Prentice stuck

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Recent weekends have seen. a number of clashes with British Movement fascists in Liverpool's city centre shopping-area.

The Left have sold : their papers on Saturday afternoon for several years and have periodically had to clear the streets of fascists through physical confrontation In the period before the formation of the Anti-Nazi League it was the Anti-Fascist ,Committee-largely consisting of the Left groups-that carried this out.

It had the merit of having had no illusions about the necessity for physical action, and was:: a dependable, reliable group.

This is no longer true. The formation of the Anti-Nazi League has introduced pacifist, tiberal elements who cannot be depanded on to combat fascist viglence. • This expressas itself in a rejection in practice of the slogan "No platform for fascists," although the recent ANL conference adopted this slogan.

Illusions

"It is clear that many ANL supporters,: particularly the middte class dilletantes who were attracted by the pacifist, non-violent, - "civil disobedience" tactics that the ANL leadership promoted at Brick Lane still have gross illusions in this approach and will not engage in physical confrontation against fascists on the streets. • But this view extends also to some of the erstwhile militants now in the ANL who, at a recent meeting of representatives of the various left groups, decided on a future policy of not attacking fascists unless they attack the Left.

This meeting took place in the SWP's Liverpool offices just after a particularly vicious fight with the British Movement.

But members of the IMG also later defended the same line, claiming that they abhored "brawls" in the streets because it "alienates public opinion"

Reprisals

"It only results in reprisals" they argued denouncing those prepared to drive fascists off the streets as "adventurists" substituting themselves for the "mass movement"' •The WSL has consistently argued-often against IMG calls restricted to "black selfdefence"-that work must be carried out in the mass mement to establish: workers, defence squads wherever fascist violence shows itself.

We oppose suicidal attacks without the superiority of forces. But the fact remains that fascists cannot be simply left to intimidate blacks and workers on the street; they must be confronted and driven off by all those willing and able to do so, on every possible occasion.

It is clear that the SWP and IMG leadership are still finding themselves pulled rightwards by petty-bourgeois "public opinion" and run for cover behind the ANL's respectable facade of the liberals, clerical leaders, dogooders, Labour bureaucrats and Tribunites.

It is to be hoped that in Liverpool and elsewhere where the fascist threat is ever-present that the most serious SWP and IMG forces will reject the adaptationist line of their organisa tions, and take up the fight for workers' defence squads to drive the fascists from the streets. the moves by Labour left wingers to institute a system of automatic reselection for MPs.

Intimidation

Any move to make MPs the slightest bit answerable to the Party members who secure their election would spell doom for the kind of politics so dear to Wiliams' heart.

"If that system is introduced there will never be a Labour government in office for a full Parliament . . . It is an invitation to intimidation by constituency party officials".

For Labour's right wing, of course, though they revel in the title "social democrat" • any attempt by Labour's rank and file to ensure that democratic decisions are implemented by their supposed representatives and leaders is regarded as a threat, as "intimidation" of the worst kind.

prerequisite for the leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party has nothing to do with an allegiance to the policies decided upon by the Partyrather she thinks that the task is to select the best "parliamentarian".

And she rejects out of hand any move that would give the Party's NEC final say over the policies to be carried out by Labour MPs. • Of course, given the structure and political line of the Labour Party, such position has a certain logic to it.

Reforms

The Labour Party was constructed from the very outset as purely reformist, parliamentary party which would hopefully defend the unions against legal attacks and work through parliamentary legislation to acheive reforms and eventual nationalisation of demagogy now paraded by Labour's so-called left' wing; and for all their talk of 'democratising' the Party and of radical policies in opposition to those of the right wing Callaghan-Healey leadership, they offer no genuine alternative to such a perspective.

Parliament

Benn, Heffer, Skinner and other 'left' figureheads remain PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL "policy making" conference and the policies carried out by MPs in Parliament.

But the 'lefts'-who in practice failed to fight back on a single occasion when Callaghan or Wilson in government flouted Party • policy-continue to peddle the illusion that the Labour Party can impose a discipline over the bourgeois careerist and opportunist elements that make up the ranks and leadership of the PLP, Williams in RELEASED FROM the r reed even to pretend an interes t in the working class or temper r his hostility to the trade uni ons, Williams's former right." Ning Labour stable-mate Reg Pren ¡tice is now romping with a will c anto his new job in the Tory gov 'ernment.

Following his now fam rous speech insisting that b lind people take their full shar B of the cuts, Prentice has emer rged in his post of Minister of So xial Security as a key figure in fo armulating Tory anti-union strat egy.

He will toy with such is deas as withholding tax rebates fi rom strikers, taxing supplement tary benefit to strikers' families. and making benefits into ›ans recoverable after strikers ret to work.

His Manifesto Group col gues must be green with er she now recants this heresy.

The Guardian like him because he will deal with the evangelical militants in the ranks (likened by the Guardian to 'activists' inside Labour Party wards!)

The Observer likes him because bishops play an important part at funerals of dead earls.

The Press likes him in general because his appointment revives the fiction of the church at the centre of society and demonstrates once again that however serious the setbacks for capitalist rule there is still room at the altar for an upstanding member of their class.

The pig-loving bishop has shown they can still bring home the bacon.

Runcie

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Allegiance In Williams' view, indeed the