory serm would create sidespread despair while a Labour victory would create higher expectations and neto condinons for a repack.
Most workers are crying out for a government which tackles unemployment and the deterioration of the welfare state. We know that a Blair-led government will not do these things, but it has never been more important that a Labour government is elected, despite the extent to which the Party has moved to the right. Labour losing would be seen as an endorsement of the Tories, who would feel they could continue their attacks with impunity.
Immediately Labour will face decisions which create conflict with most of those who elected it. For Britain even to be a possible candidate for entry into the buropean single currency means trying to carry out the Maastricht convergence criteria and thus massive cuts in public spending. will continue with much of the Tory programme, its anti-union state A Labour government is comThe fight for socialism requires not only a recognition of what Launderstanding of what most of the working class think and now they see the election. The vast majority of class conscious workers will vote Labour in the general election (unfortunately, a significant minority of workers will vote Tory or Libcral Democrat).
Some on the left argue that Labour has changed so much that it is now unprincipled to support it at all - it is indistinguishable from the Tories and Liberal Democrats. We think that is a serious political While Blair has moved Labour's programme considerably further to the right than ever before, the class nature of the Labour Party has not changed, though it is under heavy attack.
Despite Blair's worst intentions, the affiliation of the trade unions means the Labour Party is in essence a workers' party, cven though it has always had a pro-capitalist programme We don't agree with those socialists who believe that in order to break the working class from its support for Blair it is enough to denounce Labour and stand candi. dates critical of New Labour. While that might attract a small class will lead to recompositions in the Layer who totally reject New La. vast majons wao will sec suca candidacies as marginal. Iac by-elections in Hemsworth, Barnsley East and Wirral South showed this.
Far more productive in most areas isto link acall for a Labour vote with a critique of their policies and build struggles which make demands on Labour around key policies, and fight to force a Labour government to carry them out. Workers who, despite all the evi. dence, expect Labour to deliver something, will relate to that much more than simple denunciation of Labour.
The job of creating an alterna. tive to New Labour with serious support is ahead of us. There are very few places where candidates to the left of Labour in the clection represent serious forces. Whilst calling for an overall vote for Labour we support some of the most credible and well-placed candidates of the left parties and organisations, the Socialist Labour Party, the Socialist Party (ex-Militant Labour) and the Scottish Socialist At this stage, we are calling for a vote for Dave Nellist in Coventry South (standing for the SP), Tommy Sheridan in Glasgow Pollock (SP/SSA) and Arthur Scargill standing in Newport East for the SLP.
Although these organisations are different, we recognise both the basc of support these moividuals have in the workers' morement developing to the left of the Labour Party. These candidates symbolise the struggles which have taken place under the Tories and are continuing now.
The SLP represents an opposition to the rightward march of workers Health workers and the public sector are saying 'Enough is Enough' - whoever serves up the Tory policies Blairism even though distorted through the way it was established Scottish Socialist Alliance (SSA) was set up in the spring of 1996, based on activists who had played a major role in the campaigns like that against the poll tax.
The national question clearly plays a major role in Scottish politics and the Alliance has been able to play a crucial role in debates around this. More recently it has over cuts in Glasgow and elsewhere - a battle that is much more advanced than elsewhere in Britain. All this means that it has been able to build up much more signifi. cant support than similar forces in England or Wales.
Future fights
The General Election does not stand in isolation. The stance socialists take in the clection relates closely to how they see events developing after the election. will be servral strands of dispute if Labour tons the elecrion. Principally, there will be conflict berween the gooernment and those who have elected it expecting it to be better than the Tories. Brown's commirment, for instance, to keeping doson public sector pay, will not go down toell with those workers ho hate already experienced seteral years of pay restraint from the Tories.
Blair's desire to attack Labour Party democracy in general and, in particular, to prevent the trade unions having any real say in policy is already causing upset, and is likely to be one of the major issues of debate at this year's round of trade union conferences. It is more than likely that Blair will want to make an example ofany left MPs who opnose his programme in governMorcover, there will almost inevitably be explosions around ioblessness, cuts in benefit, state racism, cavitonmental issues and so on which will draw in wider layers of society.
Precisely how and when these things will unforld cannot be foreseen, but they will. If socialists are to de velop a real alternative to Blair it will struggles and attempting to give direcThe exact form that a political alternauve to blair will take is not cicar de this stage. But we can be sure it will be built out of those people who want to fight back, in the unions, amongst women and young people, but also including beit forces lastac the Labour Party.
This clection will lead to a reshaping of British politics. The conflict be. tween a Blair-led Labour government and the working class will lead to,re. compositions in the workers morement. There will be a shake-up of bourgeois politics too, with a postelection crisis in the Tory Party, and the Liberal Democrats moving ever closer to Blair.
It is precisely in relation to such cents that tac tactics of socialists In the election are important. Not only will the election of a Labour government lift the air of gloom over the working class, it will also release the class from the arguments of their union leaders over the last decade that any struggle would damage the chances of a Labour victory. It will begin to show the limitations of Labour in government and allow socialists the scope to put torward alternative pollcies to a much wider audience than has been possible in the recent past.
Blair will be tested out in government and we will be there fighting to provide an alternative. Although Blair can expect a certain "honeymoon' peri. od while he is given the benefit of the doubt, this is likely to be short.
Struggles will develop against a Labour government from those expect.
reverse the actions of the Tories. Those who rule out support out or refuse to relate to such crucial
Susan Moore THE NATIONAL Abortion Campaign (NAC) has won an important first round battle against the anti-abortionists of the so called "Pro-Life" Alliance (PLA) who are standing over 50 candidates in the Gen-. eral Election. Despite this success tacre remains an urgent need for activists to get in.
On Saturday February 1 NAC held a successful picket outside Harrod's in London on the last day of the January sale. protest against the fact that Harrod's owner Mohamed Al Fayed was funding the PLA to the tune. of £25,000 - which would have underwritten the deposits for the clection candidates.
Before the picket, Michael Cole, spokesman for Al Fayed, told journalists that "Mr Al Fayed decided to help the Pro-Life Alliance to field SO candidates".
After the picket, the tune had changed. Mr Cole said after the official launch of the Alliance "Mr Fayed is not funding it. He doesn't want to get involved in party politics". Al Fayed's retreat has undoubtedly been an irritation for the PLA but they have other pow.
erful and rich friends such as the Quintaville family.
Their manifesto makes clear that they want to see the complete repeal of the 1967 Abortion Act -No return to the back streets! and indeed beyond this "to secure legislation which confers the full protection of the law on all human life from fertlisation to natural death".
Further they are calling for the repeal of the Embryology Bill and opposins some torts or contrasty tion which they argue are in fact carly abortions.
They are targeting constituencies where candidates support a woman's right to choose - mainly Labour candidates but a small number of others, inleuding Theresa Gorman in Billericay. They have claimed that their party political broadcast will show remains of aborted embyos at various stages of development. caville says these were found dumpea outsiac an doortion clinic in Houston, Texas.
While they are very unlikely to even retain their deposit in any seat, they are gaining a large amount of publicity through this campaign - although NAC has already been able to usc debating them to gain a wider profile for its stance in support of a woman's right to choose.
If your MP is being opposed by a "Pro-Life" candidate it is important that you get in touch to offer There is a danger that some could feel intimidated and back down from a pro-choice stance. NAC is also organising a postcard campaign, particularly in the conwhere the PLA are standing. Get involved and help defcat the anti-abortionists.
Contact NAC at The Print House, 18 Ashwin Street, London E8 3DL or on 0171 923 4976. Veronica Fagan THE THREE local government unions UNISON, GMB and TGWU are trumpeting the new single status agreement and the associated pay deal as a major step forward for their members.
The associated pay deal would give pay increases of above 2.51 per cent for most manual workers and the very lowest paid of officers while the rest would get an increase of around 2.5 per cent.
There are some important improvements in the proposals it is true. Most significantly it would infor manual workers and officers. Other benefits include improved •cialist Outlook 1999 at 37 hours (36 for London). A step forward for those on contracts with longer hours - but then we are told:Where ever possible choris will be made to offset the increased the hourly rates of nay by more pro ductive working methods."
You would think that any trade unionist worth their salt would see the probiem with that and the looming threat of job losses it inDespite this on March 11 a Joint meeting of the Manual and APT&C officer union side agreed the document with only four votes against.
The pompous language used to
workers' movement. There will be a shake-up of bourgeois politics too, with a post-election crisis in the Tory Party, and the Liberal Democrats moving ever closer to Blair.