Action EVER SINCE the beginning of the miners strike the NUM leadership has towards the TUC and the Labour Party.
avoiding surrendering the initiative to the TUC general council. The aim was to confront the TUC and Labour Party leadership not in a small committee but in the forum of the TUC Congress and Labour Party conference itself — where the relation of forces was far more favourable.
These tactics were openly explained and successfully carried through.
The resolutions passed at Labour Party strongly backed the Those passed at the TUC Congress would win the dispute if they were implemented. pursued consistent tactics 'compromise solutions' If the TUC leadership had launched a Ilassive campaign aimed at the ranks and been defeated then of course that would thing defeated in struggle is not a betraval. But no such campaign has been launch ed. Useful initiatives, such the meeting of unions to reduce coal imports have any campaign deliver suppor on the ground in this country In short Willis and the TUC general council have not implemented Congress policy The position of Neil Kinnock has been even more open and clear. The expressed its the NUM in the most uncompromising terms It refused to get drawn into any ally denunciations of 'miners violence Kinnock however has spent his time denouncing 'violence'. Far from giving "total support' miners, as decided by con ference, he aroused widespread condemnation in the labour movement by his refusal to speak at the five national rallies of the NUM.
pursued during the summer and into Labour conterence ГОС Congress delivered i resuld win the strike. The would win the strike such that the TUC leadership felt unable to openly oppose thse positions. But the NUM is now confronted with a Labour Party and TUC leadership which has no intention whatever of delivering or these decisions. to confront this obstacle the fundamental problem which the NUM faces today.
The fundamental way the NUM must tackle the the labour movement. The TUC and Labour Party leadership fear to confront the NUM openly precisely because they know that practically 100 per cent of movement Basnett leaves TUC tivists, very large proportion of their base, support the miners.
Even the opinion polls, which directly distorted against the miners, show this situation cleany. According to the poll in last sunday's Sun day Times 31 per cent of those questioned openly supported the miners compared Pavouring the NOB. Given cent the incredible media campaign, and the failure to she Labour Party and TUC leadership, that is actually , an astonishingly high figure supporting the miners even in a poll.
If you translate these figures for the population a whole into terms of the working consider also the situation or lne maustra worklg then it is quite obvious that the miners ac tually have majority supDONI ian sections or dustrial sections the even terms of opinion polls let alone in any real activity and in terms of the views of the militant cadre of the working class.
It is because they know that situation that Willis and Kinnock remain concerned not to confront the NUM openly Kinnock undoubtedly suffered, for instance, a major blow to his support with the reac This refusal to speak at the NUM's rallies. The problem for the NUM is Kinnock Willis, not the base and the left, which are the voices which heard. The task of the turn the political tide, is to create the means whereby other sections of movement TUC make their position clear. This is why the NUM wa so strong at the TUC Conand Labour because they provided natural forums for the movement. Joe Mohammed, Notts miner NUM in which can participate both activists in the movement and, most importantly, the left trade unions which are backing the NUM third step building for a national day hour general strike, in support of the NUM. be • be nas of a campaign, tion terer definite Willi clear that
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Throughout the summer NUM leadership con- centrated on building the impetus of the strike and
Paper NO Shortene tactics the
pressure of support for the miners was