NEXT SATURDAY'S against the missiles is likely to be the biggest ever turnout in Britain against the ReaganThatcher With cruise missiles due to arrive any day they demonstration can be a powerful expression of the opposition of a majority of the British people.
But before we celebrate too loudly, let's remember that the 27 October 1968 Vietnam demonstration was by far the biggest — and the last of demonstrations. CND activists have to make sure that 22 October is not CND's swansong.
Up until now a big opportunity has been missed. Yes, Yes, CND is more influential than ever. But the decisive forces in the labour movement to defeat nuclear weapons have not been mobilised.
Despite the fact that the Labour Party and the TUC are. both now bureaucrats have not taken action. They have not organised industrial action - and that it can be done was shown by last week's 5-minute 'warning' strike by 1½ million German workers, which is being emulated in Copenhagen next week. They did not even produce the joint Labour Party-TUC demonstration promised for Hiroshima day.
No wonder many CND activists are dubious about orientating their activity towards the labour movement.
In the new situation after the general election, there are powerful forces organising to tone down mailateralist policies in the Labour Party, in the •nions, and alas in CND itself.
Socialist Action has always pointed out that stopping cruise and Trident, let alone unilateral maclear disarmament, means confronting really fandamental interests of the capitalist class.
That cannot be done without mobilising huge and decisive social forces — the labour movement. And it cannot be done by making political concessions to the mulilateralists by 'Freeze movement' (see page eight).
In reality, defeat. The missiles will come to Britain. To redirect movement after December, break with the EP Thompson line of whining to the SDP, and even 'progressive' Tories, to support It means basing the movement on those active and intransigent forces that exist — the Greenham women and the youth - and reaching out to those who have the power to junk cruise, Trident and the rest.
Without such a course, CND won't die - but it may well just fade away. Your Socialist Action OWING to a number of financial and technical difficulties since the summer, Socialist Action has been 12 pages. But starting next week we shall be back to our 16-page schedule. readers and subseribers for bearing with us during uis period. Iveverteless, keeping le paper al 10 pages is going to be extremely difficult. So keep those donations rolling in! plans to escalate the arms race.
already here) the VSC's major there have been large demonstrations.
unilateralist, promoting the CND has already suffered a first we have to We thank all our Name :
Address Tel Age Union/CLP (irany) ...
If you want more information about Socialist Action or to be put in touch with local supporters send this form to Socialist Action, London N1 Sombre faces at the Tory top table THERE ARE few things funnier in politics than the press trying to be profound. Unly four months ago we were reliably informed that Margaret Thatcher's Tories were the most triumphantly popular force which had ever existed in abruptly we have the Cecil Parkinson scandal, the huge row over the National Health Service cuts, and the government pushing through an absurd bill to make local government simultaneously less efficient and more undemocratic.
The Times had editorialised against the plan to abolish the metropolitan counties.
Times spent the entire week of the Tory conference running editorials criticising the government. Tory Party has already started what we can be sure will be a long decline in the opinion polls.
What is the explanation of these events, given by the press? The word was invented in advance. it is nubris - the Greek word for excessive pride.
Allegedly the height of her power the seeds of Thatcher's errors SUWIl due 'excessive arrogance' Another candidate is 'luck'. According to Peter Kellner, the political editor of the New Statesman, the left underestimates role played by chance and style in politics. simply by chance, you see that luck came before the election, and simply by chance that all the bad luck came only alter une election wa. believe that you'll believe over. As they anything.
In reality the Consersent problems, as the! exploded at the lory Part were easy to see in advance. For, as we have consistently pointed out Socialist Action, electoral Victory in June was a fake British politics. NoW The Financial The parliamentary landslide and not a real popular one.
Thatcher won. 61 per cent of the seats, but only 42 per cent of the votes the lowest real percentage of the vote won by a Prime Ivinister wiln a sale ma jority in Parliament in British history.
This fact of lack of mass political support not a question of trying to make socialists feel cheerful. It profoundly affects the real relation of forces, in society.
When there is nuine popular landslide say lne o 'per cent of the vote won by the National government in 1931 or the 53 per cent gained by the Conservative in 1953 - then the consequences of that reach into every town, every street, every factory but thạt many those Jarrow in the 1930s voted Tory. Political campaigners and trade union were crushed anc isolated. A government in LILOSO carry through its circumstancer policies can dulliusl without resistance — as the Tories did for most of the interwar period.
But Thatcher's victory in June 1983 was different. The Conservative governMell weakness electoral system, to gain a Parliamentary Illa jority. But no great wave of popular electoral support for the Thatcher government was generated despite attempts of the press to create it and claim it existed The result campaigners, those fighting in the big cities, defending the NHS, those struggling against did not tee invincible hordes of new orv voters on their necks. After the inevitable SHOCK paralysis caused by Thatvictory, underlying social relation inevitably asserted itself.
Forced It is this social and political relation of forces which existed after 1983 that also underiles the one serious attempt in the press to exp ain the lories sudden rash of problems. This is allegedly mounting internal Tory argument on public expenditure Day after day the papers have beer full of statements concerning differences between the alleged 'tax cutters' Lawson Thatcher *spending ministers' Fowler and Heseltine. The terms 'consolidators' and 'radicals' have temporarily replaced the wels "dries' of yesteryear.
tradition.
There indeed reason to doubt that haggling over pounds of public spending is taking place in the Tory Cabinet today — - although the real economic crunch on public spending is go. ing the 1980s and early 1990s and There are also more Tories than ex-Defence Minister John Nott who think that £3,000 million a year would be better use reinforcing than defending penguins in the South Atlantic But what is the basis of these arguments? There are no technical problems in cutting public expen diture. never susa million could always be cut off the National Health Service. Or unemployment The Treasury could come Treasury could come up with a technical answer in five minutes. ,And there would b ideologues to justify Blackpool clearly showed.
The real problem cutting public expenditure which faces the Tory Party Thatcher has is portical. not yet gained public support to destroy the Nho or slash unemployment pay something she would have achieved gained a real popular land • 1 ne mounling 101) 'argument' on public spending is a political pro blem of mass opposition to the cuts and not one oi meals lo deal with une sluduon.
These problems however, ao require a certain flexibility in tac tics. Norman Tebbit (of all people!) was suddenly allege have become 'conciliatory' to the union leaders over the last period. The explanation is not hard to find.
If the Tory Party has its problems then it needs to guard. its flanks more carefully. If the Conservalves de cole to tal the opinion polls then i will be all the more important engage Murray, Duffy, Chapple, Basnett and the rest of the TUC leadership in "talks'.
Simultaneously the Labour Party, with the aid Neil Co-ordinatine Committee' team should Cacularcu move Labour 'back to the centre' Even if the SDP-Liberal Alliance all in the opinion poll now, as they did before the general election, they will be dusted off for the Euro-elections. They remain a fundamental British politics. Parl of IN HADDI When Neil Kinnock moves Labour as far to the right Ine ruling class thinks he can go, then they will unceremoniously jump on him from a great height. UNCt press will discover that the Alliance is the onlv alter. native to the Tories and the only wav forward for Labour is in coalition with them. Coalition Meanwhile, Thatcher went out of her way in Blackpool be COl ciliatory in tone, but not to change policies iota Putting Tebbit in charge of Trade and in dustry, bringing ; the monetarist freak Nicholas Ridley into the cabinet, is a dear sign or conting monetarism. The financial press want a more decisive action by , Thatcher, not a change of course.
however. problems do give Labour an opportunity. One of the positive things to come out of the Labour Party conference was Neil Kinnock's call in his speech to defend the Health Service. This is a campaign which the labour movement has every interest in pursuing.
It is quite possible, given the worsening economic situation, that the Tories can be sent spinning down th opinion polls. If Labour really mobilises to defend the NHS then the party's prothe election nex can be strengthened That means the left should off calls to orcak talks with Thatcher and fight against the SDP/Liberal coalition plan.
Atter two vears whet the labour movement has had its back against the ropes there is going to be more room to make gains Labour should waste no time speculating aboul the internal divisions in the ranks. It should totally reject the coalition proposals being offered to it by Frank Chappie, Eric Hobsbawm others.
should take advantage of BLUblems to rebuild its.own base and support Kicking your Tory opponents wiel they •dEC down is an old and excellent tradition in politics.
Socialist Action 21 October 1983
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Kicking your Tory opponents when they're down is an excellent