Socialist Press no. 1

'OPENING THE BOOKS'?

DANGERS

IN 'GET

BRITAIN

OUT'

PLATFORM

Saturday February 1st saw Enoch Powell and Clive Jenkins sharing a 'Get Britain Out' platform at Folkestone.

Trade Union leaders like Jenkins ignore the fact that the Common Market is a class question, and tnal uning up witn taese enemies of the working class exposes it to danger. These actions are given a left cover by the nationalist propag- anda of the Communist Party.

Yet this even causes problems within the CP's own ranks.

John Gollan's statement on the Common Market that : At the heart of the matter is the supreme issue of British sovereignty, our right to make our laws and decisions on the crucial questions concern- ing une tuture or bullam al cae moment when it faces its greatest post-war crisis. has even caused a stir inside the Communist Party as shown by the number of letters in the 'Morning Star' taking it up.

(The "Star' Editor obviously only publishes critical letters if he has to.) As the struggle against the Comm- on Market builds up towards the referendum the pages of the 'Mor- ning Star' are more and more fill- ed with Gollan's nationalist posit- ion, wnle the statement by Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto that 'the working men have no country' is of course forgotten.

COUNTER REVOLUTIONARY

This is not because as the revision- ists say the CP is reformist (though of course it is ) but because it is counter-revolutionary as is Stalinism on a world scale. The British CP echoes the statement of Carillo, the General Secretary of the Spanish CP: "The reality of Spain today is that freedom has to be restored and every thing has to be subordinated to the national necessitv ('Star Jan 21st.)

Tony Chater, Editor of the 'Star' puts his alternatives to the Common Market in an article on Jan 11th: 'Furthermore, we could seek to open up the vast potential market of the developing third world, where, by advancing the necessary credit, there could be long-term trade deals and economic co-oper- ation. This approach offers a real alternative to the Common Market.

And it maintains the sovereign rights of the British people to impose their will through Parliament for basic progressive changes in our pol- itical, economic and social life which would be in the interests of the overwhelming majority.

NATIONALISM

This nationalist, Parliamentary Road put forward by the CP is des- igned to turn the workingclass away from the fight against the Market on clear class lines, which must be based around the perspective and struggle to attain the United Social- ist States of Europe. This demands continued on page 8 (col 1)

SOCIALIST

PRESS *

The Labour Government's new proposed Industry Bill, which would set up a National Enterprise Board by Wedgewood Benn, has

TULL

the objective of drawing the trade union bureaucracy right in to the inner workings of the board-room.

The purpose of this is to hold back more effectively the coming strugg- les of the working class in defence of jobs, wages and conditions.

Written in to the legislation is pro- vision for Benn to obtain an order for the opening of the books of se- lected firms to the accountants of the Enterprise Board and to selected trade unionists - but this is only un- der conditions where, as the "Times' said (Saturday 1st February): "A trade unionist who passes on anything he may have learnt about his company which happens to be subject to an order, may also find himself subject to criminal proceed- ings."

OPEN THE BOOKS

So, as the force of the demand begins to grow in the working class for the opening of the books of the big monopolies to the scrutiny of elected trade union committees, to expose the wheeling and dealing and profiteering which is today threatening thousands of jobs, the 'lefts' and the right wing join for- ces to legislate protection for bus- iness secrets, with the threat that: "under clause 26 anv person who contravenes the confidentiality of information given to the Minister under an order is guilty of an off- ence carrying the possibility of up to 2 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. There are no except- ('Times' Feb 1st) 1ons listed. Even under these stringent legal safeguards, the reformists are so he- sitant over challenging board-room secrecy that they have written in an elaborate appeals procedure,tied to the Conciliation and Arbitration Service, which would enable the em- ployers to remain silent if disclos- ure of facts to Benn could be judg ed "against the national interest.

€ 2,000m. The main purpose of the Industry Bill, of course, is to continue the Labour government's policy of pro- pping up flagging sections of British industry with state finance. £2,000 million is being made available to carry through what the Labourites term "a long term strategy for ind- istry to allow the British people to rebuild our own industry upon wh ich our tuture acoenus. In other words the cuts in educat- ion and health spending and the increased taxes thrown on workers' backs by the Labour government are doing no more than providing a pool of cheap credit and subsid-

FORTNIGHTLY PAPER OF THE

WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE

NO 1 * 6th FEBRUARY 1975 * 10г

BENN PROTECTS

JAIL FOR

BOSSES SECRETS

BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

ever; both 'left' and right are agreed on the need for state support for capitalism. Benn's devoted follow- ers in the "Tribune' group, for inst- ance, have issued a statement on the crisis in which they say that a massive £20,000 million must be invested in the coming period in British industry if there is to be any prospect of Britain achieving higher living standards.

REFORMISTS

This statement, together with the continuous references to our indu- stry, and 'long-term strategy' shows how completely these reformists have discarded any thought of a socialist answer to the crisis, and have become a left cover for the right wing. They will not challenge the existence of capitalism, and so end up putting proposals on how to run the system 'more efficiently" Thus the "Tribune' statement expr- esses the capitalists' concern at the 'huge rise in the unit costs, and from this reactionary standpoint approach the question of apparent- ly opening the books: so that, in their view, "Everyone could know the true position of the companies in which they worked and join in Benn key decisions, giving the greater confidence needed to understand and then overcome deep seated in- dustrial troubles." ies to guarantee the profit margins One thing is clear from the posit- of the employers. Also, at the back ion of all these reformist leaders: of all government finance is now they will not recognise that the coming the threat - as to british fundamental "industrial trouble' is Leyland workers - that if they do the inability of the bankrupt capit- not accept rationalisation and alist system to provide the working speed-up the company will not be class with a decent and improving sustained by the government.

standard of living. It is from this Under these conditions, with the analysis of capitalism, from this reformists slavishly detending a class position, that the Workers bankrupt capitalism, the ending of Socialist League campaigns on the the 49% restriction on the state demands put forward in Trotsky's shareholding in a troubled company, Transitional Programme for the also contained in the Bill, means opening of the books and the end increased state underwriting for of business secrets. the profit-producing private sector - profit which goes straight into the

NATIONALISE

pockets of the capitalist class. At the same time workers have their In revealing to the working class living standards slashed and face the actual springs and cogs of cap- mass redundancies - the capitalists italist economy, it brings out more themselves take no risk whatsoever.

This concept of "nationalisation" clearly the need to end capitalism is a complete fraud. once and for all The WL insists that no state cash Certain sections of the capitalist class, already reconciled to the ev- is handed out to private industry.

That firms in financial difficulties entual need for an all-out struggle with the working class to increase must be forced to open their books the rate of exploitation, are now to elected trade unionists, and 1l howling at Benn's measures, which they are proved unable to sustain they know will massively increase their workforce, they must be nat- ionalised without compensation to inflation, causing more problems the major share holders, and placed for these employers and eroding any profits they succeed in making.

under workers management with a full programme of public works to But this only reflects the divisions guarantee employment. We there- within British capitalism itself, fore demand left MPs vote and which as a whole is poised on the campaign against the Industry Bill, brink of bankruptcy. No such divisions appear within and take up these socialist demands in its place. the ranks of the reformists, how-

CRISIS IN TORY

LEADERSHIP

The Tory leadership crisis which has remained unresolved since the Heath government was brought down by the miners last February re-emerged on Tuesday in the first ballot of the Tory leadership elec- The 130 votes for Thatcher against 119 for Heath, retlecting contusion and tactical manoeuvring of many Tories, sets the scene for the real battle in the next round on Tues- day February 11th. As we go to press the contenders for the second ballot are Thatcher Whitelaw, Prior and Du Cann. Keith Joseph had not declared a position Reflecting all the divisions within the Ruling class itself the Tory Par- ty has to tackle its requirements of leadership under conditions of the rapidly worsening economic crisis, the immediate prospect of mass unemployment and a working class strong and undefeated and prepared to defend its jobs and con- ditions

IMPERIAL

WORKERS

GIVEN

NO LEAD

The threatened sacking of 1,400 workers at the Imperial Typewri- ter plant in Hull and 1,000 at Leic- ester has not receeded with talk of a "rescue" operation. In a recent interview with the Hull Daily Mail the chairman of Litton Industries, of which IT is a subsidy said We will close on February 21st? Faced with this situation workers are given no leadership from the trade union leaders - except to ask Benn for a feasibility study and organise a petition to Wilson.

The AUEW official Walter Joestel commenting on the closure state- ment in the Hull paper said "There is no point in considering a workers take-over because it has been un- profitable for the last 7 or 8 years.

February 21st is drawing close IT workers must demand an end to the futile protest actions and demand the occupation of the plants to fight for the nationalis- ation of Imperial Typewriters with government contracts to keep the factories in operation.

Page 2

CHINA

THE OLD GUARD CONSOLI-

DATES

"The Cultural Revolution has already been going on for 8.

years. It is now time for things to quieten down. So pro- claimed Chairman Mao in a wall poster in Peking in Decem- ber. The 4th National Peoples Congress, held under conditions of clandesti- nity, was staged in order not to allow the Chinese workeis ana pea- sants to decide their destiny but to confirm. the most conservative sec- tion of the bureaucracy in power.

It was only after the event that foreign pressmen in Peking learned on January that the 2,864 delegates of the National Assembly had met in closed session on the 13th to 17th of January.

SECURITY

Careful security precautions ensu- red that the delegates were spared the distress of seeing possible anti- party elements - by being brought to the conference hall each day through specially built tunels under the streets of Peking! In line with this withdrawal from the eyes of the workers, the Assem- bly changes the constitution to northern Italy. stæengthen the dominance of the Party bureacracy and to centralise control in the permanent committee of the Peoples Assembly. This acts as a warning to especially the young workers and the Red nis comiades Guards that the days of struggling against ine bureaucralc aerorına- tons of their revolution 'are being officially ended. Further struggles will be in conflict with the old guard.

DENOUNCED

The most obvious sign of this con- solidation of the 'Old Guard' is in the elevation of Teng Hsui-Ping to second-in-command to Premier Chou 20-2l. Teng, who is 71, was removed from mise' all positions when he was denounced at the beginning of the Cultural Revo- lution in 1966 as 'the Second Party man taking the Capitalist road' (The parly. late Liu Shao-Chi was the first) it is rumoured that he was sent to work on a farm in Inner Mongolia.

He is now, after Mao and Chou, the class. most powertul man in the People's Republic. The 88 year-old Chu Teh has re- mained the president of the Assem- bly; and Yeh Chien-ying, age 76, one of Mao's oldest political allies, has been appointed head of the army.

All these proposals of the Central Committee of the Party were usani- mously adopted by the Assembly.

CONFERENCE OVERDUE

Of course, the bureaucracy have great difficulty curbing the revolu- tionary demands and aspirations of the young workers and peasants.

The fact that this Assembly was 5 ¿overment years overdue indicates the difficul- ties the Party leadersnip were expen- encing in holding back the Chinese masses. Even in the constitutional changes they were forced to make some con- cessions; tor example, guaranteeing the right to strike. It is the youth above all that they fear and they know that Mao's death will strengthen them once more in the struggle lor polticai revolution to overthrow the bureau- cracy and defend and develop the Socialist gains of 1949. For this struggle to be successful the revival of the Chinese section of the Fourth International will be an essential starting point.

bombings.

ITALY

The paper of the Italian Commu- nist Party, Unita, in a special issue at the end of January commemo- rating the 54th anniversary of the party's founding in 1921, comple- tely failed to mention the name of Antonio Gramsci -its own founder and a revolutionary comrade-in- arms of Lenin, who died in Mussolini's gaols. This ludicrous omission symboli- ses the cynical and mealy-mouthed 'anti-fascist policy' of the Italian Stalinist and Socialist Party leaders in face of the renewed wave of terorism from Mussolini's politi- Soldier in Lisbon cal descendants When two policemen were shot dead at Empoli (near Florence) 24th by a young fas- çist, the official leaders of the labour movement joined harmon- iously in the chorus of protest from the 'democratic' capitalist parties, ana called a 'general' January 17th when they sat in strike on January 27th - of five the road to stop scab lorries at minutes' duration! the Buda textile factory, On the same day the trial opened Toulouse in south-west France.

ol a group of 13 fascists accused in connexion with the series of agement bailiffs, armed with le- bombings which culminated in gal writs, removing valuable the death of 17 people when a stock and equipment from the Milan bank was blown up in factory, threatened with closure December 1969, at the height of since early 1974. a wave of unofficial strikes in to fight closure and sackings The fascists have been brough!

wiln to trial only after strenuous 1974 - support has grown from ettorts trom within the police trades unionists and workers in ana Jualclary to pın the blame the Toulouse on anarchist Pietro Valpreda and It is this which ployers from using police stren- On both political and economic gth to break issues the Italian labour 'leaders' Following the occupation of continually fritter away the ener- the LIP watch factory last year, gies and unity of the trade unions Buda • on token natonal strikes ol a plant of 60 workers few hours, and by dividing the become an example for the struggle up industry by industry.

fight against unemployment in the whole of France.

STALINIST COMPROMISE

This policy is part and parcel

MIDDLE

of the Italian Communist Party's strategy of an 'historic compro- - entry into a calition government with the Socialist

EAST

Party and the Christian Demo- crats, Italy's largest capitalist These popular front policies Cairo Airport is this month the carry the greatest dangers for the bus-stop of world politics.

Italian and European working ing Egyptian President Sadat's The capitalist politicians, return at the end of January from feeling the political situation slip- his weapons-buying visit to France ping out of their control, are came the announced 'courtesy deeply split among themselves.

trip by Soviet Foreign Minister While Fanfani, Christian Demo- Gromyko. crat party secretary, laun ched a Immediately following him, US campaign last month to rally his Secretary of State Henry faction-riven party behind a right- Kissinger is due on yet another wing 'law and order' campaign, whistle-stop 'peace' tour of the •other groupings are insisting on the Middle East. need to deal with the working Meanwhile the politicians of tlie class through an 'understanding' (mainly Arab) oil-producing with the labour bureaucrats, inclu- states prepare to reassemble at ding the Stalinists. à summit conference in Algiers They are anxious not to jeopar- on February 21st. dise the Socialist Party support in parliament which props up Prime

ARAB MASSES

Minister Aldo Moro's calition Behind the comings and goings

SANDALS

lies not simply the price of oil in tue inliatonary On top of the economic crisis now grips the whole capitalist (prices rose by 25 per cent in system, but the inabiity of even 1974), lead ing figures in the poli- the most reactionary cloak-and- tical parties and the state appara- dagger diplomacy to contain tus face a complex of sandals of the revolutionary movement of Watergate proportions. the Arab masses. rascist deputies in parliament Ford, Kissinger, Gromyko and Tailed last month to block a parlia- the Middle East politicians all mentary investigation into the know that the peoples of the Military Intelligence Services (SID).

Middle East will not stand peace- Enquiries centre on SID's role in ably by while the Palestinian a series of fascist conspiracies for a coup d'etat in the last ten years.

Isreal, the creation of imperial- their complicity in the bombing of ism and the direct agent of the an express train near Bologna, (a United States. Communist Party stronghold) Any American attempt to eariy in 1274, and in the 1969 occupy the oil fields or bring direct military intervention to And this is not all. Parlamentary bear will be fought to the death.

enquiries also continue into alle- creating a confrontation which gations of massive corruption by would dwarf the Vietnam War Christian Democrat ministers The world crisis has split the involved in state finance of the capitalist states more deeply petrochemical industries.

than ever before over the Mid- INTERnATIOnAL nEWS

PORTUGAL

STALINISTS HOLD BACK

MASS MOVEMENT

Capitalism in Portugal is totter- ing. Its main support now comes from the coalition of Stalinists and Social Democrats in the prov- isional regime set up after the over throw of Catano's fascist dictat- orship last April. Freed aiter decades of fascist repression, the political energies of the working class and poor farniers have thrown up hundreds of local organisations holding real Ruling class hopes centre on the elections to a capitalist Constit-

FRANCE

ment Assembly now scheduled for early April While the situation cries out for socialist policies to bring together Three workers were injured on and strengthen the independent bodies of the working class, the Stalinist leaders complacently fall in with social-democratic foreign near Minister Soare's plans for a capit- Only their action stopped man alist government, and support the armed forces remaining in it.

Lisbon printworkers, in stopping the production of a newspaper not clearly opposed to fascism showed their resistance to such Ever since the workers decided class-collaboration. So did the Maoist students and the an occupation - in August workers who stopped the congress of the extreme right-wing Catholic Centre Democratic Party in Oporto on January 25th.So did those who area and beyond. stopped the em- marched on the streets of Lisbon on January 31st in defiance of the the struggle. tanks sent out by agreement bet- ween Stalinists and Social-Demo- cratic leaders. though only a small Both Soares and Communist Party leader Cunhal use the threats - nas of foreign invasion in their attempts to hold back the mass movement.

Yet the threat is a real one Massive NATO manoevres at the end of January concentrated 11,000 men off the Portuguese coast in an ex- ercise ominously named 'Locked Gate 75' But the imposition of a capitalist parlament and its laws on the hun- dreds of workers', peasants', and tenants' committees already set ¿y and tunctioning can only help the plans which are undoubtedly Follow- being hatched by the CIA and , others to impose military dictat- orship once more CuSs wICI Cunhal ile East. In 1956 the US opposed the French, British and Isreali at- tack on Suez. Even now, whilst sections of the American bourgeoisie make threatening noises of war to- wards the Arab states, the US concludes a massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia, selling them ignler planes wnica coula oo- viously be used against US in- tervention. At the same time France agrees sell 'Mirage' fighters to Egypt.

Yet as an Al Fatah spokesman revealed in January, ANCCa missile systems and 'technicians' are already in place near some of the Saudi Arabian oil-wells.

SOCIALIST PRESS, Thursday 6th February, 1975

IRELAND

A NEW PHASE IN THE IRISH

STRUGGLE

The betrayals of the Labour Government can be seen clearly in its policy on Ire- land It was the Labour lead ers who first sent British their desperate efforts part o GO ei okan m maintain the six-county statelet in existence They are planning every day with all their 'token gestures' and spec- ial 'assemblies' to find an effect- ive way of maintaining the power of imperialism in Ireland, and propping up her native landlords and capitalists In the Irish Republic, the coalit- ion government, which currently includes members of the Irish Labour Party, is also consistently hostile to the struggle for national freedom and independence This can be seen most dramatic ally by the refusal of the Irish government to negotiate political status tor the Provisional Repub- lican prisoners currently on hun- ger strike in Portlaoise Prison.

IRISH

INDEPENDENCE

There must be no hesitation in the British working class movement in asserting that we are at an im- portant turning point in the cent- uries old struggle for Irish freedom and national independence.

This is the case however much the capitalist media build up anti- Irish chauvinism on the basis of hastily attributed bombings, or to whatever extent Orange workers in the North of Ireland are deceiv- ed into kissing the chains of slav- ery imposed upon them by their local Orange masters In the difficult situation which the hysteria of the capitalist press and broadcasting media has crea- lea lor us, lt is essential that here in Britain we should fight through- out the working class movement for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Ireland, and for the independence and self- determination of Britain's oldest celonial possession At the same time the single- issue protest of the "Troops out Movement' offers only a atter day reapperance of the old Irish Solidarity Campaign, Anti-intern ment League, and though on a different level, the old Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. Before rushing in to joint action With the motley grouping of 'lefts', liberals, and revisionist groups in the Troops out Move- ment, workers should ask what happened to these other move- wcnis, dna wiy ald Iney disapp• ear as quickly as they arose?

The reason is that they were only constituted on the most lim- ited and opportunist basis, and as soon as simple protest proved ineffective to force change, the question of political policy and perspective arose and split the bogus 'unity' down the middle We do not necessarily reject work in mass protest movements but we would do such work only under conditions where we could freely criticise the other tenden cies involved. Only where there is a firm fight fo r principle can any lessons be learned by those involved in such movements, and the major prin- ciple is the political independ- ence of the revolutionary party.

MARXISM OR TERRORISM

We recognise that the Provisional IRA are revolutionists acting on behalt of an oppressed people and entitled to pursue their aims in whatever way they think fit.

As Marxists and revolutionary so cialists we do not support either the terorist means or the pro- capitalist political aims of the Prov isionals. continued

WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE?

SOCIALIST PRESS, Thursday 6th February, 1975 continued from previous page We agree with Engels, who as long ago as 1867, ridiculed 'the idea of liberating Ireland by setting a Lon- don tailors shop on fire'.

Individual heroism, however for- ceful, can achieve nothing without a programme to fight to rid Ire- land of landlords and capitalists who tie her to imperialist rule.

Thus the latest phase of the Pro- visionals ' bombing campaign will not further the essential aim of winning the support of English workers for the withdrawal of British troops and for Irish self- determination. Such methods have since turned away from the need to find a road to the Protestant working class of It is only under the six counties. the leadership of the working class that national reunification and independence will be achiev- I 1ul) ed.

'NEW PARTY'

Recent developments within the Republican movement have emph- asised the sharpness of the political ical problems facing the indepen- dence struggle. The official Sinn Fein have long since given up any pretensions to militancy or to socialist aims other than in the long term.

As a result,a group known as the Irish Socialist Republican Party has been formed through a split in their ranks. This new organisation has expre- ssed itself opposed to 'foreign ide- ology, and continues to argue for socialist policies as 'our long term aim'. Like all such centrist formations however hard the ISRP puts for- ward propaganda for socialism, it will be unable to achieve anything without revolutionary theory, ever if it will have to thank son-Irish men for this.

LEADERSHIP

Above all this theory will have to be fought for in the struggle for In leadership in the working dass.

our epoch, only the building of the Fourth International can pre- pare such a leadership. At the time of writing, it seems that the Provisionals may also be rent with internal dissension and division, particularly on the issue of whether to resume their cease- fire. Whoever sups with the devil needs a long spoon, and any revolution.

ary or any Irishman who tries to peacefully negotiate Irish indep- capitalist endence with a British government is either blind to his tory or a prisoner of the most limited aims he has set himself.

Those who want to continue the fight however must at some time begin to ask themselves how its ultimate success can be secured.

MARX

We agree with the view express- ed by Karl Marx a hundred years ago that Ireland must have 'Self- government and independence from England' We also agree with him that the achievement of such aims should be seen as a 'precondition for the emancipation of the English wor king class. We warn those English workers who are deceived by the hysteria.

of the capitalist mass media, as Marx warned them in 1870, that such campaigns are a 'pretext' to make it possible to develop a 'big standing army, which, it needs be, can be used against the Eng- lish workers after having done its military training in Ireland?

This warning applies not just to the army, but also to the battery of repressive legislation that is being introduced by Labour's great 'liberal' Home Secretary, Finally, we insist that it is only in the building of the Fourth International that the historic struggle for Irish freedom can triumph. Here in England the campaign for the withdrawal of British tro- ops, the disbanding of the stand- ing army, and for independence.

and self-determination for Ireland must be taken into the workers as part of the struggle movement, for the building of revolutionary leadership.

OBSCENE CIRCUS

Gale reacts also to the charge made by the WSL that

OF LIES

Warren and Tomlinson" has plum a new depth in hack journalism with their WRP had DICKeLs. that on December ZUth and heaves to try and establish of Parliament as an "obscene that there is a connection bet- ween the Workers Socialist League group of fake lefts! cynical statement in to an opportunist relationship He goes on to say and has formed his own organi- snippet in 'Tribune' constitutes nounced e neguivocal

TROTS

TROUBLE

monary HUl Lne consoutes Worners Press nas protest: Yet, circus thing " expelled not and

COLIC

Tomlinson, against In&C warren finding themselves isolated from positions Will the mass movement for «Socialist Press" is the fortnightly paper of the workers Socia The League was formed on Sunday 22nd December, list League. after nearly all the founding members had been expelled from the Workers Revolutionary Party by its leadership headed by Gerry Healy. The reason for the expulsions was that Alan Thornett, who was at the time a Central Committee member of the WRP, a lengthy period of critical analysis of the practice of the WRP itself, set out to bring about a discussion within that party on what were the wrong positions being taken by the Healy leader- ship and in its daily paper Workers Press' The issues were first raised on the Central Committee, and that Committee agreed to circulate a document written by containing a statement of his ditterences, comrade 1 nomiell, and to arrange a 'full and free' discussion within the party prior to the 1st Annual Conference. That free discussion never took Tiny quantities of the document were circulated to reliable' members, and no meetings were held for comrade Thornett to put his position other than in his own immediate di ca To understand the response this document produced in the WRP, forming the basis of a major split on the question of programme, it is necessary to recognise the period we are now As many articles in this first issue show it is as in entering. Trotsky's Transitional Programme a period of struggle for the entire working class. The defence of jobs through the fight for the sliding scale of hours without loss of pay; the defence of living standards through the fight for the sliding scale of wages related to rising pressuele for power by thee fight open the books and esta prices; the challenging of the employer and the blish the power of factory committees and occupations - all of these struggles are now called for by the developing situation.

Yet the WRP, right up to the opening of the discussion by comrade Thornett on the CC, had never seriously fought for any of these demands. Instead it had restricted itself to the sterile maximum demand: 'nationalise the economy without compensation under workers control.' Comrade Thornett fought this position and for the delhands from Trotsky's Transitional Programme to be included in the WRP's struggle for leadership, in order to form a bridge over which workers could move from their present struggles Sensitive to hard facts, however correct until the recent period the WRP had "done not a thing to defend In an- swer he refers to the evasions of a previous Workers Press, where half a page of print was devoted to creating the illusion that the always been in the fore- front of the struggle to free the Press denounced the TUC lobby The results of the AUEW elec- changes which must be analysed.

In the first round of the vote for General Secretary Bob Wright conceals the real opportunism of 42,388 votes as against 89,514 for extreme right winger John In the ballot for the three not as the independent revolu- tionary party, but subordinated Broad Left's candidate Phil Higgs members of the Communist Party) WRP members giving out a non- were knocked out in the first political leaflet which did not even call for a General Strike to Further, it set aside the vital ampton and Basingstoke area by demanding they fight in the the position he had held for 20 only the is put for arkins.

these vital points of programme ¡a desperate attempt to cover the: It is clear from this that the using the rule change which sends ballots to workers homes rather votes in branches. compromise of the boom period but a leadership dedica- steward which that part of the Trotsky.

assisting capitalism and its at- Left' is in the control of the at cowiey. uxiura. Wright and the so-called left.

This means they have taken a Socialist League. Ir positions, particularly as fighting Scanlon has been forced further for Party's sectarian to the right. Vanessa Red-

WHAT IS THE

to the need to take power.

demands. after the leadership. Alan Thornett's documents.

and principles of Trotskyism and discussions throughout the world.

fight to end capitalism. considerable political strength.

Page?

VACILLATION

After the victory against the Industrial Relations Court they were responsible for withdrawin the TASS resolution against the Social contract at the TUC Con The man who carried this gress. out was leading Stalinist Ken Such vacillations have without Withe high vote for Lawrie Smith, ex-member of the WRP, The WRP, engrossed in their The revisionists of the IS, hav- "genuine rank and file move- controlling the members" principle of ballots to homes, the on principle, WSL members of course support the "left" can- ballot in order to expose them revolutionary party as an alter.

AN AUEW

MEMBER

The WRP leadership however was formed in the past under conditions where the Trotskyist movement was isolated from the working class and reduced for that reason to propaganda A second document. producer in the course of the battle in the WRP showed this clearly, and was suppressed by They could not make the necessary break in to the new period now developing, and as a result defended their own subjective positions by bureaucratically expelling all those who supported Thus 200 were expelled, including the whole of the WRP membership in Reading, Oxford (except one) and Swindon, and large numbers in London and Yorkshire We have therefore formed the Workers Socialist League as an independent organisation which will maintain the traditions We continue, as this first edition of the paper shows, to main- tain pressure and critique of the WRP leadership.

But most important for us is our ability now to break from their methods, the methods of the past, and to turn to recruiting and training the new forces thrown in to struggle in the coming period - trade unionists, professional workers, housewives, students and youth - in the fight to construct the new party.

Already it is clear that our struggles for Trotskyism in Britain take place under conditions which must create similar splits We are confident that our movement will soon be able to play an important part in the strengthening of the Trotskyist Fourth International and the development of revolutionary parties in every country to "Socialist Press" is a big development for such a new move.

Only five weeks after forming the League we have been able to accumulate the necessary political, editorial and material resources to begin regular publication of a Trotskyist newspaper.

We are certain we can win a big response and very rapidly go for- ward to a weekly paper as the organiser of a movement with We invite all our readers to participate in discussions with out comrades on the policies and perspectives of the WSL and tr: seriously consider joining us in our fight to build a new leader- ship in the unions and a revolutionary party to lead the working class in the struggle to take state power and establish socialism

Paro 1 (A reriew of: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels Collected Works, Volume One, varx: iü3)-43, pubished D3 Lawrence and Wishort at £3.)

Alan Clinton Kant and Fichte soar to heavens blue Seeking jor some distant land, I but scek in grasp profound and true That which - in the streets I find.

12 5771 These words, written before he was yet nineteen years old, show that, though Karl Marx was not to make himself a poet, he was the best friend pocury ever had. Struggling to find his feet in the ferment of German idealist philosophy in the 1830%, Marx began the rich and together with Frederick Engels, he constructer the bedrock of scienti- A study uf their Collected Works will make it possible to trace all the Sus road. from its first stir- steps on the struggle to bund revolutionar!

leadership in the workie class.

The systematic prescrintien in English for the first time of all the • d Mark ond Engels must be the occasion for celebration by evolutionary socialists. There can hono doubt that the materials pro- wided will play an ersential part in the devlopment of that scientific heory essential for the emancipa- ton of the working class.

This preliminary volume, which is en produced and inexpensive by -day's standards, contains writings •hich, however remote they seem at ust. play a part in to-day's struggles f the working class. Eefore expanding on this point, mething more needs to be said of i it is that only now in 1975 wich Marx dead for more than 90 ears and Engels for 80, we have retore us the first of fifty volumes : this tremendous undertaking.

COMPLETE EDITION

It will be some years yet before we will have a complete edition in our language of all the works of Marx ingels, and they have been a long time in coming. These delays are the result not of a series of unfortunate accidents, but Marxism on the part of those leaders of reformisin and Stalinism who have falsoly claimed to carry it forward.

In Britain before 1900 very few of the writings of Marx and Engels were There were available to workers. some editions of the Communist Manifesto in which together they set out their main ideas about the deve- * idea socieiy, and put forward the vall which has long since echocd doin the generations "Wor!.

as et the World Unite!' 1OPD only the first volume of Capital was avallable in English. It wit her that Merx set out his analy- i suits of commodity pro- dection and the laws of motion of copitalist souleiy. A simmar of some aspects ol these economic theories was avail- able in two pamphlets entitled Wage Labour and Capital and Wages, Price and Profit. i the torn of the century the only Norement ci the philosophy of dia- artice materialism avallable to British workers was contained in those chapters of Engels reprinted under the title Socialism Utopian ared entifie Engels book on The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 could be obtain- ed. and this must have been usetul for these seeking to understand the nature of capitalisi industrialisation.

Also avalable at that time. though in very expensive editions, were some of Marx's collected journalism.

and his attack on the petty bour- geois anarchism of Proudhon in The Porerm of Philosophy.

OPPORTUNISM

It is not surprising that, with so: few of the works oi scientitic socia- lism available to them, British wor!- as found their difficulties compoun- wed when uney were contioniu with the opportunism of their trade ..en leaders, and tne aoctinate is of the solt-appointed Marx- is ot Sovial Democratic Federation.

Angels considered this organisation, Ten Britain claiming allegiance ..a's theories, to have ossified rement that is not orthodox Marxism (and that a Marxism which contains much that is erroneous), that is. by pur- suing the exact opposite of the pol- icy recommended in the Manifesto, it renders itself incapable of ever becoming anything but a sect.

The need for a break from such sectarian conceptions has by no means disappeared from the British working class movement to this day. However, this break requires, amongst other things, a firm grasp of the basic principles and method of Marxism in a way which has only become possible in the years since these problems first arose.

It has only been in fits and starts that the works of Marx and Engels have become available, and then they have not always appeared in a com- plete form, with the notes and back- ground information necessary for their study. After Marx and Engeis died, the papers containing all their writings.

most of which were unpublished, fell into the hands of the leaders of the German Social Democratic Party, who each embarked on the road to revisionism and class betrayal.

Edward Bernstein was given the task of editing the later sections of 'Capital' for publication, but in 1898 decided that capitalism was no longer a system of crisis and The defence of orthodoxy against these attacks on its basic principles was undertaken by Karl Kautsky who for all his erudition and correct statements, saw Marxism as a dogma rather than as a method for develop- ing the class struggle at every turn.

It was for this reason that he took part, together with nearly all the öther German Social Democratic leaders in the betrayal of the struggle

KARL MARX

FROM THE VERY

BEGINNING

that the working class needed to carry out in 1914 against imperialist Wol It is hardly surprising that, in the hands of people such as these, few of the works of Marx and Engels were prepared for publication, and in some cases they were even censored or suppressed. After the achievement of the Oct ober 1917 Russian Revolution, it seemed that at last all the resources might be found for a proper edition of all the works of Marx and Engels.

In 1923; the Institute of Marxism- Leninism in Moscow announced that they were preparing an edition of the complete works under the editorship of David Ryazanov, a founder of the Russian workers move- strange, particularly to those who ment and one of the great Marxist scholars of his day. However, it was not long before it became clear that such a restoration of Marxism would put in question many of the policies of the Soviet Thus the project col- bureaucracy. lapsed in 1930, when Ryazanov was arrested and disappeared into a prison camp.

MANUSCRIPTS DISPERSED

After 1933, when fascism came to power in Germany, the manuscripts of Marx and Engels were dispersed, most to Amsterdam, and some tor a time to Oxford. It was only very slowly after the War that the East Germans began to alism, whom Marx attacks in his bring out a German edition of the Collected Works, and it is on the basis of this that the fuller and more lessness in the face of things.

accessible English version has been produced. What is clear from this very first bolume is that Marx did not embark on the road to scientific socialism SOCIALIST PRESS, Thursday 6th February, 1975 *religion in itself is without content.

it owes itselt not to heaven but to the earth'. (p. 395) It is of some interest to note that this same passage is quoted by James Klugmann, the Stalinist sage, in his review of this volume in the Morning Star of 9th January.

How- ever, Klugmann also quotes the sec- tion which follows asserting that religious theory will collapse of itself This view is not consistent with Marx's more mature opinion tra "the criticism ot religion is the nign- est of all criticism' However, Marx's early idealism does fit in somewhat with the s called dialogue conducted betv sen Klugmann and various representat- ives of organised reigion Other reviews, such as the one by Ken Coates in "Tribune' have drawn attention to the liberal political opinions expressed by Marx in his icca: of jounalisin Thus Murs opposes censorship surports divorce, and generally ex- presses opinions which the Stalinist editors can happily characterise as 'democratic'. To talk about Marx's views in these terms is. however, to obscure one of its essential aspects.

NEVER : LIBERAL

He was never a liberal in the Guardian' ur New Statesman As can be seen from his sense. :arly opinions about the nature of law, he never saw the various politi- cal problems that confronted him simply as isolated injustices, but as aspects of a situation that had to be dealt with in terms of the world as a whole. This approach immediately places Marx in a stronger position than the many liberal protesters who continue to this day to inhabit the political horizon. In his early journalism, Marx wrote about many of the immediate poli- tical questions of his day, such as the reforms of local administration in the German statelets, which had just begun to move towards unifi-

CONFLICT WITH IDFALISM

It was in taking up another issue that he wrote about the debates in the Prussian assembly on a proposed law to prevent the peasants from taking wood from the forests for their use, as had been their custom In considering these debates, Marx soon came into conflict with those aspects of the Hegelian world-view that provided his starting point. It was clear that what was being declar- ed illegal was 'that which is harmful to the interests of the forest owner.

He thus saw already that his phil- by looking at the appearances he osopher's stone could only be found in the 'demand for the poor, saw around him, but by moving out to what were then the furthest politically and socially propertiless, to maintain their 'customary right frontiers of bourgeois thought.

However, this volume also shows to take the wood. Thus when he moved from his gene- that he immediately came up agains!

ral notion of law to considering real oppression, poverty, and political struggle. As soon as Marx began to laws, Marx immediately found that confront the very first theoretical le could not agree with any Hegelia: problems of his life, he moved to- concept of wont-spirit that man fested itself by 'making the rights of wards precisely those issues which human beings give way to that of were crucial in the development of his theory. young trees' (pp. 249, 230, 226).

Thus it was that right from the very Thus there was no 'epistomologi- cal break' in Marx's thought, no start. Marx found the categories if not the methods of Hegelian ideal- moment when he suddenly rejected or overturned what had gone before ism coming into conflict with the problems he had to consider. He . The starting point of Marx's writ- wrote movingiy about where his ings and researches may appear activities were forcing him.

are used to the crudities of the 'Anyone who often has to hear world of Anglo-Saxon empiricism directly the ruthless voice of want where reality is assumed to consist ämong the surrounding population easily loses the aesthetic tact by essentially of 'one damn thing atter which his thoughts can be expressed another' Thus Marx says that a legisiato in the most elegant and modest does not invent (laws), he only for images. He may perhaps even con- mulates them, expressing in conscious sider it his political duty for a time positive laws the inner laws of spirl- to speak in public in the popular tual relations'. (p. 308) language of distress, which in his This method of approach despite native land he had no chance of for its idealist lorm, assumes a connect getting.' (p.332) ion between all aspects of being and In asserting his qualified support appearance which is essential for for the materialism of Feuerbach, anybody who sees the need to under- Marx wrote of the need for nature stand the world, and to change it.

to come together with politics 'In Such a view of the world is super- the only alliance by which presen!

ior not only to empiricism, but also day philosophy can become truth.

to that of the priests of Kantian ide In 1837 his moderately liberal father was already warning Marx earliest notebooks as having to "tell against becoming 'embittered' and their beads over their own power- (p.429) four years later his fiancee Jenny von Westphalen feared he was get- It also leads on very quickly to a ting "involved in politics' - "indeed hostility to the more vulnerable the most risky thing of all. (pp.

especially religion. Iorms ol lacalsin 684,707) Thus as early as 1842, Marx had continued already developed the opinion that

JOHN STONEHOUSEE

THE LESSONS FOR LABOUR

SOCIALIST PRESS, Thürsday 6th February, 1975 The capitalist press recent- • ly has heen full of the spec- tacular globe-trottings of John Stonehouse. It is quite a story - the honour- able Labour MP for Wal- sall North who fled from He sold insurance for a while before 'incredible pressures' and successfully standing in 1957 as "blackmail' in a "brainstorm' Labour candidate for Wednesbury.

Stonehouse always approached pol- on November 20th last year itics as a businessman, an employer, now look: very much like using politicai experience for per- sonal gain - he visited the Central a shady company director Africal Federation in 1959 not planning to escape with the only as a Labour MP but also as co- loot before bankruptcy founder of the local Commercial Surveys Company Amazingly he struck. was known as a left-winger for Secretary of State to: Trade Peter making provocative speeches to the Shore has now ordered an invest- Airican National Congress and being igation into the Stonehouse com- expelled from the African white pany London Capital Group, and supremacist states. The left face was the Scotland Yard fraud chiel. who soon to go. was in charge of the Poulson invest-

THOROUGH CAPITALIST

igations, is to enquire into his dis- appearance. Stonehouse made his: mark when The real question, however, is how he ran successfully for presidency such a man could exist in the Labour of the London Co-op in 1962 against Party, the party founded to defend the left-wing 1960 Group (loosely trade unions and the working class.

based on USDAW, the shopworkers using it to further his ambitions union) and pledged to combat Com- and private business. munist influence in the Co-op and

POLITICAL LIFE

work for right-winger Gaitskell's Stonehouse began his political reforms. Stonehouse was a thorough life in the co-operative movement capitalist who proposed sackings and in which his mother had been a closure of departments to save mon- leading light. He went to Uganda ey, and a board of full-time paid in 1952 to run a co-operative directors. (The 1960 Group turned farm and wound it up two years later this down.)

later leaving it £360 in debt (a debt Such a man had to be noticed by not recovered till 1958 under legal Harold Wilson, himself then engaged in an anti-communist witch-hunt to drive the Young Socialists out of the Labour Party the 1964 Elec- ade hir. as one of the 1a geral bro-capitalst MPs. Jun- ior minister under Roy Jenkins (a natural pair) at the Ministry of But already he was in conflict with the established authorities, and the Aviation. Stonehouse often talked about two suppression or me knchiscac Zeitung the first paper with which mbitens - to be rich and to be : the mec Prime Minister and he set about 0120520* tion in which he was going.

It cannot be claimed of course that in a governmell lual ehtnuslasil cally supported Americal imperial- ism in Vietnam, declared a state of this first volume of his writings. Mary emergency against striking seamen, had in any sense developed his over- all world view froze wages and tried to pass laws He still suw himself as a philosopher against ine unions, stonehouse was i ct alically in his element and managed the un- he knew that the same spirit that precedented step of becoming cor tracts he radways with the Postmaster General and Minister hands of the workers, constructs of Posts and Telecommunications philosophical systems in the brains at the same time in 1969.

of the philosophers'. (pp. 191, 195) It was to these very workers that

FURTHER TO RIGHT

Marx'. quest was already driving hin and this is a fact already implicit by As workers now came into the the end of this first volume.

struggle against both employers and Three further verses trom his the Government over wages and in youthful poems can also serve to defence of trade unions, Stonehouse illustrat: the path along which Marx steadily moving further to the right (pp. 523, 5, 7) began to more and being promoted for it, set about his other personal ambition too.

Like a limon out inere, In 19 be set un a wine import business, Connoisseurs of Claret Towards: goa! I cannot near.

Ltd., naming as directors Sheila Buckley (his political secretary), 1 am caught in endless strife, Michael Hayes (his solicitor) and Endless ferment, endless dream: Alan Rainbird (a business friend).

I cannot conform to life, As a Minister Stonehouse could not Will not wavel with the stream.

have a personal interest, but all these three said they were directors Not in brooding introspection of companies which Stonehouse Bowed beneath a yoke of pain, subsequentiv claimed he had set up So that yearning, dream and action Export Promotion and Consultancy Unfulfilled to us remain.

Services, and Systems and Consult- ancy Services. If the 18 year old youth who While he had been at the Ministries wrote these lines could not foresee •of Aviation and, later, of Technology where his yearning would lead him, he was continually travelling the we at least can understand in retro- world as a salesman for British industry, and he acquired a wealth spect anar mis areal and action already contained the elements that or personai connectons wich ne would culminate in the struggle for could use through these two export the emancipation of the working.

firms to chart out a very profitable class, and, through that, of the whole business career. In fact Stonehouse's enthusiasm We can look forward to the help lol making une working class pay that we will receive in this struggle cost him his political ambition.

In from the 49 volumes which are said 1969 he faced the telegraphists in to be about to follow this. one, the Post Office, on strike over a though in the meantime we will claim which seemed to breach the have to rely on less full and compre- Government incomes policy, and or hensive editions. his advice the Cabinet decided to fight. In fact there was no breach of the

END

poncy and the cialm meant a arop The in earnings for many workers.

delayed settlement of the strike was expensive and destroyed Wilson's confidence in Stonehouse

BUSINESS EMPIRE

The 1970 General Election finally finished his political career and he set about creating a business empire.

Connoisseurs of Claret was failing and needed loans but in March 1972 he landed the chairmanship o1 leromatitime Ltd. and a £ 4,800 p.a. salary for occasionally keeping its directors in order. He also re- cruited Andrew Scott from 'ugly face of capitalism' _onrho to hea export fir Global Ime: He burst into politics again to sup- port the independence struggle of Bangladesh in Parliament, and was in charge of raising the Bangladesh Fund (to buy arms for Mujib Al Rahman) which was wound up in September 1972 The source of this energy is not hard to find: in November 1972 he tried to raise tim for a merchan banking firm, British Bangladesh Trust, intended to capitalise on Bangladeshi good will by financing investment on Bengali deposits.

This ingenious exercise was a flop as the Bangladesh High Commis- sioner disowned him and many Instead, Stonehouse plunged in with his own money and that of "I tried to wear a businessman's hat and a political hat, and in the Labour Party, a socialist party, this is often extremely misunderstood." John Stonehouse. Global Imex and Export Promotion and Consultancy Services.

CORRUPTION

Stonehouse was not the first man in the Labour movement to use the personal-connechon network, lne corrupt and double-dealing methods of capitalism to pay his way.

There had been Poulson and Cunningham too. But for Stonehouse the road was downwards from here on several original Trust subscribers baulked, and several others were very doubtful: Boston Registrars and Nominees, down for a £50,000 stake had not traded since 1956; Pladd Finance, also in for £50,000, had assets of £1,262 when it last filed accounts in 1971 Stonehouse went further into debt and engaged in complex company dealings to hide the crisis - he with his three co-directors had personally staked £145,000 in the Trust.

Some protested - Scott resignec from Global Imex when asked fo another £20,000 for the bank in February 1974.

COLLAPSE

Stonehouse was in trouble - he now had an empire of 24 compan- ies, but which was making little money - only €18,652 pre-tax profit on a £3.7m turnover in 1972-73. . In 1974 fringe banks were collapsing in the wake of the downfall of London and County Securities and the major banks tightened on personal lending Ironically, perhaps, Stonehouse's biggest threat was from his own ‚party wnen nealey s March buage!

stopped businessmen setting their overdraft interest against tax.

stonehouse was later to sadly "I tried to wear a business- man's hat and a political hat, and in the Labour Party, a socialist par- ty, this is often extremely misund- erstood. If the poor man was embarrassed bv the echoes of socialism lett in the Labour Party we might suggest that a serious fight on behalt of the working class by the 'left' MPs against him and other 'misunder- stood' politicians might save their anguish by forcing them out of the Labour Party into more congenial surroundings. Such men flourish on the inability of the 'left' to make a break with and fight them. Roy Jenkins them led 68 abour llls to break Party policy and vote with the Tories on the Common Market in 1971 and thereby kept the Tories in Not a single 'left' tabled a power. demand for the expulsion of this ultra-right group of MPs.

Such a demand would have enorm- ously strengthened the Labour Pat- ty and would do so today with Jenkins' refusal to free the Shrews.

bury Two. As it is. it is scarceiv any wonder that the demands for a Labour campaign against the Tory "Fair Rents" Act fell on deaf ears when men like Stonehouse rented a farmhouse in Hampshire and a flat in London, and bought a house in the West Country for an estima- ted £80,000.

END NEAR

Everything came to a head tor Stonehouse last summer. Several lapsed, the Global Imex managing pany Accountant resigned in Sept- ember, director Sir Charles Forte and two others were pressing him for the 1973-74 balance sheets and wanted a Department of Trade in- Page 5 vestigation, and another ex-director was suing him for over £10,000.

He had a $15m cement deal which could have netted Global Imex €190,000 profit on £500,000 worth of cement, and had plans to ible: "I have vehicles for the mon ey to be paid offshore, in Swit- zerland or Liechtenstein" he told one fellow-director. But the Nigerian government pul- led out of the deal and at the same time, just before he disappeared on 20th November, the First National Bank of Miami turned him down for a loan for the second time.

It was no surprise that Stonehouse had read the warnings and prepared.

He phoned round local hospitals to find a dead man of his own age and found two - Joseph Arthur Markham and Donald Clive Mildoon. He visited the widows as their MP and used the former's birth certificate to get a taise pass- port, issued on 2nd August last year. Before he left, he withdrew £20,000 from Global Imex (two year s salary leaving it very short of cash, sold the lease on his flat and put his house up for sale.

Whatever his faults, he could cer- tainly think clearly in a 'brain- stormi

STILL PAID

Stonehouse is still being paid his €4,500 p.a. MP's salary in Aust- ralia and talks of staying an MP "I think there's a lot of humbug about membership of the House of Commons being discontinued.

Many MPs are away for months...

Of course this puts him in the illustrious company of men like Labour millionaire Harold Lever, whose absence one night to wine 'and dine led to vicious Tory amend ments being incoporated into Labour's Trade Union and Labour Relations Bill The Labour Party, intimately tied to capital, particularly through men like Stonehouse, will always refuse to challenge the employers and their right to make money what- ever that means in rising unemploy- ment and falling living standards.

As the employers now mount their toughest offensive, Wilson and Healey are reduced to an echo of the employers, using threats of unemplovment against strikers and against the wages movement.

nese wom-our bonucians lusi be driven out of the Labour move- ment, and a new leadership built to defend the working class.

REVIEWSREVIEWS REVIEWS

Page 6

"THIS WEEK - 1844"

mulated. Thames TV Jan 21st of wages. 'No class of men have con- tributed more to the wealth major confrontation. and comfort of society and have partaken less of their own creation'. This thought expressed in Chartist and Miners union papers lay at tie centre of the great str- uggles of 1844 in the coal mines of North-East England.

According to the mine owners, the men, particularly in the North-East, were the best-paid labourers in the land - indeed their average wage was nearly the same as that of workers in the factories! But the men rarely received the full wage; failure to send up pure coal 7 from the pits (despite the darkness making it difficult to tell coal from black siate) resulted in crippling fines. Opening the books would in itself have revealed this, since the bosses divided their spoils with In this crooked coal-inspectors. way, swindling the men out of 'a fair day's pay for a fair day's work' was rendered invisible. The 'Bond', a contract signed by all mine workers, tied the labourer to cone employer exclusively. Because the miners lived in company cott- it became ages with their families, possible to maintain a reserve army Any man redundant jof workers. could not seek other employment for fear of having his family turfed

OUT ORIO LEC SUCCLO

Injury money and widow's bene- in a much more fits were minimal 'so as to create an incentive in the men towards in the past. care and responsibility. It was under these conditions that wages had been driven down by 30% in the years 1840-44. A recession gripped the capitalist During the boom which system. followed on the introduction of steam power in the factories and

"GOLD"

value. The contradictions of capital- sm are all present in the South African gold-mines in thei 40,000 most concrete form. white and 400,000 black migrant workers labour up to 2 miles underground to pro- duce millions of ounces of gold each year. To open a mine costs tens of millions, and each ton of ore pro- duces only a few pennyweights of The black migrant workers gold. live in mine compounds for the period of their contracts - the mines feed and clothe them, and teach them its own working lang- The gold mines are a comp- uage. a clerk). lete world, with its own laws - all ultimately determined by the un- failing need of capitalism for a standard of value. Marx shows how men's material conditions determine their ideas The strange and the way they live. world of the mines moulds people just as strange - people whose hopes, desires and possibilities are

LAY-OFFS?

Vatican finances are in a state of 'severe deficit'. An announcement in January from Cardinal Villot, the Pope's Secretary of State, revealed that the Church's cash position is even more serious than it was following Leo XIII's jubilee celebrations in 1900. The council of cardinals has rejected the 1975 draft budget, and set up a special commission to 100K 101 savilies. Work study, and possible redun- dancies, are in the air, but we understand there is also concern revolutionary oftensive ot capital, transport, which had particularly and at the same time a crucial affected the coal industry, immense factor in the breaking away of a quantities of capital had been accu- section of the Chartist movement As demand fell rapidly, from a reliance on petitions and to maintain the rate of profit on Parliamentary bills, and towards this immense capital meant speed-up revolutionary methods based on mass redundancy, and the lowering an independent policy for the working class. But this could not be done without The main weakness of the Thames The workers TV documentary on the strike, had struggled successfully and often shown late on the night of Jan- illegally against the Combination uary 21st, was the complete ab- Act, (repealed 1826) and Trades Working conditions in the pits in the 1840s sence of any consideration of the Unionism was developing rapidly.

strike as a political event The capitalist crisis itself in the Though it was able to show the 1830's had created the conditions solidarity of the capitalist class - for the Chartist movement to win the mine owners, the special con- first the sympathy of, and then the stabulary, the army, bourgeois soc- leadership of the working class iologists and the medical profession Workers were on the move forwards, (which at one point asserted that organised way than coal dust was good for the lungs capital had ever had to cope with because it was a natural product!) - the most vivid scenes of workers Capitalism had to play on such were of defeat and degradation.

weaknesses that it could find in the The expressions on the faces of working class, inflict demoralising pickets who had failed to prevent defeats, and in that way prepare scab labour from lower-paid The defeat the defeat of Chartism. of the 1844 miners strike was a ing the lines seemed those of men major milestone of this counter- white mineworkers since the early shaped by the relentless drive of twenties, when they revolted aga- capitalism to accumulate surplus inst the attempts to replace them with cheap, black labour.

A film about such people could be dramatic indeed - violent contra- armed militia confronting tanks, dictions, violent repressions, the artillery and aricraft - until 250 struggles and isolation of the black of them were dead. workers separated froin their fami- When the new National Party lies ..... but 'Gold' is a pathetic Pretty scenery, "manly" Roger the mineowners, they took it: Moore, Susanna York confused by the price was Apartheid. her part, a nebulous international conspiracy complete with Sheikh, are combined with a rough-diamond style mining overlord (whose attem- labour. pts at decisiveness are so feeble that the ruthless, flamboyant pirates who actually built the mining hou- ses wouldn't have employed him as better himself ing of liberal principles.

In the film Rod Slater (Roger Moore) protects black workers from a fanatic. a brutal white colleague: later one of them dies for him. Both things but what lie not in the protection of the might happen in reality, kind of personality would such a man as Slater have to have?

His actions would be in defience of the racist bonds forged between at the large episcopal travelling expenses involved in recent nego tiations over Christian unity, and apartment of a Paris striptease at the considerable sums lost by lancer. officials in 'unsuccessful specula- tion' on the Church's behalf.

Simultaneously with this crisis at the time. of confidence came news that Cardinal Marty, Archbishop of Paris, has set up another special 'ecclesiastical commission'.

task? To investigate the circums- tances under which Monsignor Tort Bishop of Montauban, was found field's peaceful green, of a house dead on the doorstep in one of Paris' red of ill-fame' light districts on January 17th.

His decease follows hard on the heels (if that is the word) of the who have lost taith in workers as a class, not of the real men who went forward with their families through victimisation, eviction and near starvation in defence of their Union! There were strong scenes showing the way the miners attempted to adapt the Christian religion to its requirements in the struggle.

ilarly it showed how some leaders of the Chartist movement could not see beyond the bounds of bourgeois legality, and refused to defend militants against eviction "because it would be impossible to do so in a court of law!'

Well-staged scenes of meetings, eviction struggles and so on, and believably scripted interviews with the major forces in the struggle, could not in the end make up for the lack of an overall political and historical perspective Though showing the limitations imposed by religion, and by the legal methods of the mainstream of Chartism, and of an embryonic union organisation which was, as yet, not industry-wide, it could not go beyond these to grasp the truth of the struggle as a political conflict as full of meaning now as in 1844.

The miners' demands -à guaranteed minimum wage of 15/- a week, sec- urity of tenure of their homes, widows' and accident benetits, union recognition and so on - were the forms of a broader struggle whose content was the political birth of the British working class as an independent force. demands reflect this political ess- ence in every period of capitalst crisis. To understand this is to begin to learn the lessons of that strike.

to do so is to portray a defeat with a full stop at the end of it, as if it were a thing-in-itself. Meanwhile, as any miner can tell you, the struggle over conditions and wages continues.

J. VIGO

sections of the industry from cross- with black behind a revolutionary leadership and the destruction of Roger Moore as Slater apartheid. gives, not surprisingly, no evidence They at all of knowing this had fought the Army - as a badly Equally, why should King, the black worker, die for Slater? In 1969, including all benefits, he would be earning less in real terms than he would have in 1911 in the offered these men protection from Today, his redundancy and wage-cuts against same job £l a shift, plus enough food to work and a bunk. Perhaps, being so far from home and family, he For a mineowner to be tolerant would be so grateful for Slater's is one thing - it means he can cut friendship as to do what he does his wage-bill by bringing in cheap But if he felt the isolation and For a white worker it injustice of his position that means being prepared to lose one's , he would be facing the strongly. job, go against the racist union and police with stones in his hand, as his friends, and to cease tighting to at Carletonville - a much more - a fanatic uphold- likely place and reason for him to die. Rod Slater is not portrayed as such The revolutionary movements now The only alternative developing throughout Southern could be that he has understood Africa therefore come in harsh that the interests of white workers contradiction to the liberai tan- tasies portrayed in "Gold" National Party, which cannot be show the real way forward for long maintained given the contra- African miners dictions within South Africa today, and that white workers must join stead of the wicket; since fast bow- lers can deliver at up to 100 mph French prelate, Cardinal Danielou.

this is no laughing matter.)

He passed away in the private Progressive cricketting chaps are seriously worried for the sport's There were conflicting press reports as to whether either reputation for fair play.

letter-writer to The Times argues dignitary was wearing his mitre that peaceful co-existence can no longer be guaranteed by the um- pires' discretion. a drastic law which forbids body.

BALLS TO YOU

line altogether. may over cricketting hooliganism.

International capitalist aggression But whether the British Common- is penetrating even the cricket wealth can 'set an example on the England's right side in this struggle defeat in the recent Test series in Perhaps a Australia has provoked a bitter con- our doubts Market arbitrator at silly mid-off troversy on 'body-line' bowling (i.e.

is the answer? aiming the ball at the batsman in- SOCIALIST PRESS, Thursday, 6the February, 1975

WORKERS

DIARY

BANKRUPT?

The Royal Economic Society, coll- ective association of economists faces 'serious financial difficulties' and 'major cash-flow problems.

So grave is the situation that a spe- cial committee has been set up- including Sir Donald Mac Dougall, formerly chief economic adviser to the Treasury - to look for poss- Sim- lible remedies One major burden, we understand, is the Society's large scale product- ion of the complete works of John , author of the Maynard Keynes theory that intelligent economic management can save capitalism To the soaring cost of trom crisis. paper and ink have been added wor- ries about future sales Reassurance was forthcoming, though from Professor Champer- nowne of Cambridge University who reported that money problems had not, as yet, had any real con- sequences for the society's intel!- We are relieved to hear ectual life'. 'Concern among the rank and file has been roused, nonetheless, by the warning (from a representative of the London Graduate School of Business Studies) that learned soc- ieties must be run on the same principles as small businesses. Are we to expect a fight against speed up and redundancies? Or perhaps the solution could lie in a system of payment by results?

'OPERATING PROFIT

A letter to theGuardian on January 25th reflects one way in which the crisis is now hitting sections of the middle class. The premiums on their Not private insurance schemes, which once eased them to the top of the waiting lists for medical treatment.

ere now deving outside their eac The Guardian reader complat is.

'BUPA costs have risen so much that I cannot afford any longer to belong to their scheme BUPA is the largest of the private health insurance schemes. The Guar- ¿dian 'Family Finance' page replies: 'Insurance Companies will not......

take you on for the first time beyond a certain age, and are likely, sooner or later, not to offer renewal even to their existing clients. They don't want to lose money…........

Private health insurance, in other words, will only insure you if you are unlikely ever to be ill! The answer.

even for those determined individual- ists who tell workers they must 'pay their own way' and 'stand on their own feet' is, according to the Guar- dian: minimum is "We shall just have to hope the Nat- ional Health Service survives.'!

BUPA, then like all capitalist enter- prise only operates if it makes a profit Work-to-contract consultants would do well to take note!

CASH AND CARRY HARRY

Harry Lander JP, pillar of the Jew was ish establishment in London, the boss of the Israel British Bank oi , which declared itself bank- Tondon rupt on September 23rd It appears that overdralt facilities are unlimited if you're the boss be- cause Harry Lander "borrowed' €1,120,000. However poor Harry received no salary in 1973-4- - he just drew a nominal £147,559 which appeared under the heading of 'other' on the balance sheet Need there be a stronger argument for 'open the books' and expose the wheelings and dealings of capitalist A recent enterprise? 'What is needed is We share his dis-

MINORITY OF ONE

Spotted recently by our roving correspondent on a tombstone in England, USA - the we have Maine, New following epitaph: 'I told you I • Common was sick

SHREWSBURY 2

SOCIALIST PRESS, Thursday, Oth February, 1975 The two building workers Eric Tomlinson and Dennis Warren are still in jail. After they were refused the right to appeal to the House of Lords, in December, the TUC sent deleg- ations to the House of Commons to see Wilson and then Jenkins, who simply said 'I cannot usurp the function of the court.'

the TUC pressured by the anger of thousands of trade unionists at the treatment of these men, called for the lobby of Parliament on January 14th which was preceded by marches of 8,000 trade unionists through London.

W.S.L FIGHT

The Workers Socialist League participated in the main march, distributing leaflets calling on the demonstration to take up the call for a general strike and for the removal of Jenkins, and for his replacement with a Home Secret ary who will free the men.

The WSL leaflet put the position clear: 'This campaign to release the Shrewsbury Two must be seen as the start of a campaign throughoui the workers movement against the range of anti-working class legis- lation carried forward by the Lab- our Government. 'Capitalism in crisis is introducie a series of laws to stop the indep- endent action of the working class.

The use of the 1875 Conspiracy Laws has to be seen as linked to the so-called 'Anti-Terrorism' Act the proposed legislation to make the law of trespass into a criminal law - to be used primarily against occupations - and now the use of section 42 of the Immigration Act to deport immigrant workers (without charge, trial or appeal) who become involved in trade union struggles. 'Franco Caprino, who is currently

COWLEY TUNERS STRIKE

The Tuners, after a month on str- ike, suspended action on Monday on instruction of the AUEW exéc- utive, pending an 'independent en- quiry. This apparently ordinary dis- pute contains far-reaching pohticai and industrial implications.

The capitalisi press have recog- nised this. The City Comment article in the Daily Telegraph of Friday Jan 31st spells it out: "British Leyland is the test case for the Government in its deal- ings with the private sectoi of in dustry; for the Trades Unions which may make or break a com- apain - pany responside loi a vast num- ber of jobs."

TEST CASE

In other words if BL is the test (topnec case then the Tuner's strike is one of the battle grounds on which this is being fought. This brings into new perspective the position of the IMG for whom the Tuner's strike is also proving something of a test case, with their attacks on the tuners as a minority who are prejudicing the 'unity' of the majority by their action. The tuners first lodged their claim as far back as January 1973 and at the end of the pro- cedure decided not to take any strike action despite support from the AUEW District Com- mittee. They reopened the clair in September 1974 and on Dec- ember 18th served fourteen days trike notice on Leyland.

WILSON

On the first day of the strike Leyland closed the plant, this was calculated to whip up hys- ment. teria. The same day Wilson spea- King at Huyton said that the on the spot. government would not financially support firms where workers went on strike. The next day the Oxford Mail headlined "WELCOME

FOR WILSON STRIKE WARN-

ING"

All the issues and techniques forkers Socialist League contingent on Jan 14th Lobby.

!. der arrest wider this law, has #cently been involved in picketing wite Warren and Tomlinson.

When Roy Jenkins says the rule : e must prevail', and Wilson Wilch hont: tuo British Leyland ership. ' worker thry are speaking the same ianguage es Dens Healey when he :ays it is lar better that more peo- ple should be at work, even if that laws. meus arcepting lower wages on average, that that those lucky en- ough to keep their jobs scoop the coi whist britous are living on the dole, That is what the social step. contract is all about.' "These statements show the right

THE LEFT MPS

wing of the Labour Party, support- ing the employers and the bankers, using the law and the threat of un- the Labour Party and send their employment to take away the jobs representatives to Parliament.

standards and basic i rom the work- justice and the labour movement This atlack must be fought not by protest bat by action. This dem- - Frank Allaun, Martin Flannery, By an industrial correspondent developed during the victimisat- ern shrupgle of lost April were necessarily get them off the hoc!

True to form, Jack Jones (who inies of leitece from the Com- said in the middle of the Scottish Wives Action Group began to agi lorry drivers strike that it was no he only difference was good getting high wages if you bankrupt the firm you work for) that instead of an individual be- ing victimised it was now a whole called for arbitration, the local T&G official attacked the Tuners, and Parsons moved at a T&G Next the trade union bureaucrats stewards' meeting in the works were brought in, and they obtained that the Tuners be advised to 3 retum to work for more negotia- The negoriations ended in withdraw their claim, a proposal which was defeated in a fight led deadlock and the mechanics struck by WSL members. and this despite a decision of the TOWU Automotive Com- ¡oittee (who nad !, members in

IMG

volved) to call for the claim to be On the 2nd January the IMG issued a leaflet into the factory

SCAD LABOUR

saying that the Tuners claim "will damage the chances of a Tus time BL did not close the united fight to restore the value plant but announced that they of our wages in the annual review" would run with scab labour on This leaflet helped whip up hosti- the Tuners' jobs - and achieved lity towards the Tuners. 50%6 c: more production on this IMG rank and fileism leads them A foot time for many to attack minorities in a period Cowley plant had when attacking minorities has been eus on soal letour, the theme right through the right The bada of fois of course was wing to the employers themselves net just the witol-bunt but the who know that if minorities can esta fioted Parsons by the he disciplined the majority will be SWI Serrauce y last April.

disciplined. sons ow crony condoned You cannot choose the condition.

or timing of a fight. Ne sone now was the rights of struggle.to understand the forces piordics and the right to strike.

The tuners were involved in a legi- at work behind. It is clear that the Labour government is backing tinate action. But the details of private industry in order to give it the funers cuse now became dwar- time to make itself profitable.

ted by the defence of principle and It can only do this by greater the fact that a defeat for the Tuner exploitation of the working class would be a dofeat for the whole in the form of speed up (which is factory and the trade union move- now taking place ail over the Cow- ley complex) and by the prepara- The AUEW Executive were now tions for victimisation. After ducking the clearly behind the managements issue at the first meeting (hoping attempt to beat this strike.

it would go away - with a little The tuners must be supported.

help) they then made it official, It has always been minorities that showing that even sections of the have built and defended trade AUEW bureaucracy could begin unions, we must fight to stop to see the importance of this the blacklegging. The WSL will struggle. The fact that they be at the forefront of this fight.

134-

SOEIRLET

FreToe onstration today gives the lie to Audrey Wise, Dennis Skinner - we all those in the trade union move- call on these to put their words ment who say that the working into practice and act to remove class won't fight. What is required Jenkins now and demand a Home is determined and principled lead- Secretary who will carry out the decisions of the Labour Party Con- The lobby of itself acheived noth- ference and free the Shrewsbury ing - except a vague promise from two. Wilson to look into the conspiracy The Tribunites and left talkers have shown no inclination to wage What it did was to raise the issue this fight. Like all reformists they to a new level in the workers move- are too terrified of breaking the ment (not the intention of the TUC) laws set up by the capitalist class and pose the question of the next to defend itself against those it exploits. They are Parliamentarians who genuinely believe that capital- ism can be made acceptable, or even that socialism can be achieved The working class fought to form through the 'correct' al procedure in Parliament.

The Communist Party says the The 'left' MPs - Bob Cryer who left MPs are fighting, and have opp- said Shrewsbury represents an in- osed resolutions calling for a gen- eral strike to free the Shrewsbury has always acted to right injustices' two and defend trade union rights.

The International Socialists and the International Marxist Group both see the answer in terms of more "rank and file' movements, thus diverting from the real task contronting the working class, now use the official support to or- which is to drive out the reaction- der the men back to work will nut ary leadership of the official trade union andLabour movement which stands aside while trade unionists ai jalta

MURRAY

Len Murray looks for a solution in parole which would be 'one way of relieving the situation' - and plans no other mass action.

Prentice - a T&GWU sponsored MP - refused even to meet a dele- gation of trade unionists on the lobby, as 'a matter of principle' The opportunism of the Workers Revolutionary Party only served to further confuse the issue.

On December 20th they said in the Workers Press "The campaign of words has failed, as Workers Press always said it would. Now only the trade union bureaucrats, the CP and the so-called 'left' MPs want to continue this obscene cir- cus of protest'! Then when it emerged that the working class was planning to turn out and fight, the WRP somersaul- ted to full support, but still did not call on workers to join the marches before the lobby, and did not fight within its own membership for ă high turnout. (The ATUA delegation was 50, whereas the WRP claims a London We can only membership of 5,000)

GENERAL STRIKE

This campaign must now be taken forward. The only way to force the release of Warren and Tomlin- son and the repeal of the 1875 Conspiracy Acts and their replace- ment with laws defending trade unionists is by an indefinite gen- All this is eral strike. The strength of the working class which freed the Pentenville dock- ers and which threw out the Ind- ustrial Relations Act must again be mobilised in defence of its rights. The demand for a general strike must not be an empty demand Page 7 Resolutions must be put down for special meetings of shop stew- ards and workers to actively fight for a general strike.

DEMANDS

The policy of the Workers Soc- ialist League is for: * A General Strike to force the release of Warren and Tomlinson, for the repeal of the 1875 Consp- iracy Acts and their replacement by laws defending the Trade Uni- ons, and for the repeal of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Immigrat- ion Act, and all other anti-working class legislation. *For the Left MPs to put down a resolution in the PLP for the removal of Jenkins, and his repl- acement with someone prepared to release these workers and de- fend the working class. For a campaign on this througiiout the labnur movement. *End the social contract. Defend jobs and living standards.

WIGAN

MARCH

QUESTIONS TO BE

ANSWERED

constitution On Saturday 1st Feb the Wigan Builders Action Committee began their march which, according to Workers Press had the intention of "holding meetings, calling out.

sites and inviting workers to join in." It was, apparently "a decisive march to rouse the whole working class. If this really was the case, then the Workers Socialist League would of course, regardless of the major differences we have with the WRP and irrespective of the non-politi- cal leaflet the Wigan Committee issued on the TUC lobby, give the march critical support, as be- ing a protest march intended as part of a genuine fight to mobi- lise the class for the defence of the pickets.

"PUBLIC" MEETINGS

Unfortunately this is not the The march is dominated case completely by the sectarian prac- tices of the WRP, which means it is very selective as to the sections of workers it allows to join in.

On the day of the lobby of Par- liament a delegation of carworkers form the 5/293 T&GWU Branch and Oxford Trades Council was turned away from a 'public' mee- ing of the Wigan Committee b eading WRP fiembers, on th basis they were 'anti-party elem- Further, two trade unionists travelled from Oxford to St.

Helens on the first day of the march to write a full report for 'Socialist Press', only to be phy- sically threatened, called 'polic spies, and refused admission tu the public meeting. Again the term 'anti-party' was used

ANSWERS NEEDED

We would ask - what party does this term refer to? Is there a new Wigan Builders Action Party? If not, then who is running this march, and in whose interests? Why are trade unionists being excluded from its public meetings?

If the answer is that it is because they are members of the WSL, then the question is why CP stalin- ists, Maoists, right-wingers, Tories, IS and IMG are not 'anti-party' and are allowed in, if the WSL is, and is barred from entry? The Labour movement is entitled to full answers from the Wigan Committee which is allowing its name to be used in this way by the WRP

Page 8

WSL: FIRST PUBLIC

MEETING

The first public meeting of the Workers Socialist League took carry forward place in London on January 24th.

against Stalinism, Attended by over 100, the meet- ing centred on establishing the continuity of the struggle for Trotskyism, which now takes place through the building of the Alan Thornett, speaking first, tics of the WRP, began with an analysis of the objective conditions which had forced on the development first of the opposition within the

WSL

WRP, and spit with the nealy leadership, following the forced the establishment of thel WSL to continue the struggle for Trotsky's Transitional Programme.

"We remain He showed how the sharpening of the capitalist crisis posed an enormous crisis within social democracy and the reformist then quoted trade union leaderships. In such a period Trotskyism could make very rapid develop- ments if a break was made from propagandism. organisation:

DEMANDS

all." Comrade Thornett then brought forward some of the lessons al- ready learned by the League in the fight for the demands of the Transitional Programme. The demand of "open the Books" and of "end business secrets", for instance, which throughout the seemed comparatively mild and easy to win support for, was bitterly fought by the right wing, said comrade Thornett. The right wing correctly recog nised that once business secrets are ended then capitalism itself is unable to continue, since not only is every employer exposed to his competitors, but, far

"ACID TEST"

worse, he is exposed to the critical examination of his own workers. All the behind-the-scenes man- ipulation would be brought to light, with the most revolutionary of implications. The right wing also saw that the demand for a programme of pub- lutionary lic works for nationalised indust- ries meant an end to the free market, and therefore was incom- patible with the capitalist system.

These demands were therefore no not 'soft options, but called for a hard fight in the unions.

THEORETICAL HERITAGE

Dealing with the theoretical heritage of the WSL, Comrade DANGER....continued from front page the independence of the working class from those sections of the capitalist class who want to stay out of the Common Market because their interests lie in the old Comm- onwealth countries. Such is the case with the 'Daily which has Express', for instance, business interests in Canada. Instead of bringing this out, the "Star' of 'At stake is the whole Jan <4lll says. future of the British people. Those big business firms which support EEC cidentally, who talk of the 'Second membership do so only to make big- ger profits at the expense of the peo- So are we supposed to believe ple. that employers who are against the Market aren't interested in profits?

CONFUSION

This confusion, stemming from an abandonment of internationalism, has led the Stalinists to march on the same march as the National Front against the Market, and leads to fur- ther confusion on the role of Powell and the anti-market Tories, as well as Foot and the lefts of the Labour Party who also speak in nationalist terms about 'British sovereignty'.

Now the Stalinists support the 'Get Britain Out' campaign, whose chair- man is Mr Christopher Frere-Smith- an extreme right-wing Tory - and which had as one of the main speak- ers at its first public meeting in Bristol on 26th Jan Mr. Richard Brody, Tory MP for Holland with The 'Star' said of this organisation: "The 'Get Britain Out' Boston. Printed and Published by the Workers Socialist League 31. Dartmouth Park Hill, London NWS IAR Lister stressed that it was a Trotskyist movement, and would the struggle against reform- ism, and against those who want- ed to abandon Marxism and sub- stitute their own surface impress- ions for scientific analysis.

He said that since the split with the propogandist sectarian poli- which had been carried over by its leadership from the past historical isolation of the Trotskyist movement, the leadership had been approa- ched by all manner of "quacks and charlatans" who wanted to abandon Marxism and abandon the struggle for Bolshevism.

hostile to rank was distributed in the Cowley plants and fileism', hostile to state last week taking up Walden who as capitalism and hostile to Pablo- ism," said comrade Lister, who MP for Birmingham, vocated the closure of the British from the Transitio Leyland factories in Oxford and nal Programme Trotsky's reply to those other groups who warn Bathgate. Since then it has become clear us that we are too small to de- that he was not speaking for him- clare ourselves an independent self but for big business.

"....(Sceptics) are Comment' article of the Daily Tele- good for scarcely anything at graph of Friday January 31st repeats the demand: "Any rational restruc- turing of British Leyland would

INTERNATIONAL

involve as a minimum shutting Cowley and Bathgate with all the The forces which produced the social consequences involved."

WSL were forces of the inter- This is the text of the WSL state.

national working class moving on to the offensive in struggles ment: The WSL world declared the unity of the world It is a disgrace for a Labour MP class struggle and that its objec- to go on to a national television tive was to construct a revolu- tionary party to lead these for- the Cowley and Bathgate factor- ces, and thus to strengthen and develop the theoretical heritage omically devastate these regions.

of the Trotskyist movement be- yond the propogandist limitations of the International Committee.

Where does Wilson stand on this as Labour Prime Minister?

In reply to points raised by Bob Pennington (IMG), comrade ies should be closed.' Thornett stressed that test in the WSL will be our abi- lity to build and develop cadres in industry, and a principled revo This is how we party. must be judged." it will be resisted. In closing the meeting, chairman Tony Richardson pointed out that only the WSL had put for- ward a perspective for the con- tinuation of the campaign to workers through their unions.

through free the Shrewsbury Iwo, the demand that the Left MPs force Jenkins out of office.

group avoided these questions of leadership. ment stands movement's efforts to stop this pernicious interference must be supported.? (Jan 21st) Here Chater openly identifies himself with the ruling class, using ers) the word "we", and boasting of the "vast potential market" which could flow from further exploit- ation of colonial workers.

A further problem for the Stalin- average, than that those ists is that the French and Itallan CPs (together with the Chinese, in- World') support the EEC, and have ¡al contract is all about.'

their elected representatives on its governing bodies, in other words on those bodies which have: 'the aim of creating an economic and political frame-work which would constitute the strongest arsenal of weapons in the hands of the ects up. big business monopolies against progressive governments within Western Europe'(!) or which form: 'an effective alliance against the USSR.' (Star Jan 22nd) and more clearly still are part of: 'the cold- ments of the employers. war imperialist military and pol- itical NATO set-up directed aga- inst Socialist countries and the trade union and socialist move- ment at home in the member states.' ('Star' Jan 27th) All this constitutes continuing proof that the Stalinists have abandoned the most basic elements of internationalism, and that only the Trotskyist movement can now raise the principled opposition to the Common Market with the slo- gan of the United Socialist States of Europe.

DEFEND JOBS AT BLMC

BLMC Coule! complet The statement reprinted below regarding redundancies,' - drea using the threat of unemployment All Saints ad- as the whip to impose 'efficiency'.

Speaking on the tuners' strike John Symonds then said '... we have failed to meet our survival budget at Cowley. A further det- erioration will be calamitous with, The "City let me make it clear, the stongest likelihood of at best, a major red- uction of manufacturing and em- ployment within this factory com.

plex in Oxford? In other words- the tuners should step in line or face unemployment. But this crisis cannot be hung around the neck of any group of workers within British Leyland.

This is a world crisis of the capital- ist system itself. The car industry is the sharpest point of the capitalist crisis all over network and call for the closure of the world. If, as is said, the problems of Bri ies, a proposal which would econ- tish Leyland are caused by worker: defending their conditions - what The question must be asked - who is Walden speaking for What about Volkswagen. They are exper does he know about the industry?

ting to show a f90m loss for last year; are working at 60% capacity with sales down 43% and have shed 10,000 workers- yet they are more Walden was very blunt. He said 'The Cowley and Bathgate factor- 'efficient' and have had no strikes This crisis hits individual employ- We should be equally biunt in saying - WE ARE NOT HAVING unit costs, driving them to impose speed-up, redundancy, and short IT! If Brian Walden, Donald Stokes time as they fight over a shrinking Harold Wilson or anyone else tries to close and dismantle this factory market under ever worsening econ- omic conditions - workers have no This Labour Government was control over that. British Leyland financial director put in office by the working class Alex Park speaking on Jan 10th to represent the interests of the said that the company had to find, working class. The Labour Party at an annual rate of inflation of exists on money contributed by 20%, £96,000,000 per year just to cover the increased value of stock Trade union branches should de- mand that Wilson repudiate Wal- needed for production. Add to this current interest rep den's statement and he makes it ayments of f40m plus the fact clear where the Labour Govern- that unit costs rise as production falls and you can begin to see the On Jan 3rd Wilson attacked Cow- degree of speed-up necessary if ley carworkers saying that governm, the workers are to carry the cost ment money would not be avail- able to save the company if work- of this crisis. The reality is that no degree of ers were involved in strike action speed-up could save British Ley- (ie defending their conditions against the attacks of the employ- land in the end. The problem 1s far too fundamental, and raises directly the question of whether On Jan 10th Denis Healey said the industry can continue under 'It is far better that more people should be at work, even if that private ownership. Leyland, like all other employers means accepting lower wages on will fight for their survival as a lucky enough to keep their jobs scoop private employer. In their drive to break the resist- the pool whilst millions are living ance of the working class to the on the dole. That is what the soc- measures they intend to take, the employers are aided by Wilson In the same television programme Graham Turner - a self-appointed and Healey. Jack Jones who says 'we must 'expert' on the motor industry - regurgitated his witch hunt about improve efficiency' the trade union leaders stand on a skiver's paradise' at Cowley.

Each of these statements conn- this. Locally the employers interests are served by those who try to Each supports the employers in threatening workers with unem- split the tuners who have a legiti- mate claim and a right to fight for ployment and prepares the ground for speed-up-and cuts in real wa- Symonds knows that to break the ges. These are the primary require- tuners is to deal a blow to the whole plant at the point of strug On Jan 10th Stokes called a meeting of trade union represent- gle over wages and redundancy The best interests of every work- atives from the corporation.

John Barber, managing director, er in Cowley are that the tuners win their claim and the resulting said "There can be no hope of sec- strength is turned to improving urity of employment without wages and defending jobs.

greater efficiency ...... if we can The new so-called 'consultative step up our production perform- ance and general efficiency, and body' (being set up with no con- sultation with workers in the if conditions continue to deterior- ate, be prepared to use short time plants) will be used to spearhead working rather redundancies, then speed-up Selective convenors will be suck- we can minimise the impact of the ed in to continuous discussion economic recession; but I repeat, with top corporate management because of the prevailing circum- and their authority used to push stances I can give no guaruntee SOCIALIST PRESS, Thursday, 6th February, 1975 through reorganisation schemes and prepare the ground for corpor- ate wage negotiations and conse- quenty lower wages 'The Company know that we have weak leadership on this plant and they are taking massive advantage of it. The real meaning of the vic- timisation of last spring and the breaking up of the 5/55 branch is clear. The 5/55 branch intended to protect jobs. It intended to prop- ose to its members an occupation if the plant were threatened with closure. That resistance had to be broken before the Company could proceed. If workers have no lead- ership they have nothing.

The serious situation we face de- mands a programme We say that BL should be placed under the control of a properly elected committee of workers. We say that no taxpayers money sho- uld be handed over to private management. The books of BL should be open- ed in order that the true position can be seen by those whose lives are likely to be affected. All corr- uption such as private jobs and fiddles by higher management should be exposed throughout each plant and ended. The Company are saying that they cannot continue without govern- ment money If opening the books shows this to be true it clearly proveś the case for the nationalisation of BL under workers management - with out compensation to the major shareholders. We should then demand that the Labour government provide state contracts to keep the factories running With component companies on short time, with wages slashed and redundancies threatened, the books of these companies should also be opened and they should be nat- ionalised We should connect up with other Factories in similar circumstances and begin the development tow- ards a national economic plan.

The wage offer of between £3.60 and £4.80 is scandalous and should be rejected. The company must be forced to concede the claim in full, plus a sliding scale of wages agreement to protect against inflation, with figures checked by trade union committees. Stokes and Barber have threaten- ed redundancies. These must be resisted by the occupation of the plant on the demand for a sliding scale of hours agreement without loss of pay.

It is only a comprehensive prog- ramme such as this which can meet the requirements of workers to de- fend their jobs and conditions in this period of severe economic crisis. Workers must not be made to pay to maintain the employers' system We therefore ask you to consider carefully the points we have made.

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