NEIL KINNOCK'S speech to the TGWU presented as an attack on the hard left. It was in fact a cover for his own retreat to the right.
Despite Kinnock's advice to 'those whose politics to 'take Labour's left wing is too strong to be easily removed right may desire it. Kinnock's speech was also designed to fly the flag for future witch hunt - although there are still considerable obstacles in the way of this.
Kinnock's attack on the left was in reality intended to strengthen the shift to the right that the Labour leadership has been pursuing since Kinnock's election in October 1983.
The current round of union conferences has seen the right, centre, and Kinnockite many cases against considerable rank and file resistance, a retreat from the struggle against the Tories' anti-union laws.
Knapp intervened directly and personally in the NUR conference to overturn a reaffirmation of the union policy opposing complying with the Tory laws on ballots. Knapp secured by a narrow margin a vote 'that it be the policy of this union to have a ballot before national strike action.
This is an Hamilton Connolly, a senior steward at BREL's Springburn works pointed out, the decision makes the fight against closure of BREL workshops much more difficult. It turns away from a policy of allowing those most directly threatened to lead the way in the fight for national action. adopted by the NUM the 12 month strike would never have happened.
In addition both the NUR and ASLEF are to get involved in negotiations with BR over the demands for £200,000 compensation for the one-day strike.
NALGO conference saw gains for the right on the union executive, and a retreat on the policy of total opposition to abolition of the Metropolitan counties and GLC. The UCW conference saw the executive push through support for a massive productivity deal.
On the right of the party Alisdair Graham has proposed that a future Labour government important aspects of the Tories anti-union laws.
This line is not having it all its own way. The TGWU has rejected incomes policy and reaffirmed its opposition to the anti-union laws. Todd's re election, the support for political funds and the rise of Labour in the polls, indicate clearly that the mood of the membership is not for wholesale retreat. It is the Knapps and Bucktons, and those who are trying to form a bloc with Kinnock, who are pushing this retreat through.
The stand taken by the Campaign Group in support of the victimised miners and by Scargill on the issues facing the NUM response to this retreat. It is on such moves, and the major resistance to the retreat by the union executives that the left must build the fightback.
was widely concern is the outer fringe of themselves off however much the 'left' pushing through, in important retreat. As Had this policy been commitment to supporting black members' rights to self-organisation and better representation. Black sections are springing up - and being recognised in constituency after constituency. just recently the third black parliamentary candidate, -Keith Vas, has. been chosen by Leicester East.
Paul Boateng was the se cond, selected a couple of weeks ago by Brent South. Paui is already actiye in the London Labour GLC councillor who chairs the police committee, and as chair of his own Norwood party's black section. He sees the battle for black seclawyer in a practice that specialises in civil liber. fies cases, especial v those of the he describes YUCK 'geared to using the law as an instrument of community defence _ recognising Ine cass mature of the lau recognising, as the labour movement must. that the law has always been used as a weapon against working class people. Anyone who believes it isn't is living in cloud-cuckoo land.
Paul relates this to his DUCEIVES as MP for Brent South. *My political com ICE 12. veen loward. making the link between institutions like County Hall and parliament, and comMy sugges, ne says.
He wil be anxious take up those issues of par-