Budget Fury Action!

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There could scarcely be a working class man or woman who was not enraged at last week's savage Tory budget.

Howe's latest package sets out coolly and deliberately to plunder the poor, pillage the pensioners, clobber the claimants and milk the middle class.

His proposals will add £5 per week on average to the cost of living, bring a new wave of inflation, recession and redundancy, and signal still more sweeping cuts in housing, social services and education spending.

It is a brutal onslaught carried out by a class-war cabinet representing the bankers, speculators, •asset strippers, aristocrats and spis that make up the British ruling class.

It is an attempt once again to drive up their rate of profit at the expense of the vast majority of working people.

This is how it was recognised at once by shop floor workers in a blast of almost physical hostility and anger. But this anger has found no echo from the leadership of the labour movement.

Instead of pointing towards doi a fight with the Tories, TUC shc leader Len Murray has looked the once again towards a political alliance with the employes in the CBI!

Behind the scenes, the TUC has been conducting regular discussions with the CBI for some time in an effort to caiole them into making a joint appeal to Thatcher for a package of reflationary policies.

No resistance While the talks have gone on, the same employers have thrown thousands of trade unionists onto the dole queues with no union resistance.

The impact of the Budget now seems likely to further cement this unholy alliance of union bureaucrats and exploiters as both seek means of pressurising Thatcher on the one hand while on the other preventing the mobilisation of the working class in action that could defeat the government.

Of course it is true that in the face of the recession in Britain and world wide the capitalist class itself is divided on the way forward. But this stri sar wh em sea stri the the eVE tha spE lay we by es not mean that workers € uld support one side against = other.

Thatcher's monetarist ategy is divisive: it necesily means bankruptcy for tole sections of weaker ployers-in the ruthless urch for profitability bv the ongest.

The scale of the recession elf has made more and more ployers begin to fear that the ›netarist policies they once plauded will soon drive them t of business.

This is the main reason for = splits and divisions within = Tory Party as a whole and en within the Cabinet. The CBI and the "wet" ries do not disanorove of we's attacks on the working ss. They oppose the fall in ofits and wholesale devastain of private industry in the ¡ession.

Conned Some Tory MPs also fear it the impact of further ending cuts will antagonise rers of the middle class who re conned into voting Tory glib advertising in the last election.

A number of "wets" have now emerged as open critics of the government, and one shire Tory, Christopher BrocklebankFowler, has taken the astonishing step of announcine that he will not stand again as a Tory MP.

Within the Cabinet "wets" such as James Prior have begun to conduct a feeble Tory version of the fight for accountability.

Such developments grab the headlines. But they offer workers nothing.

The government is reelingstill light-headed after its defeat by the miners-but it still needs to be knocked out.

Michael Foot and Labour's right wing leadership have begun drawing up a package of measures in case there is an early General Election.

And of course Foot has challenged Thatcher to call an election.

But neither he nor his Shadow Cabinet cronies have ever questioned the "right" of Thatcher to remain in office until 1984.

And they oppose working class action to furce this government out of office.

So do the TUC leaders. Indeed, even while Howe was finalising his budget attacks, TUC leaders were taking steps to restrict their April "week of action" against the government to a "week of activity"-in which not even one-day token strikes will be called.

These labour movement leaders live in fear that if workers were given a lead to action now, they would soon see that they have the streneth not only to crush Thatcher but also to sweep aside the gang of right wing bureaucrats within their own ranks who oppose the socialist policies necessary to resolve the crisis.

Prepare action

They are right to be afraid. That is why Socialist Press has stressed the necessity to prepare for all-out working class action to bring down this hated government.

Anger at the Budget must now be channelled into all-out action to defend jobs, social services and living standards.

This means:

*All out action by civil servants and other sections of Miners w they inte workers in struggle over wages. New claims to include catchingup increases and a cost-of-living clause to protect against inflation.

*Rate and rent strikes to defeat the massive increases caused by Heseltine's cuts.

*Strike action and occupations to stop the cuts in health, education and social services.

*Occupation and blacking action to defend industrial jobs pay!

*Prepare for general strike action to bring down the Thatcher government!

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BID Pages 4-5

against closures and redundan- Pay! For work sharing on full