ACTiON WHEN NEIL KINNOCK was elected leader of the Nothing basic needs of the class struggle.
For the first six weeks of the miners strike Neil Kinnock first said nothing Laer intervened to support the call the right wing of the NUM for a ballot.
Roy Hattersley's, support for a -50p levy of Labour Party members for the miners at last week's utive meeting was the case of the horse being dragged rather late, and kicking, to water.
Neil Kinnock's turn to financial support for miners came only after he had been outflanked by the actions of the Labour and trade union left itselt.
position had been attacked oy Peter Heathfield as 'pretty mıserab e' and more publically criticised by JaCK Collins and other miners leaders public meetings up and down the country.
Neil Kinnock could not attord to tind himset in a situation where Tony EriC Heffer Dennis skinner. Eric other labour left leaders were speaking at rallies up and down the country in support of the miners while peared to be backing those opposing the strike.
On other vital issues Neil Kinnock has not backed struggles even verbally. On Liverpool, the other big struggle that going to dominate the summer, been openly critical of the council. On defence of the cities he clashed with Ken Livingstone at the Labour Partv local government conference on the question of obeying the law.
All this is quite aside from the support given for the continuation or witeh hunts inside the party — a the expulsion of Tariq Ali and now over the expulSometimes I like to just sit and ponder those things which are imponderable. posed the Coordinating that the of the like Livercities.
very He said that SuDported.
had a position of left Thatcher.
be between The particular initiatives exported - for example engaged Why is a black hole?
When is a greenhouse effect effective? Is here balm in Gilead Where is Gilead? Which side of the picket line will Neil Kinnock be on?
clashes what Nehl Kinwhat Neil nock's positions that the Labour left must essentially Ul salise dependently of the current Labour leadership. If Neil Kinnock does take correct positions then excellent it brings the entire Labour into action. But if Neil Kinnock is not prepared to support struggle or campaign then the left must be prepared to at anyway. This mean in turn the left being organised independently Kinnock.
This of course already occurs at a parliamentary level where the Campaign Group of MPs has distinct profile, organisation and activity.
A similar division exists in the constituencies and Labour calll paigns were the LCC made strong. and unsuccessful. bids to take the leadership of the London In this attempt it found itselt in a direct clash with the left.
Currents Of the currents operating the constituencies to the left of, and independently of, Kinnock the one with the greatest potential is Labour Briefing.
Tribune, Herald, and other papers have the insuperable problem that they are subject to no democratic control.
be exorbitant?
all time....
both has thoroughly disgraceful positions on issues such as women's Ibera tion, black sections other questions, and a sectarian project all of its UWL. Briefing both has a real base the London Labour Party and in the last eighteen months has been spreading out nationally. has on all key questions has a COI responds to the needs of up the Labour left today.
Initiative Of course Briefing is very weak organisationally compared to what needs to be done in the Labour Paranything UUC. ike the same have weight that an initiative by Tony Benn similar figure to unite the Labour left would have.
But Briefing does have an extremely good record working with wide forces of the Labour left — in addition to its normal supporters Naturally the Labour left cannot be reduced to any one organisation. Ir addition to the more or less structured political currents there are many on individual Cabals questions both of policy and internal reform of which the Campaign for Labour Party is still the best known Forging these currents into will the price of the tickets for the heat death of the universe And the great impon. derable question of coherent left of the involves both much political discussion and much organisational skill.
But as the class struggle develops the basic currents within the Labour Party are becoming clearer. open right today has its bastion LING realists' of the TUC and in • Darlamenlal y Jally and some sections of local go the constituenress is constituencies getting relatively weak.
The LCC, the Kinnockite' left, is trying te organise itself but is hampered by the fact that the real base of the Labour lett must be the unions and the • local activists in areas like Liverpool and the big cities -precisely the left Kinnock has refused to support.
The real challenge in the Labour Party today is not to build simply a small sectarian left but capable of acting in the real class struggle A left based on the type of united action that has come up around the miners strike, defence of local government, defence of Greenham, defence unilateralism. A left that tries to unite the entire Labour Party in action but is prepared to act itself if the Labour leadership is not prepared to support those in struggle Today, because of his actions, that necessarily means a left which is independent of Neil Kinnock.
I Will Neil Kinnock ever support a working class struggle?
----- pull-quotes -----
Photo IN HAPPIS Labor