Who we are

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THE YS Conference in 1981 came at a time when the riots were beginning. Brixton had erupted; just down the road from the conference in Scarborough there were pitched battles on the streets between police and youth. Yet still we heard the same old story from the 'Militant' supporters who run the YS: "Wait till we've got socialism, then everything will be alright."

At the conference were supporters of two revolutionary youth papers, Red Youth and Barricade. Both were committed to transforming the YS into a fighting revolutionary youth movement. Like the majority of working class youth, we were not prepared to 'wait' till we got socialism before fighting for our rights. We want to fight now. We had basically the same ideas about both the YS and organising youth so we decided at that conference that it was time for a united opposition to the 'Militant' supporters in the YS. From that conference we committed ourselves to build a national left wing youth movement that would be part of the YS, that fought to build the YS through struggles amongst working class youth, fighting to mobilise them against the Tory attacks.

This pamphlet is the result of a two-day conference called in November 1981 to launch the movement. Many amendments were made to the ofiginal draft, as the result of discussions based on the everyday experience of youth, not a series of 'get up and recite the programme' speeches that the YS is, in the main, made up of. This pamphlet has also been amended by a later conference and on the basis of our YS work since then.

The pamphlet serves two purposes. It is a pamphlet for action now, giving clear policies on the way forward for unemployed youth, young women, school students, black youth and youth on "training schemes" etc. At the same time the pamphlet points out the bankruptcy of this rotten system, capitalism that we have to live under, that throws us on the dole and uses us as cheap labour.

It points out the way forward in the fight for a government which does not attack workers, but which is committed to our interests and accountable to the working class — a workers' government.

We've had discussion on it in the National Left Wing Youth Movement and now we want to take it out to youth, both in and out of the YS, to judge for themselves.

This is only part of our campaign to get our policies across. We also have our paper, 'Class Fighter' , and through our work we argue for the policies contained in this pamphlet. If you broadly agree with what you read here why not join with us in the Labour Party Young Socialists to fight for a YS that will attract masses of youth to it, and will offer them much more than words. Fill in the form on the back page and send it off to us.

April

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