New front with Liberals planned by Stalinists

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'We... need a political the militant actions against edu. force, embracing all those on cation cuts, such as occupations the left active in the student and rent strikes.

fighting for fundamental and reviewed are doubtless a whole It argues that 'the Left' in NUS has taken up, on paper, approach, ideals and purposes: of the 'Open Letter' • the become complacent, stagnant Party are by no means original. cliqued and traditional to the nothing more than the At a conference at Central London Polytechnic next weekend, the Stalinists of the Communist Party and their fellow-travellers in the Broad Left, together with members of the Union of Liberal Students will be launching a 'new alliance' in the National Union of Students.

Although the conference has been called on the basis of an "Open Letter" signed by various 'independents' as weil as prominent members of the Broad Left including NUS President Trevor Philips) and of the Union of Liberal Students (ULS) it is clearly the brainchild of the Communist Party, whose policies completely dominate the Broad Left.

Open Letter The "Open Letter" originally circulated at the Easter Conterence ot the NUS, cynically argues that:

movement who are arguing and radical change in society"

the NUS has to:

"renew and review its we cannot allow ourselves and trapped in the practices so student movement" the coupon below.

Please send me 10 Name .

Address Send to Socialist 31, NW5 1HR. practices rnuips, Aaronoviten and Co. are talking about are range of socialist policies that over the years.

intentions of the Communist consolidation of the 'democratic that the CP have pursued in their leadership of NUS.

The essential part of that strategy has been an alliance, not just with the Liberals: but also with the Federation of Conservative Students (FCS).

The Stalinists have adopted and fought for policies that are central planks of the FCS's platform.

PHOTO: Andrew On student union democracy they have attacked general 'O: Andrew Wiard, Report meeting sovereignty and fought for elections by cross-campus secret ballots.

In NUS elections FCS members have been guaranteed seats on the National Executive, purely by the votes of Broad Left members.

The Stalinists' strategy in NUS, as everywhere else, has been to build ailiances with bourgeois forces in order to hold back and head off militant struggles by students or workers.

The 'new alliance' proposed Trevor Philips for NUS is a logical step in that No doubt the 'cliqued process. It has nothing to do with uniting 'the Left': the main purpose is to draw the ULS, part of a capitalist party, into organisational unity with the Stalinists and to try to extend The ideals' that need to be the base of the Broad Left's There will doubtless be a number of rank and file members of the Broad Left who Behind the radical rhetoric will be dubious about the establishment of this 'new alliance'-especially since it has been proposed by the leaderThis 'new alliance' represents ship (acting as individuals rather than as representatives of political organisations) without any discussion or consultation among the membership.

The conference, therefore, gives revolutionaries the opportunity to intervene, to expose the treacherous record of the Broad Left and to link the proposed alliance to their whole history of betrayal.

That task will not, however, be carried out by the Socialist Students Alliance, the IMG's 'left unity' organisation in the NUS.

The IMG, and therefore the SSA, have taken the decision to take 'positive attitude towards the new alliance.

Hoping to get a better hearing if they say nothing about the Stalinists' intentions in creating this new organisation, the IMG have expressed the astonishing and baseless 'hope' that the conference:

... will see the birth of a socialist alliance that will unite students against the attack of Rhodes Boyson and his cohorts in the Tory government."

(Socialist Challenge, 17 May)

The expression of such a forlorn hope shows how little the IMG understand the manoeuvres of Stalinism, and how desperate they are to find something progressive in their every NEWS