Opportunity | Socialist Action 1983

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will be either Mrs Thatcher or Mr MacGregor: the antagonism of Scargill and his supporters is too implacable, the back-to-work movement is hesitant. Nor will defeat come at the hands of the government's inert trade union laws or from some judge-enforced ballot, which Mr Scargill will disregard. Instead, Mr Scargill's defeat will come trom within the movement itself....' Immediate In other words all the fiery words intransigent laws of the Thatcher government cannot inflict a defeat miners' the hands of the : TUC — and that was no so simply the case before Brighton.

If there is to be a defeat for the NUM it is now up to the TUC. What would suit Murray, Willis and Basnett down the ground is for the NCB to offer a little bit more than it has done so far, and then force such a deal on the NUM.

The problem confronting the TUC is firstly the struggle of the NUM and general council, left to itself, to take advantage of the weakness of Thatcher to pull off a victory for the NUM, would be expecting the moon. No trust can be placed hands of who sold out the NGA and GCHQ.

All that has occurred is that the decisions of the TUC, and the statements of Laird and Basnett, give a real opportunity for the support movement around the miners to build links with power station workers to begin building for an effective boycott of scab coal. The task has to be urgently taken on from to ensure that the TUC's promises do not remain in the realm of empty rhetoric, but are turned into the kind of action that really can force Thatcher's hand.

Following the TUC there two key tasks confronting the left in the movement to win ine miners strike. Firstly steps have to be made now extend the solidarity across the lahour move ment by organising practical action with power MARTYRS 11-15 Sept17-18 Sept— 21-22 Sept25-29 Sept2. 4 Oct9-27 OctENGLAND BOX OFFICE 0742 79922 TICKETS £3 (Concessions £2)

St Georges Hall, Liverpool St Andrews Hall, Norwich Corn Exchange, Ipswich Peoples Theatre, Newcastle Pavillion Theatre, Weymouth Shaw Theatre, , London (near Euston Stn)

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Socialist Action 14 September 1984

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To expect the TUC