gered to bed in the not so early hours of the morning on May 1 exhausted but elated. Many more woke on the following morning to the joyful news of a Labour government and a Tory rout.
At long last the dark years of Tory rule that had savaged so many lives and communities were at an end. The relief was visible in the taces of strangers smiling at cach other in the street.
The Tories are left not only an English only party but essentially a party of the shires and suburbs The knives were out long before the ballot boxes even opened and whether the Tory party can survive this scale of defeat remains an open YULSHUH But no one can afford long to recover after the election campaign. The fight against Blair's Tory policies needs to start yesterday and we acco to bit tac acck running.
Crowd
When Tony Blair addressed the union-jack waving, hand picked crowd outside number 10 he was at pains to state "I know well what this country has voted for today. It is mandate for New Labour and I say to the people of this country: we ran for office as New Labour, we will govern as New Labour."
Despite the certainty in his words the facts belie him. Exit polls - which were totally accurate in predicting the results of the ciecton fiscH * aiso told us voters views on policies.
Sixty per cent of those voting Labour for the first time were in favour of the redistribution wealth, 75 per cent against any further privatisation. The figures were higher still for traditional Labour voters.
Millions voted Labour to end the Tory nichtmare not to see it continue in a new guise. Despite his great pains to ensure the con. trary most took little notice of Blair's detailed policies and expect significant changes in their lot over the months to come. Susan Moore TWENTY thousand people marched and danced through London on April 12 on the March for Social Justice organised by the London support group for the Liverpool Dockers.
The event raised issues that clection campaign of the main parties. The march gave high profile to the campaign of the Liverpool dockers for reinstatement and the dockers, Women on the Waterchapter and ending the ban on unmood of hope for a while but Blair sive mandate to bring the real imsupporters want.
In Tory-free Scotland this election saw a swing to Labour against the SNP to destroy the architects of the poll tax but the polls also snowca toat the our were promised more votes than Labour in the referendum on a Scottish parliament.
Despite the timidity of the plans constitutional reform in Scotlan change the political map forever.
While the Liberal Democrats have massively increased their vote remains the same. Their im. provca showing was a result both of better targeting on their behalf and more efficient tactical voting from a layer of the electorate.
I acre will be no pressure on Blair to co-operate with them to may choose to do so to strengthen present on a whole range of issues.
The votes for the Referendum Party seemed vaguely respectableuntil one unpicked them and realised that not only did they largely rely on Tories deserting the sinking ship, but that with £20 million spent on the campaign this works out at £25 per vote!
Fascists lose out
The fascists by and large showed poorly but even one single volorescies so cole cern and they may well increase their support under a Labour gorernment.
The so-called Pro-Life Alliance fared badly -averaging 0.9 per cent where they stood - a testament to the campaign of the National Abortion Campaign not only during the clection itself but in its year's of battling for a Woman's Kight to Choose.
The media were quick to point HO THE DOCK SHOP out on May 2 that New Labour's leader could afford to expel any left trouble makers in the PL.P without fcar of legislation being compro mised. They further argued that if the unions were troublesome on the industrial front he would move quickly to completely sever the union link.
While these briefings may well have been issued from Millbank in the hope of intimidating those who mikat think or chancaging te cliques line, it may be less easy to silence dissent now the hated Tories are dead and buried. While the Tony one now kee un doubtedly supporters of the leadership some dissidents did slip through the net, their numbers swelled by unexpectedly high swings.
The left in the PLP were wrong to keep their heads down not only during the election campaign itself but in the months that preceded it. No attempt by Blair to continue the monetarism of the Tories must remain unchallenged.
There are tactical discussions to be had as to whether the left should vote against the Queen's Speech in With a majority of 179 Blair could do anything he wants: but all he wants to do is "build on" Tory policies! the carly days of this new administration, when such actions might might be better to wait until Brown's 'promised' budget in July when proposals that directly imto be made. The left will need to analyac such aerclopments as tacy occur in order to plan the best tac uca response. Conference fightback With the majority of union conferences taking place over the next wo months there will be a sharp test of the ability of activists to prepare the fightback.
as ironic that blair is attacking union influence just as the party crcatca by tae unions nas won sis biggest-ever victory.
The unions must oppose Blair's *Party into Power' proposals -which threatens to degut trade union influence in the party - as well as advancing the demands and interests of their members Most union leaderships will - they can't remember anything eise. Despite this it is likely that ex.
TO THE DOCKERS pectations of many who volca Labour will spill over into action the leader. SCo contol Candidates to the left of Labour ment across the country to get rid of the Tories which has left that party high and dry.
Within this overall tendency the Socialist Labour Party fared generally much better than the rest. It was seen by a small but significant layer of voters as a legitimate alternative to a postClause 4 Labour Party that made clear it would carry our policies very similar to that of the Tories.
There was a difference in the level of support their different candidates received that with the exception of Scargill reflected their record in local campaigning.
Over the next months there will be countless opportunities at both for. mal and informal level to debate strategy and tactics.
The left inside and outside the Labour Party desperately needs to engage in these discussions in as open and comradely a way as possible, at the same time as engaging in the day to day battles against Blair's Tory policies.