SWP endorsement for Stalinist line

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In the wake of the bureaucratically disrupted conference of the Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions, the Socialist Workers Party has declared its full backing for the political line presented by the Stalinist platform.

In a one-page feature headed "Let's fight the Tories TOGETHER", Socialist Worker reprints the entire political statement presented to the Conference, describing it as "A fighting declaration"

The statement-to which the Conference chairman, Stalinist Kevin Halpin, would allow no opposition-contains no demand for General Strike action to bring down the Tories: indeed its only substantial demand is for "Teal action of general strike proportions" to take place on the TUC "day of action" on May 14-3½ months time!

In continuity with the record of the LCDTU under the Heath government, the entire thrust of the declaration is towards a protest campaign aimed at changing the minds of the Tories on their package of anti-union laws, rather than forcing Thatcher out of office.

Yet Socialist Worker enthusiastically states that "before the delegates was a Declaration spelling out the way to fight the Tory proposals".

And, lest there be any a refuse from sie so desires John Deason, written on behalf of the SWP-run "Rank and File" Defend Our Unions Committee to Kevin Halpin on the day after the abortive LCDTU conference.

Deason assures that:

"The Defend Our Unions Committee fully supports that declaration-indeed we recognise that the Liaison Committee included in that declaration tians, Of our previous sugges of our previous Deason goes on to complain that the LCDTU has ignored repeated letters, phone calls and personal approaches from the "Kevin" Rank and File Committee ing united action.

And he renews his pleawhich formed the only issue of contention between the SWP and the Stalinist platform-for a joint LCDTU/R&F conference to be convened.

So as the Communist Party trails behind and seeks to divert the militancy of the working class into a succession of aimless one-day and protest actions, their: supposedly more 'left wing' rivals in the SWP abandon any political struggle against them -in the name of "unity"

There is no doubt that in this respect Deason is right and Halpin wrong.

The SWP and CP are, in a real sense, politically united, in opposing the development of a revolutionary political leadership in the working class, and in seeking to confine the anti-Tory fight to what the Rank and File Committee calls «a campaign of protest and defiance against the new laws"