Kinnock's disgraceful refusal to find time Socialist Action goes respectable!
Last week Labour leader Neil Kinnock adHe denounced the left as 'gushing enthusiasts' and proclaimed his support for the early Fabians who 'worked to make it easy for respectable people to become socialists'. Clearly, M kinnock doesn't include Arthur Scargill anc the striking miners among the 'respectable' - hence his refusal to speak on NUM platLast week's Sunday Times carried a Micheal Kinnock's refusal to make 'a clean Mr Jones believes that whether or not Neil Kinnock ever becomes prime minister will depend on the next year. Quite right.
Socialist Action will be doing its bit to ensure riding the crest of a We will leave the 'respectable support given and the parliamentary leadership.
the letter together with the resoluion.
case for coal.' For the past eight month the NUM has been wagin; probably the most determined and inspiring trade union struggle this country has seen in over half a century The industrial reasons for the NUM's action are compelling enough in themselves. But the real significance of the dispute is political.
The government is out to break the organisations of the working class, and has deliberately created a confrontation with the miners in order to do so. If leading party by AT THE END of October, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy mailed its supporters expressing concern with the lack of support for the miners from Labour's leaders. CLPD are suggesting an emergency resolution to the national executive In view of Neil Kinnock's refusal last week to appear on the NUM rallies, CLPD's resolution is more important than ever. We reprint below extracts from We suggest it be amended to include: 'The firs step in that national campaign should be to call a Labour Party demonstration, in conjunction with the NUM, against pit closures and to publicise the this strike is broken, the Tories calculate that no will seriously resist their will That is why the whole labour and movemen no a respon sibility to stand by the miners. But although the TUC and the Labour Parhave declared full support, parliamentary leadership has distanced Please do your most to get a resolutior sent in by every organisation with which you connected - if necessar on the basis of officers' action. Also, you might wish to consider it as a possible resolution to your regional the ergece or the isle the urgency the issue must make the NEC , PLP the shadow cabinet the first priority.
CLPD supporters owe at the height of their efforts wat backing for their own battle, the miners nonetheless also took it on themselves to play a leading part in the defence of mandatory reselection. They know only too well that the performance of the Parlia mentary depends on its accountability to the wider party.
In the same way CLPI recognises that the miners are fighting for us all. We cannot afford to let them •down.