While Frank Chapple is the most outspoken "theorist' of new realism the real power which Chapple's old ideas rightism into a powerful force was the AUEW right wing. Every single idea of post 1983 realism prefigured by Duffy, Boyd, Gavin Laird during the first Thatcher government.
The starting point was posedly irreversible success of Thatcher in attacking the unions. from this is a political policy for the based on Hinks with the Labour Partv. limiting or eliminating industrial action and preparing, if necessary, for collaboration with the SDP/Liberal Alliance in a Labour/Alliance coalition governDrawn weakening ting to lead the tion of the general council.
at the general council, nounced an open reversal of the Thatcher government.
Responsibility was Murray argued that, had always volvement and real and that 'sooner will not be working people.
The only were - who called for cused Frank Chapple by Eric or Liberal if they had a chance of winning. Over and over again our loyalty Io to Labour let the Tories in on June 9.
Murray himself had been attempTUC openly would sharov to the right ever since 198] He played a direct and decisive role in sabotaging the ASLEF strike in July 1982. At the congress the same year Murray finally piloted through, by a tiny margin, the new rules on the elecWithin two days of the June 1983 election. and without any discussion Murray anTUC policy on questions such as talks with TUC 'the TUC made clear preparedness to work with an elected government which offered genuine inresponsibility,' later if the economy expanded and the country began to pull out of the recession. then the government would have to willng cooperation of the ' From then on new realism was up and running as TUC At the September 1983 TUC congress Chapple and Murray seemed to sweep all before them. The structural face reorganisation of the general council to prevent congress as a whole voting the government was carried. A resolution proposed by Alistair Graham calling for the general council to 'prepare a statement on the principles of modern of the congress that even sections of the Labour right and centre were concerned. Jack Straw, speaking in his constituency during the congress, acusing his 'fiefdom' in the EËTPU, 'not only to Chapple, Duffy, Murray, and the scab Sirs weaken the links with our party, but destroy them.' He stated that Chapple sought 'a sanitised, centrist trade union movement,' whose reality be, 'a politically neutered movement.. at worst as corrupt and morally degenerate as the American Teamsters OI Jimmy and Mafia fame.
The new realism in practice reached its peak with Murray's, and the general council's, savage defeat of the NGA in December 1983. By January 1984, with Len Murray apparently at the peak of his power, the promised document on Strategy for the Future, was urging trade unionists to remember that 'the basis of current TUC involvement in government owes much to Churchill's coalition subsequell Conservative governments.' - architects of the 'new realism believe that the new realism has gone away. the noise and is on the offensive, but it is the new realist right which both knows where it is going and is proceeding systematically to get there First none of the really powerful Hoffa union bases of the new realist right is under threat. Neither Hammond nor Duffy and his successors are under real threat in the EETPU or AUEW Right winger Roy Evans was chosen to replace the scab Bill Sirs as general of ISTC. realist right remains policy, although still a definite minority as yet.
No-strike deals The EETPU has pushed rapidly ahead with its practical plans for a new business unionism. The no-strike pay Rolls be discontent.
The left may now be making them to.
The open new the strongest the TUC Lae UCW, withdraw of the impact of the miners strike. Second because of the long list of major claims Vauxhall, Leyland, Royce, Ford, and others which are coming up. There may well For winter, of Collapse But at present, and this is why the first new realist thrust collapsed in the spring of 1984, the fundamental problem for the TUC right is that the government does not want to talk to The craven no-strike offer at GCHQ was contemptuously rejected by Thatcher. All attempts to mediate over the miners strike have failed. As the government itself refuses to talk, the TUC has to put on a temporarily its position and get someone to talk This is why it was traditional leaders of the centre-right, Basnett of GMBATU Tuffin of the who took the initiative to the Economic Development Council. Do not forget Murray's original formulation for new realism that, 'sooner or later if the economy expanded and the country began to pull out of the recession, then the government would have to win the willing cooperation of the