WOULD like (LO Socialist Action on organising this conference. There has been a wide range of contributions. I think everybody here appreciates how serious the situation is for the people of this country:
There is an attack on living standards, on the unions, on women, on the on the black community, on civil liberties technique of division is being practiced which is to some extent effective. The apparatus of the state is being used quite ruthlessly and of course the media are being used on a daily basis in order to maintain that division.
mobilised the very alliance that we're talking about at this conference today.9 1 agree with what has been said, that Britain is the last colony left in the British empire, and that all the techniques repression that elsewhere are now being used against our own people. Anyone who saw that recent TV programme, Brass about the police will know that the colonial policing methods have been applied here.
At the same time we have a large American army here. We are really subject to American foreign policy and defence control. We are also in terms of our domestic legislation integrated with the Treaty of Rome. And the bankers nave enormous buwci It is against that background that we have to look and see what happened within the Labour Party. And I want to turn to that first.
We have had a very big change in the Labour Party over the last 15 years, beginning when Heath much of it tri eride under hee fist xperience OTTICe Vilson government. That was when th adicalisation began. What I think pec le began to realise and Diane bolt touched on it when about power rather than office -that successive Labour governments, became the intensive, care units for capitalism.
When capitalism got in a real mess and the people who ran longer control it, they invited a Labour government to take over capacity to win the loyalty of the working class to make the sacrifices to put the system right. That government then lost us the system back, fully recovered, people who ran it in the first That intensive care unit role for Labour governments is an absolute distortion of the original function of the Labour Thus we had the 1970-74 radicalisaLion, a further und another defeat in 1979, and th ampaign (which wa:
rect) to try to deal with that problem by the parliamentary ountable to the Labour back, I think that campaign needs to be restarted, for it was certainly effective. The SDP left and that was an indication of the real position: they LABOUR GOVERNMENTS must cease being intensive care units for capitalism and choose which side they are on. That was the message TONY BENN put to the 'Alliance for Socialism' weekend. To achieve its goals the labour movement has to be refounded to open it up to the social forces that are going into struggle. The NUM must be defended, black sections must be supported, Women Against Pit Closures must be built, the new initiatives of the Women's Action Committee must be championed.
congratulate on failed and defected. beginning;
organs of the Labour Party not at rank and file level. were tried The Labour Tacks, falls where it wallls.
Since 1983, our was elected, Absne, talked was could no which used its and handed the to the place.
government.
absolutely corto do.
problems cient the left, indeed.
had tried to run the party from the top, ward — But, of course, in the period after 1981 there was a major swing to the right organised by some political and trade unions leaders; the Labour front supported the Falklands war, which absolutely undermined Labour's peace policy: we had the witch-hunting we had the defeat in 1983. From '83 there has been a major swing to the right in the central gollg - though conterence ana ine labour movement are now seen in my of opinion, as the first stage of the rocket that fires the front bench into office. AS at Cape Canaveral, the labour movement provides the initial lift and then harmlessly into the Caribbean while the parliamentary capsule goes we have seen the downgrading of the national executive, the downgrading of the role of conference, and a downgrading of the role of policy itself. The NEC has decided that well have no Labour programme 1986 which is what we should have. There has also been an upgrading of the role of the shadow cabinet now funded by the government through state aid, which began ao une doocarance when the radicalisation started the Trade Unions for a Labour Victory, made up of general secretaries who drip feed the national executive with money if they agree with what the NEC wants Moreover the role of the electorate has been shrunk, and is only perceived to exist now in the statistics produced by the public opinion pollsters. electorate as such. with al its many and needs, disappears in weighted, balanced samples which are then studied like the omens in an antribal ritual. This polling played a part distancing us from the struggle — the miners, of Liverpool, of Bernie Grant, and so on - the repudiation of and of course the renewed witch-hunting which goes very widely My fear about that - quite apart from thinking it's not the right way foris that every time you read about another repudiation, you find that the party itself is apparently confirming the analysis of Thatcher Owen: namely that Labour is full of nutters and loonie lefts and dangerous people. And now everything is beginning to rotate around what is thought of as a loyalty test to the leaders. Much of the realignment which is supposed to be is apparently designed realign us around personalities rather than around policies.
The latest charge made against anybody who asks for anything is that "impossibilism'. don't whether "impossibilism' began with Leon Trotsky or not. But I suppose by that test the eight-hour day was an impossibilist demand, and that the Chartists and the suffragettes made impossibilist demands, and the Tolpuddle martyrs made an impossibilist demand.
rently on offer from the top it means of you are charged with impossibilism, and hence trying to lose the election.
The effect of all this is deliberately to lower expectations, and that is what the Mitterrand example is about. think we'll do what he did. unstuck, so we won't even try it!' Full employment is therefore no longer on the agenda.
The Politics is parliamentary exercise correspondents has of writing up the achievements and the oratory of certain people which has had the effect of taking the socialist analysis off the official agenda. Hugo Young, actually wrote in the Guardian 'obituary' of Arthur Scargill as if Arthur were dead. It was a supreme example of the arrogance of the political correspondents who, like Bishop Berkeley, believe that we only exist because god notices us, and if god didn't notice us we wouldn't exist.
All this is moving us in the direction to of a hung parliament.
Hough 1n Ireland last 'Labour might have to depend on Shirley Williams to topple Thatcher'.
That was the clearest statement from know the chairman of the Labour Party as to 6 The Labour conference and the labour movement are now seen as the first stage of the rocket that fires the front bench into office. As at Cape Canaveral, the labour movement provides the initial lift and then falls harmlessly into the Caribbean while the parliamentary capsule goes where it wants.› where all this could lead us.
I remember 1959, when Macmillan won his great socialism was no longer needed because we were so prosperous. film called I'm all right Jack. Petel Sellers was in it, they made fun of trade welfare capitalism.
'Don't to a new rigni He came seen increasingly as a — in which lob- terms with the engaged an perspectives, Action about some arguments And Neville secretaries are in week said the our society, created.
ana There was a same thing.
right. when the Photo: GM COOKSON unionists. It was all old hat, you didn't need it.' Gaitskell then tried to change Clause IV, an early attempt to realign us to meet the demands of a prosperous Now we're being realigned to fit inwing consensus. Mrs Thatcher, in an interview in the Financial Times the other day said in effect, one of the reasons she was staying on was because she didn't want to leave until the Labour Party had come to fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of wealth omens in an ancient tribal ritual.? and power in favour of the rich that she was carrying through.
One of the effects of all this on the left is that there has been a crisis of by which I mean that there is not a shared analysis on the left at the moment of what is going on. The Euro-communists are in conflict with the Morning Star, even with Socialist there disagreement the meaning COT revolution, and in the WRP there are about what should happen. Some left trade union general conflict with other right wing unions of which Roy Lynk is now the leader. The broad left within are not always united themselves — these are an indication in my opinion of a certain vitality of argument but a disagreement about the The pyschological effect of this is to create fear, to create division within and to create suspicion.
When you are in difficulties it's very easy to look over your shoulder and say a black has taken your job, or whatever is the National Front line - because a certain sense of hopelessness has beer Here I will say something I hope won't give offence. When Thatcher says 'there is no alternative, and it becomes the chorus of the media, we on the left must not respond by saying there will be 'permanent betrayals Reflect for a moment on that. If the left says we're always going to be betrayed and Mrs Thatcher says there are no alternatives — we would be saying the 6 We've got to face the fact that a hung parliament is a possibility and a non-socialist majority in the next parliament is a near certainty. 9 . That is a very dangerous line for us to take. It has a paralysing effect on action for it consolidates the As far as the general public are con cerned, the people we try to represent. the effect of all that I've described is to make the political process increasingly remote from their experience • I don' believe that all these little meetings, as "cuddly left' was recently born, has any resonance with the public at all. If you're unemployed, if you haven't got a decent home, if your mother's waiting for a hip operation, if your dad can't live on the pension, if you're worried about nuclear weapons and you hear there's another dinner at St Ermines where certain people are go ing to gather together to realign it's just as irrelevant as it could possibly be. It's irrelevant to people's needs.
All that people are being offered
anti-Thatcherism leties, but no real alternative to the that's being carried ve got to face the fact that a hung iliament is a possibi cialist majority in the a near certainty. ook a bit ahead too.
We may get a defeat of the present rime minister. She may be removed efore the election because the Tories re not very loyal to their leaders when hey fail. I don't rule out the possibility nat, if support for the Tories o decline the Earl of Stockton will find himself sitting next to the Finchley and they can sort it out in orivate word because the Tories will ge periculary. if the tory particularly the lefeated despite everything I've said ere will be a big surge of expectations. People will say "this is the They'li have been told it's all about Thatcherism, when cher goes they'll believe And that presents a danger for us as a socialist movement. For if, following Labour Party is the vehicle by Illally we're going through.
breaking Africa, ending nuclear power, ting the miners, and gay rights too. socialism within the party ; continues Countess of ment. I think confusion about this. she goes, and about the parliamentary versus parlamentary, simplest form, end of the ment.
Thatthat it is the which to make change. If you look at the decisions taken at the '85 'Labour Party conference you will find they are very orations ore South really South Te LOs supporsupporting the local councillors, supporting women's rights The Labour contelling him to go ahead.?
terence at Bournemouth, if you forget the media hype for a moment, was an excellent indication of the strength of has There is one other point I want to touch on, because it often features in the left, and that is the role of parlia wner there is some genuine because The argument exud put in crude is really a false argumake the major reforms open to us to make that has led us into some of the difficulties that we're in The charge is often made that we want to lose. It is a wholly fraudulent argument. I've never met anybody who actually believes that if, our conscious decision, Thatcher could be given another term in some way that would strengthen the left. It would not. We have therefore to try to build up from the bottom.
Can I turn now to the role of new social lorces which is the jargon for what we're discussing today? There is with Professor Hobsbawn, of a declining workFirst of all the working class is always changing its and always Secondly, had working class of a classic character, we never had socialism. So the theory that you could look back on a golden age you could have got socialism the working was enough to give it is not true. never had that.
It also seems to me a very strange — and this is why the miners' strike was so unpopular with the Euro-communists to be recognised then class comes out of a dusty • -320 very store talks abi:
=-= electora: manipulation of the new social forces: the idea that if you say the right thing somehow you solve the problem.
This theory argues that you can incorporate women, blacks, incorporate movement, incorporate movement into your party actually changing the party itself. That absolutely failure.
If people say we want black sections or women's rights to be recognised then class comes out of a dusty cupboard and is used to reject the demands of the blacks on the grounds 'it's not about colour it's about class'. So then you look document, where you'd think that class would be in capital letters disappeared in favour Class is used to shut off the new social forces and then is forgotten if you are big We've Socialist Action 22 Minerater 15055 ITS TOTE 7= TEL abie to mana incorporate the ocale the green false and destined to economic of consensus.
KEEP NIGHTM 6 The Tory Party have never believed their strength lay in parliament.
But they need people there to enrich the people outside parliament who pay for their election campaign. 9 framework of a party now dominated by white middle class males.
There is one important initiative here we should support. The Labour committee, who have now decided to have shadow elections for the national executive. They're going to have elections for all women to take continued over
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The electorate is only perceived to exist in the statistics produced by public opinion pollsters. The electorate as such, with all its many problems and needs, disappears in weighted, balanced samples which are then studied like
6 The thing we have surely learned from the last year is that we don't need permission before we take action. If Arthur Scargill had written to Len Murray, he would still be waiting for a letter on House of Lords notepaper
"If people say we want black sections or women's rights cupboard and is used to reject those demands. Class is used in shut off the new social forces and forgotten if
"The! can live dict Macis Terre us a tee Ju live with it dictmama i camera mit Sunday talling stone d true an er man
Defend the KEEP FIGHTING the