Mho Will Fight to Bring Down Thatcher?

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Workers remain ready to fight the Tories Healey and the right wing cliq! that leads the Parliamenta! Labour Party, but also of tl TUC bureaucracy.

NUM leader Joe Gormle whose members were instrume tal in the defeat of the Hea government in 1974 has mo vividly summed up the view u1s fellow • union chiel declaring that:

"We shall have fights wi governments of all varieties, b we must never give the impre sion that we or any other unic will go on strike in order change the government".

But if the right wing ar union leaders make no secret ' their opposition to allo action to defeat Thatcher, wh about the Labour 'left' , Who noisy efforts to introduce lon needed democratic procedur into the Labour Party will rear their crucial turning point ‹ Wednesday? stands opposed to the fight for generalised strike action to bring down the Thatcher "To come back to the ques tion about how you get rid of the Thatcher government-after 20 years of silence on socialism you can't short cut it by industrial muscle.

You've got to tackle the real argument, which is that these arguments have to be injected into the public consciousness and then you have to build While Benn continues his vague strategy of "injecting" arguments "into the public consciousness", , Thatcher continues to destroy jobs, public services and democratic rights.

The growing strength of left wing currents within the Labour Party can only produce a forward movement in the class struggle insofar as such diversionary concepts are rejected.

Only by presenting before workers a clear perspective for action against the government of the class enemy in defence of their jobs, living standards and hard won rights can political consciousness be raised.

Councils of action

This means spelling out unambiguously the necessity for local struggles to be extended, through the building of councils of action drawing together delegates from all labour movement bodies, into mass, generalised action with the objective of bringing down this savage bosses' government.

It means exposing all of those trade union and Labour leaders who mouth 'opposition' to Thatcher while in practice allowing her to proceed with her attacks until 1984.

And it means constructing a new,, revolutionary leadership, drawing together the most principled class fighters in the labour movement in a struggle for the independent interests of the working class.

13 Labour councils-10 in London plus Sheffield, Newcastle-upon-lyne and Afan in South Wales-are to press their struggle against the Tory cuts not towards a mobilisation of the working class in a full-scale confrontation, but into the High They are to try to prevent Environment Secretary Heseltine imposing £18 million penalties on "overspending" councils. But in the meantime, other Labour councils continue faithfully to implement the Tory cuts, and public sector workers face declining living standards and the wholesale loss of jobs.

What is needed is not face-saving legal wrangles, but a clear call for mass action to bring down the Thatcher government this winter.

The Tory press has ield day attacking upposed "left wing P f TUC right wi happle and Sid Weigh But GMWU leader Ba: ertainly no 'left' -summ he real position clearly nterview on 'Nationwid take, he stressed, is the i uthority of the TUC al leed to stop its leaders pr ttacking its decisions.

After giving a st vation to Callaghan's cal leW social contract, eaders are preparing the g to • enforce such react leals-by suppressing all if opposition.

Chapple may be the ti oday: but it could be { omorrow. had a the Urge" ingers ell. snett -led up in an e'. At central nd the ublicly anding Il for a TUC ground tionary • forms victim Scargill One of. the clearest Tahni Taru Camera collaboration is in the "bipartisan" policy of support for the imperialist military occupation of the six counties of . Northern Last year Labour militants succeeded in forcing a debate on Ireland onto the conference order paper-with a 'troops out' motion being heavily voted down as a result of union block votes.

This year a composite motion is to be debated on Wednesday, calling IOI:

*Rejection of the bi-partisan policy.

*Repudiation of the policies of successive governments on *Instructing the Labour leadership to "adopt a policy favouring political and military withdrawal from Ireland".

*Calling on the next Labour government of "immediately begin this process of full political and military withdrawal" , and to repeal the "Prevention of Terrorism" Act.

Calling for political status for the prisoners in 'H' Block, Long Kesh and Armagh Gaol.

The composite motion is not an ideal policy on Ireland: in particular it is ambiguous as to whether it Is calling , for a "phased" or an immediate withdrawal of troops, and lacks any call for a mobilisation of the British labour movement in solidarity with the Irish liberation struggle.

But the fact that Ireland has been forced onto the order paper for a second successive year and the growing number of motions on the question are an indication of increased • awareness among Labour activists of a need to fight in opposition to British imperialist oppression.

It is certain that once again the key votes against such a policy will come from union delegations-few of whom will carry any specific mandate on the question from their conferences.

The fight for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Ireland and the right to self-determination of the Irish people must therefore be taken up with renewed vigour within the trade unions at local and national level.

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PHOTO: Mark Rusher. IFL Not these councils

CUTS Not the TUC

3reak deal on