final issue of Socialist Viewpoint.
We have succeeded in our political task of raising the level of debate and opening up serious dialogue with sections of the Marxist left.
Born in late 1984 as the response to sectarian and bureaucratic actions by the leadership of the Socialist Organiser current, and having fought consistently for a serious political regroupment to build the kind of leadership required by the labour movement, Socialist Viewpoint has helped lay the basis for a new step forward.
Early in May our forces and resources will be turned towards a new magazine, to be published jointly with supporters of the present International journal. In the autumn, the new magazine will move to regular monthly publication. It will offer a major increase in our circulation and in geographical coverage compared to that covered by Socialist Viewpoint.
Though we have been forced to endure a political split a 3-year period of relative isolation, Socialist Viewpoint has never accepted the role of a permanent small group. We have attempted to address central tactical as well as programmatic issues relating to the major class struggle issues of the day in Britain - the Miners" strike, the Printworkers" struggle, the Labour Party crisis, struggles for women's liberation, and against the oppression of black people, lesbians and gay men - and internationally, with regular analysis of Central America. South Africa, Palestine and Ireland. We have consistently developed the Marxist historical analysis of Stalinism, including the Cuban variant, carried regular educational articles explaining such issues as Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolu-
Socialist Viewpoint No. 16 April 1987 pl
tion, and attempted to shed a little light on the debates taking place in the WRP as it has struggled to shake off the wretched political legacy of Healyism.
The strengths of this tradition will continue to make themselves felt in the new magazine, which will also draw on the talents and experience of the International supporters.
The new publication takes place at a time of sharp, testing crisis for much of the Marxist left, which has not recovered from its abject failure to offer any serious political leadership in the Miners" strike, and followed this by abstention and tail-endism in the Wapping dispute. With Kinnock & Co. searching for scapegoats for what threatens to be a dire, farcical rerun of the 1983 Election debacle, the necessity for Marxists to root themselves firmly in the organised labour movement is stronger than ever.
Socialist Viewpoint has consistently held an antisectarian stance towards the labour movement and towards other currents seriously committed to the fight for regroupment. We see the launch of the new magazine as a significant step on the road to reversing the miserable history of splits and subjective posturing that have done such damage to the post-war Marxist movement. The new magazine will take its place at the centre of the fight for a serious programmatic response to the crisis of working class leadership in Britain and on the international arena. Our subscribers will be mailed the new magazine: other readers are urged to subscribe - or contact your usual SV seller to ensure you get your copy. Regular readers might like to do more: why not join with us in this step forward, and help launch the new magazine?
challengea the campaign that didn't
Time to Kinnock The case of MARGARET Thatcher's declared intention to socialism from the political agenda in Britain" can obviously be taken as another example of her renowned "determination". Yet little credit has been given to Neil Kinnock for not only sharing this objective. but for showing equal determination to bring it about!
It is not that the Tories are popular: far from it. The consensus that the Tories would govern in mythical "national interest" has been broken down. Clearly the NHS is not safe in their hands; nor are the trade unions themselves, pay and conditions at work, nationalised industries, the entire welfare system, the educa tion system from nurseries to the universities, many civil freedom from being murdered, injured or otherwise plotted against by the police, indirectly - the list is endless.
So why is Labour not riding high in the opinion polls and winning by-election after by-election? Mainly, it is because the ruling need at the moment of a Labour government.
Certainly, individual are suffering under the Tories, long lists of bankruptcies dividual enterprises show. This is much outweighed, however, by the advantages they are gaining. Profits
After Greenwich "banish By CHRISTINE FRASER continue to soar; new sectors of in- dustry greedy hands of the capitalists under Tory privatisation, returning profits to the private sector, and, most fun- damentally, the Thatcher onslaught is delivering workforce, ploitation. tant working class which has to be pacified by the return of a Labour some government. The main fool used by the ruling class to keep media - and the media has much to work on in attacking Labour as a credible Party of government. The right managed to hang on to power in the Labour Party throughout liberties, the surge of the left in the late seven- randomly ties, with a few concessions on Party democracy (reselection of MPs, an directly or electoral college for Leader Deputy) and escaping the threat of Tony Benn winning Leadeship contest. Following Benn's defeat, the left largely fell apart as far class has no as united action on a national level was concerned. Where the left did not fall apart was on a local level. Many, particularly in capitalists the major cities, as of government, and began working out -In- and implementing "left" policies on a local level. specially oppressed began joining Socialist Viewpoint No. 16 April 1987p2
THEY RE NOT MILITANT, THEY"RE NOT LOONY LEFT" GAY GIACK LESBİAN EXTREMİST.... IT'S LİKE TRYiNG TO SELL CRISPS THEYRE NOT STRONG CHEESEFLAVOUR!! oppressed grew are being delivered into the the councils, greatly chastised filtrators" ripe for increased ex- There is no sign of a mili- nock them all. Labour at bay is the scare the punters Labour the Party. and "loony the Deputy and delivering. Finally, went into local consensus "consensus": Also, groupings of the
Steve Bell IF SOMEBODY ACCUSES YOUR PRODUCTOF BEiNG UNWHOLESOME WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS FATAL To START OUT BYAGREEING WITH THEM IT'S THE POLiTiCS OF THE VOiD AND WEVE ALREADY GOT QUiTE ENOUGH PARTiES CATERING FOR THAT MARKET AT THEMOMENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! & BLoODY RIGHT NOTHiNGS The Guardian together with the left to implement radical policies to meet their needs; and the organisations of the specially
This activity has led to a growing discrepancy between the Labour Party constituencies and national level
a discrepancy the media has exploited with relish. The "loony left" in
"Militant inand the "London effect" have been cited to embarrass Kin-
— who has obligingly disowned
As Thatcher plays the racist card the media have increasingly turned on the Labour Party Black Sections to
away from the Party. Again, Kinnock obliges by promising to drive the strongest anti-racist current - the Black members themselves - out of
To add to the increasing bewilderment about what the Labour Party actually is, many of the local councils that are supposed to be the homes of
Cleft" are confusing the matter by attacking their workforces, raising the rates (still), making cuts
still, essentially, not if anyone is still in doubt, there is always the spectre of the last Labour government to rely on. One
that has not effectively been challenged is the economic
Tand we don't want another Labour government with all that nasty inflation, and the horrid
No right wing sabotage unions going on strike all the time, do we?
In short, Labour can offer no credible alternative to the Tories.
with the media on Labour, disgruntled voters are left with the other non-Tory Party - the Alliance. Labour is being singularly inept at campaigning Alliance, which is hardly surprising. If Labour refuses to wage a class battle against the Tories, and depict them as the Party of the ruling class as they are, Labour is unlikely successfully to be able to show the Alliance up as a party of the same class.
Labour has, instead, fallen into the only road open to it under Kinnock's guidance: try to compete with the Alliance. In face of a poor imitation, voters will go for the real thing. With no national record behind them, the Alliance offer hope that there is a different answer; after local government and by-election gains, it is even becoming credible as a Party of government.
The Greenwich by-election is a sad warning of how a Kinnock general election will be run. Certainly, Greenwich suffered from having the spotlight upon it; certainly, the Alliance won't be able to turn out as many canvassers to each Constituency when all are being contested simultaneously: but the parallels are still clear.
The Greenwich Party was known locally as left wing Not in forefront of "left" London councils in the same way as Haringey, Brent or even Islington, there was still some truth in this: although quiet about it, Greenwich was one of the last Councils to set a rate in the 1985 no-ratesetting campaign.
The press eagerly predicted that a left wing candidate would be selected, and would be unsuitable to
hampered Nick Raynsford in Hammersmith & Fulham Walworth Road. They trumpeted with glee when the local Party seemed to oblige by selecting Deirdre Wood.
Some of the London left with longer experience of Deirdre Wood felt less confident about her left credentials. Yes, she had been one of the "GLC 10" who, led by John McDonnell, had voted against setting a rate on the GLC: but her record as Chair of the
committee was
The National and Regional Party stepped in to run the campaign; and they must bear the main blame for the
Selection material, rather than say anything politics seemed presenting Deirdre Wood as a rival to Greenwich park with happy, smiling children in tow. But the takeover of the campaign took place with virtualy no resistance from the left in the
At no time was the presence of Walworth Road "minders" ed by the Party explaining what their about Deirdre's alleged positions on "radical" issues like Black Sections, Ireland, etc., were answered at press conferences heavy-handed representatives of the
Known as a unilateralist, with an answered an open question about defence at one public debate with "I'm with Mountbatten on this one", and pointed out that whatever she policy was not against NATO. This is
Wto promote unilateralism.
MPs were actively discouraged from helping in the campaign, though every right winger in the book was sent down. One storv Socialist Viewpoint No. 16 April 1987 p3
HEDGIRTH OR WAY JUE RIGHT is circulating the London left about two well-known left wingers having to creep into the constituency with a borrowed loudspeaker van to add the mild support of touring the constituency urging a Labour vote - and that was on polling day itself.
The lesson of Greenwich drawn by much of the left has been that Labour needs to fight on "socialist policies". After all, Deirdre Wood managed to win an ILEA seat on her own in the same constituency less than 12 months ago when no one was looking.
Unfortunately, as far as a general election is concerned, this view is too superficial to be an adequate answer.
Any constituency fighting even on Labour Party conference policy on an individual basis in a general election will find its efforts to get Labour swamped by media coverage of the Labour Party's national campaign. Such constituencies will be in the position of putting out leaflets headed 'Labour will", while "Labour" will be reassuring the electorate at large not to worry because it wont.
So what can be done? First, the left must recognise that they will stand or fall on the contact they have with the electorate day to day. Workers on strike against local Labour councils will instill no confidence in a Labour government to stand up for working people. Labour councils must stop managing capitalism to maintain their positions, and come down firmly on the side of the workers.
A council which prevaricates about why it is not doing council house repairs will still be seen as a problem by tenants: councils must tailor their budgets to meet need, not Tory cash limits, and stand with the tenants in a campaign against the Tories, winning support for Labour against the real enemy.
Constituencies must go a step fur- ther, and make real links with those in struggle against the Tories. Practical support for workers in dispute will forge alliances that the press can less This will mean, for easily break. many CLPs, breaking the habit of a lifetime and not just passing a resolu- tion in support of the workers down the road, but actually getting out of their armchairs and down the road on to the picket line, on the demonstra- tions with the banner and behind the duplicator. The links with the specially op- pressed must continue, and grow. A Labour Party reaching out to women isolated in the home, to youth cast on the scrapheap by the Tory govern- ment, to Black families terrorised in their homes by white thugs encourag- ed to attack those who, the Tories im- ply, are the cause of the problems, can win massive stocks of votes by en- predominantly heterosexual organisations. represented in the solidarity contingent of the carnival parade. within trades unions, trades councils, and political parties. House, Albion Avenue, London SW8 2SE, tel. 01 720 7139. Model Resolution: "This.. being justitied as legitimate "public health" In view of the mounting violence. ... to stand up and be counted. gay organisations in London on June 27. 1987. organisation permit this. Please return a copy of the resolution you passed ments made to the model, and numbers of votes for, against and abstaining to Mary Rushton at the above address.
franchising those who usually don't vote at all. More than this, it can re- juvenate itself, and harnass greater forces for the struggle for socialism. If this kind of political activity can become routine for Labour Party members, rather than having to resort to the passive "Labour will" will be campaigns, Labour Parties able to say "join us and fight!" - and be believed and supported. However, all this will be in vain unless the left in the Party can wake up to the destructive role of the Party leadership and take the appropriate action. The fight will not be easy. It will be difficult to harness even the forces that fought the democracy cam: paigns in the early seventies: many of these forces are still sitting on the or have moved, under the fence, prevailing pressure, to the right. The Lesbian and Gay Pride Carnival Parade Solidarity Contingent 27 June 1987 IN VIEW of the mounting hostility towards lesbians and gays this year's Pride Steering Committee has decided to appeal for support from We hope that as many working people's organisations as possible will be Our slogan is Equal Rights for All - Defend Lesbian and Gay Rights. We encourage you to take up the task of raising our model resolution If you would like further information concerning the work of the Pride Committee's solidarity work, please contact Mary Harper, 11 Rushton .. rejects the attempts of the gutter press, bigots and right wing politicians to make use of the fear of AIDS to whip up hostility against gay We are deeply concerned that the denial of rights to lesbians and gay men. and the increasingly common calls for greater repression are now discrimination and hatred being directed against lesbians and gays we believe that it is imperative for this We support the organisers' standpoint of Equality for All - Defend Les- bian and Gay Rights and we resoive to send our banner and as many of our members as possible to march in solidarity behind the lesbian and Please add a clause pledging a donation, if the standing orders of your - including any amend- Socialist Viewpoint No. 16 April 1987 p4
way forward does not lie through loose coalitions of the Labour left, where too many are still reluctant to challenge Kinnock for fear of "rocking the boat" — and are desperately seeking alliances with the forces to their right in an attempt to seem larger than they are.
If we are to reorientate the Labour Party towards a class approach, a cha