Tribune dat this election has been • usaster lor Labour. 1ne restion now arises: what First, must ever again go into an elecon with leaders most of tom are so manifestly it of sympathy with the rogramme on which they supposed to be camgning ...
there is likely the autumn. Nominaalc OUCE Jose on 15 July. We need politician of sufficient tature stand up Meatcher and who at the se me colmanos e ty members.
of Tony fits the bill. effort ference decisions were not supposed Opposition long time.
The facing its THATCHER'S victory is a disaster for the working The next four years will show. there's no way forward under capitalism.
Our leadership didn't come back with a straight, simple line, especially on disarmament. İ didn'i expect we'd be attacked on disarmament during the by our own leadership, but that's what happened.
There are problems inside the Labour Party. If the right wing now turn on the left they accelerate the witch hunt -- 1 Strength We've got the strength to do it, so let's start the fightback now. Everybody who struggles against the Tories the bosses should not be left to fight alone, but must be given support.
One almighty struggle against this government we repeat what happened in 1974.
THE VICTORY of reaction at the polls was due-to a number of tactors. onit a few of which the Labour Party could control.
One factor Labour can influence own credibility as an alternative government. here, lowever. unal me cabou contributed to its own defeat.
In its propaganda the party tended ' lo treat the unemployment in isolation and not as the consequence of the capitalist economic structure. Inis meant that the Alternative Economic Strategy which was originally founded on basis of a significant extension of public ownership, was abandoned.
The failure of Labour's remedies to go beyond Keynesian methods of economic management methods still remembered as not having worked under past Labour governments meant that LADOUT S concern about unemployment was seen at bes as well mean ing but only likely to result in inflation and overmanning.
Labour's past records further meant that socialist incomes policy could not become part of party's economic strategy, thus depriving strategy any credibility.
Instead of making the economy the main plank of its platform, the parti was forced to rely on the calculation (a miscalcula tion as it turned out) that drawal from the Common Market would be electorally popular.
But it was not just its programme that deprived Labour of credibility. The party's internal battle also controuled The major reason fo their protracted and elec torally damaging Vladimir Derer character is, of course, the refusal of most Labour MPs and some trade union leaders to accept the end of the PLP's monopoly of policy-making powers on the party's wing , who have helped to achieve democompletely fail to appreciate the paramount importance of party unity.
ror without unity, there can be no electoral credibility, and no chance to implement the party's policies The fact, however, that the party will unite. The real choice is between unity dictated by the right wing and unity involving all shades of opinion In the Labour Party.
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Joyce Hurcombe Secretary Labour CND
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