and always stood by others. It's an alliance that has to be worked for.
For example, it's not enough just discuss question without discussing the polities of it. Why have we got cruise missiles? For society. have thousands the police miners about? Because the role of the police defend the If we come out of this miners"
preventing pil closures without anyone learning any political lessons, then we've lost. It's no good striking to save jobs it in the process nobody is politically developed. But. after three months, many miners and their wives and the pit villages have been politicied. They have learned political lessor. i the message is taken to the peoge. t0 will respond and delp to work lst a Criminal working class and trade union movement are running awa! struggle. Everywnere we can see ine confusion being created by the righ! wing. We can see it in our own union.
we can certainly see it in Labour Party. People like Neil Kinnock and Peter Shore are sabotagjng the miners struggle because they don't want to change society. But the activists in the Labour Party are doing tremendous work for the miners, financial. physical and moral. So we differentiate between membersmp ano te readersmo. Im convinced there's basis establishing a socialist society within the Labour Party — but first the right wing leaders and their ideas have to be unloaded.
Those who control society know the potential of the miners strike. They will attempt to find a way to divide the miners. They will bamboozle some of the miners' leaders - scab leaders Jack already on the bosses' side, and others who might be wavering. We must not give in one little bit to the Coal Board.
we show weakness would ride over the top of us. They would shut pits and do all the other things that go with a defeat. This also means that when we win, we must go of peace we got pushing but young trom the the longer holidays.
alongside other trade the that goes for He talks the But the Murrays.
more important.
with the exception of scab workers But the NCB problems. They for everything. For a shorter working week, for early retirement, and for - which would have a tremendous ettect on the working And the miners must stand unions and other organisations to make sure the! secure the things they are fighting for.
tions in the NUM who are noted for not wanting to fight. But of course for other sections of the working class as well. That goes for the TUC and people like Len Murray, who's never fought a battle in his life.
way the TUC bureaucracy has always talked.
miners don't associate people like Ray Buckton with the Len Buckton has made definite statement in our support and, it's not just talk ASLEF has delivered the goods. . So have the NUR and the seamen, and — haulage society. • so have the TGWU. then vou near peoole in the power industry saying we mustn't use our maustral muscie to sorve ponnical completely removed from reality. The fact that the miners are fighting is political. The fact that there is a working class al all in a capitalist society is political.
Our problem is how to get leaders of the movement who are prepared to point the way will do this by putting trustworthy people in leadership positions. most important, having got them there we must make sure we've got control over them Look at the miners' union. many years ago it was dominated b! the right wing on the national ecutive. We organised and now left have a majority. We democratised our union — and once you do that it's safely in the hands of the left. was no accident, it was worked for. It took many, many years of discussing and organising. If the miners could do it, with the forces that were against us at the time why can't workers take control of the TUC? But the TUC will not bring about a transformation in That needs organisation, Valt that wants establish a socialist society.
New leaders are being created during the miners dispute, who for the first time in their lives are taking ON leading positions in the struggle. The Kent miners aren't directed by me, they have a free rein. And that creates the conditions which allow our men and women to bloom. This is the way ming society.
In the drive for more profits, captialists must intensify the exploitation Not of working people. The way to defeat people is by breaking the organisations the trade unions.
The Tories will only trade unions in Britain if they break This the strongest union. If they smash the miners the rest will go. The miners ar on the streets because they're demanding not to be. make sure they don't have to keep fighting.
But I'm overlooking the most important thing communists, Marxiststo call ourselves Britain in isolation.
If there had been no revolution in Russia in 1917, there'd be no Cuba, no fighting in El Salvador. I suggest there wouldn't be many miners fighting in when popular' established meni. spectrum the ways working especially the break the think Led!
They are fighting to As socialists, - whatever we we cannot look at from prop no workers maintain what they have. That means defeating the working class, and the working class won't stand for it. Socialist Finally, I'd like to return to my first point, that the basis of a working class alliance is wanting to change society. would sav to Mr Hobsbawm The proposes 'broad alliance based on support parties like . the SDP Liberals - that he's not put putting forward that proposition in order to establish a socialist society.
socialist society won't be by all sorts of wierd alliances of that sort. The people who will change society are the people who have been won to the socialist arguBut then / accept that meny, man! peole - ne saite colar sections o! the trade union, the peace movement Were sering the cachers in action. the nurses in action, other protessional people in action - along witt the blue collar workers.
it's thai alliances are forged — but they've gor to be honest alliances. We can't makt alliances lust fo prop up the svstem I'm not a member of the Labour Party but I don't have a sectarian attitude towards it. In the present strug. gle people right across the political allied to the miners. the right through to the extreme left. I am convinced that these people can unite.
They may argue about many of acheving developing the struggle, but I believe they are as sincere in their desire to establish a socialist society as I am. Because somebody belongs to what is referred to as an ultra left organisation, I don't write them off. I might they' re misguided, but then again they might think I'm misguid.
I'm absolutely convinced that the unity the miners have created in this struggle can be developed to create a united front to build a new society. The Jack Jones and the Len Murrays in our unions will be swept away because they won't do anvtning apar up the system. History demands they'll be swept away.
• Jack Collins is Secretary of the Kent miners, and has been a working miner for more than 30 years.
Socialist Action LABOUR ST BE LABOUR MOI M MP ASEN PARTY PRIME MINISTER Initially the LCC 'offered the left a broad forum to meet, exchange ideas and argue out differences". w s necone politically narrow and loo closely linked 1o the Labour leadership'.