Wrp Raid

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The Workers Socialist League unconditionally defends the WRP against the massive police raid on its Derbyshire premises, and against the vicious and scurrilous witch hunt of revolutionary socialism the capitalist press and right wing Labour circles by which this was preceeded. We have called on all our members and supporters to support the WRP's defence petition; we have given practical support within the labour and trade union movement for the call for a workers' inquiry into the circumstances of the raid and the involvement of cabinet ministers in it. On the Hull Trades Council and in other areas our comrades have fought We have given this support - in which we are joined by virtually every organisation of the revolutionary left - because a most basic principle is at stake. The raid on the WRP - including especially the police claim to have 'discovered' live bullets - is an attack on the political rights of the entire labour movement. More particulary it is aimed - in a new and dangerous manner - at the right to fight for revolutionary policies in answer to the capitalist crisis and the reactionary policies of the Labour government. As such it is much more than an attack on the WRP alone. Along with the witch hunt of left-wingers and supporters of the Militan in the Labour Party, the WRP raid is an assault on the basic democratic rights of the working class, an assault employing the armed force of the capitalist state and the monopoly of the media and press barons. This assault can be met only by principled, revolutionary policies. This is why we write to protest in the strongest possible terms at the conduct of the WRP within the defence campaign. At the 'public' meeting called by the WRP in central London on October 13th as part of the campaign WRP stewards - on the instructions of WRP Assistant General Secretary Sheila Torrance - prevented members of the Workers Socialist League from entering the meeting. This was done on the grounds that they were alleged 'provocateurs'! Not only this, but one of your platform speakers had the impertinance to hypocritically demand "Where does the WSL stand?" • The answer, of course, was - outside the door: in a campaign on which Workers Press daily pleads "Let the movement speak now" and This exclusion of a labour movement tendency is in stark contradiction to the welcome now daily - and completely uncritically - given in Worker tress to the signatures of such political figures as "corporatist" Jack Jon‹ (architect of the state pay laws); scab convenor Eddy MeGarry (who as he signed the petition was instructing drivers to cross an ACTSS picket line in Standard Triumph, Coventry); and leading Stalinists, Bert Ramelson and Peter Kerrigan, - long time supporters of Stalin's Moscow Trials More surprisingly even while calling for a labour movement campaign, you have applauded the support of the Young Liberal, Peter Hain, so We note from Workers Press that you have correctly invited the full participation of the Communist Party in your defence demonstration in London on November 16th. You have sent a letter to their General Secretary, Gordon McLennan, offering them the right to bring their banners Despite our differences with the WRP and our criticisms of aspects of the campaign the WL also wants to give full support to the November 16th demonstration, on the same terms as those of the Communist Party. But we first want clarification on three basic questions: * Why have our members been excluded from your "public' meetings?

November 1 6th demonstration? Since you have invited the Stalinists, we * Will you permit a speaker from the WL to address the rally following the march, to express our support for the defence of the WRP and the whole workers movement against the attack on democratic rights? Again your offer of a platform to the Stalinists in our view precludes your .S. ACCEPT RYDER AN OPEN LETTER TO THE G.Healy, WRP General Secretary:

Dear Comrade Healy, for motions of support. "Everyone welcome"! warmly regarded by Jeremy Thorpe.

and a speaker. do not see how you can refuse.

refusal.

While the bureaucracy move! to the right, and workers move to the left in struggle, the revisionists of the International Socialists seek desperately to cover their tracks. Clearest example is in the I.S.dominated "rank and file" paper "Leyland Worker' On its front page it splashes its policies on the Ryder proposals under the deceptive headlines "Break The Silence - No Secrecy; Let Us Decide" - deliberately chosen to suggest a struggle against Ryder.

Nothing of the sort is proposed. Instead this opportunist group propose to accept the framework of bogus participation. See how they wriggle into position from apparent militancy to complete capitulation. "That's why we should reject But if we get it anyway? Our negotiators are quite right to insist that nominations to the three tiers of committees should not be open to all on the shop floor ....

So from pretending to oppose participation, I.S. is now debating how its committees should be elected.

"The only way that workers' representatives can be effectively controlled ... is through elections by mass meetings of shop October 27th stewards. They should also be fully accountable to the shop stewards ...

All this ignores the fact that the committees are all fully accountable to management and have written into their terms of reference that they recognise "executive responsibility rests with management". . I.S. are careful also to ensure that foremen and industrial engineers are fully represented, when they insist that "staff" unions be included. The completely craven position is summed up in a concluding paragraph: "None of this means supporters of Leyland Worker should not stand for any of the committees We cannot just ignore participation and hope it will go away of its own accord."

The message of I.S. then can be they thus give a blank cheque to opportunists such as Arthur Hart whom they support, but who is up to his neck in the class collaborationist meetings of the Ryder 'ad hoc' committee.

On the back page of the same paper a large article deals with the 'Open the Books' fight at Cowley. But nowhere in the entire paper do I.S. point out their consistent national campaign against this demand.

Leyland Worker should clearly be retitled Opportunist Worker, in line with the politics of its 'pank and file' leadershin

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* Will you publicly undertake that all tendencies of the labour movement will be permitted to bring their contingents and their banners on the

summed up as 'if you can't beat management, join them!' › and