THE LAST few weeks developments on the Labour left. By far the most important events in the Labour movement, of course, were those at the TUC Congress. There the supporters of Neil Kinnock outlined their strategy for the Labour party.
million jobs in the first two government, and a proposal, not fully pinned down, to introduce a national minimum wage of £80 a week. In addition there was considerable talk, and signs of some small action, to grant some minimal rights to women within the party and unions — John Edmunds statement that the GMBATU is to introduce reserved places for women in its executive being one step of this type.
But the real bitter pill proposeu LCW union laws. These would create a new system ot industrial law modelled on those of the countries of western Europe. It would cement in place many of the changes brought about by the Thatcher government. It would leave the unions subject to a higher than anything the labour duovc licil ever al' cepted before.
effect the TUC icaaersnp Is now staknig everything on the election ot a Labour government.
will subordinate the struggle agains Thatcher now to what it, falsely, sees as the best way to secure a government. have important The reformist sugar was a 'pledge to create a years of a Labour of labourism.
government 1979, the huge 1979-81, the the eighty vcals.
Break The tirst Democratic Party (SDP).
huge the the 1983 In that year not single vote was to SDP gave orientation to the PLP.
SDP's tions EETPU the the The 'Mainstream' inions.
after John the SDP.
This realist /Mainstream' current the TUC is today not just about trade union tions. It has a definite D01uea staec c æ coalition government between the Labour Parti the SDP/Liberal The single largest, and most powerful, section of the movement however 1s the Kinnockites ties to Willis in the TUC.
The base of this current is clear. Its NUPE, GMBATU since the election of Edmunds, UCW, and the NUR. The policies of this current are то irv comenow то тестем the old unity of labourism anu unc Laboul seeks to move the TUC and the Labour Party In e space the SDP/Liberal Alliance, bu avoiding an actual coaliwith it This Kinnockite current today subordinates everything else to what it sees as tne way to secure a Labour government at the IcAl general the means it believes including sabotaging struggle loday and moving pal ty policy to the right.
The political correlate of this current within the the LabOu coolaue Committee (LCC), Its oleanisd paper within the Tribune wing of the Communist push this current further to TO Hae will It is in the base of this Kinnock current that the PouIlLs a1 C an to desser CLPs. The ability to win a maoritv on specitic issues the sole basis which can C A00U WITAI current but by far the most important from the point of view socialsi. developing struggle forces. These have been fed from a number of sources the wake of the social CENS in Balal developing base is in the NUM, in the black community, organisations such as Women Against Pit Closures, in forces emerging out of struggles suchas in the Labour big cities, among. sections of those engaged in solidarity with in a certain section of the gay and lesbian movement and in some key solidarity campaigns. The most advancec section was the Scargill wing of the NUM. The NUM was also the onstruggle forces led.
organisations created movement. But in practice the forces it will gain ulled acuol with al C those at the base of or within the left of, the Kin. nock camp. these means that the class strugge ekl Call LaKc ul what is needed for the class Again a majority on individual issues, and progressively increase its weight in the labour movement.
On South Africa Issue while the whole TUC was united it is the left that will fight for the most effective action.
The anon The Landdid Reinstatement Amir Khan and Kevin Scaly was inititiated by forces Labour Left Liaison. But the campaign was not initiated in a narrow way but sought olaw supporters of Kinnock Majority This formula organise the class struggle forces independently, fight for united action with the Kinnockite base on issues which are in the interesis vi lie class sulug gle applies every sphere.
This means having for supporters of the Campaign group, for example, the Broad Lefts with the lett supporters of Kinnock. "T'he campalgns in the parBlack Section, example the WAC, the LCLGR others naturally must not confine lemselves simply lo sup porters of the Campaign group but must include all those who stand for the goals of the campaign