holds will be barred and no expense spared in the concentrated effort to make this strike an industrial version of the Falklands war. As the Euroelection results demonstrated the Tories are throwing everything into the miners' strike because they can't afford to lose.
Every section of the ruling class understands that, walch Tories have received such unanimous backing from the press. of dissent has been David Owen of the SDP and the extreme right in the Tory Party who demand, not compromise with the NUM, but the use of the Tebbit laws to financially cripple the union.
Like a well disciplined army the ruling class has allowed the Thatcher government to mastermind every stage of the struggle with the NUM. It was the government that decided on no earjy use of the Tebbit laws and instead to campaign to split the NUM.
the governmenl masterminded the occupation coalfields and the qualitatively new level of police violence aimed at terrifying the miners and totally isolating their picket lines. . It was the government that broke up the NCB-NUM negotiations for the forseeable future.
Now it is the government considering giving the green light for court action against the solidarity action by the is why the The only note those like expressed who know there is another view that has Was fillic Not the Icc OCI and the NGA.
support as individual unions.
that TUC against the unions transport the Labour Party. This is the obstacle which must be broken through if the miners and tne workig class as a wnole are to win this momentous struggle.
Scargill has quite rightly refused to zve une scao wire or loe uace unod leadership, led by Len Murray, any say UDLI at all in running the miners' strike. In an interview with the Financial Times last week he said: "There is a view being the should be taken out of the hands of the people what it is all about.
I didn't say it that if it then what happened to ASLEF The TUC can give us made support provided they want to give that But last week on the TV programme Union World, Bill Sirs, leader of the steel union, threatened to bring in the NUM if plans blockade the steel plants went ahead -and he repeated the call on Monday.
The Tories are making it increasingly clear that if the rail unions refuse to move iron ore, or supplies to the power then the law will the unions. The statements by Len Murray, Bill Sirs and EETPU are clear signals to the ruling class that if the laws wing of the trade union movement will not lift a finger to help the NUM — quite the opThey are prepared to divide the labour movement trom top to boulom see, the split in the NUM between scabs and trade unionists is being extended into the whole labour movement.
This is the fact which the left-wing of the labour movement and all who support the miners must grasp and act The ways Ilusi oc vuiu lu TeuCe une scab wing of the labour movement to the kind of minority position it now occupies in the NUM.
Despite Len Murray's intervention davs ot action have now been organısed in most areas of the country. They have shown a powertul minority organised in support of the NUM. The leaderships of the transport unions have commitments solidarity. The left-wing of the Labour Party has organised support committees, levies and food collections all over the country.
But the Labour Party leadership — above all Kinnock and Hattersley have concentrated condemning 'picket violence' and campaigning for negotiations As Scargill commented: 'It would be better for them to use their time and energy to aid our dispute.' Scab Nothing will move the TUC leaderships to do anything but scab on the miners. But, organise shown, the Labour Party leadership can be forced to act.
As the open role of Thatcher in the strike becomes clear now is the time to their energies on NUM.
aDour as the 50p levy decision launch a campaign for Labour to show where it stands by calling a national solidarity demonstration in support of the miners. This could be the focus for the first national day of action for the The right-wing have shown no hesitation at all in risking a split in the order • to avoid fighting the Tories. It is therefore all the more necessary that the left na. tionally organises behind the miners.
national solidarity called by the NUM and those union executives prepared to take a stand offers a way to ensure it is those who suppor the miners who have the initiative not those who are betraying them.