IT IS A tragedy that borders on farce that successive 'lefts' within the labour movement have utterly failed to understand the among This, and the fact that they will support radical socialist policies, seems to be a mystery unfathomable by the left.
GRANT KEIR, Istington YS, argues that the current left has to discuss how it is going to build support for its policies among young people.
NOT SINCE the days just prior to the Second World War have the conditions been more propitious EriC need more urgent — to build a stass. campaigning section TOT Then Ine threat of war and fascism, mass unemployment, and the struggle organise masses of youth against policies of the government were the backdrop for a massive growth youth organisation, then called the League of Youth.
Its membership grew to 150,000, and sales of its monthly paper reach ed 25,000. The 1938 membership has been equalled.
The in the have always had a consistent attitude towards youth. The 1924 Labour Party set the tone which has not changed through the years.
It said the youth sections should 'be mainly recreational and not too much attention paid to politics'.
Of course, when the youth have voiced opposition to this attitude, the right have always removed the velvet glove to use the iron fist. 4 Xpulsions witch-hunting as old sections themselves.
But the attitude of the right is no surprise to The left has to campaign against witch-hunts, whatever quarter they come. That means demanding money and political support activities of the LPYS.
Yet the left at best offers passive support. Why is this?
The Bevanites in the 1950s never had coherent suralery for support for amongst young people. But when the right attacked, both the Bevanites the Dennis Skinner shows the way on a YS march against YTS. youth section were victimised.
John Lawrence, writing in 1952, describes the effect this had en the youth section:
"In this kind ot atmosphere it is not surprising that a somewhat exotic brand of pure socialism has developed in which the construction of "socialist" programmes LaKe the place of a mass campaign agallist olyisin.
Today the policies of the Labour left, as summed up by figures such as Benn, Livingstone Scargill, are enormously popular amongst youth.
Their opposition to wars in the Malvinas and Ireland, their support fol workers' struggles, thei championing of eralism, opposition to and the populal way in which these issues presented, attlall young peopl to socialism. Yet to anyon familiar with the LPYS of the 1980s, John Lawrence's words of some 30 years ago must have a familiar ring.
The left does not have a strategy to build itself amongst Kinnockite established at last year's Come esc will not last The left and youth in the will evitably be attacked Te econome to correctly, of the right and centre, , but lets the current LPYS leaderLAST WEEKEND, tersley made a speech economic policy to the Socialist Economic Review conference. made the front page lead of The Times and the front page of the Roy Haton
It Socialist Action an end 28 September 1984 over — and many that weren't. The pattern was simple and universal. It broke the resistance and sabotage of the capitalist class For nationalisation is not an end in itself. Nationalisation is a means to