Take Benn campaign to union rank & file

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Trade union conferences throughout the summer months are to provide a major forum for the campaign to secure iony benn's eiettion as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

With Benn well placed to win the majority of constituency votes, but unlikely to Party, his only hope lies in his ability to win rank and file support within the unions in order to overturn the bureaucratic conspiracy to back Denis Healey.

There must be no half measures in such a campaign.

By defying both right wing and fake 'left' union leaders in his decision to stand for election Benn has lett himself no choice but to go over their heads to the union membership.

Such a campaign offers an opportunity for socialists With Margaret Thatcher touring the Middle Fast in search of military outposts, the anti-war movement gathered pace at the weekend with a series of major rallies in Britain and Europe.

A 7,000-strong European protest including 1.000 (ND supporters from Britain marched to the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Delegations from 13 countries were present in what is seen as a preparation for a full scale march in Brussels in October.

A declaration calling for a nuclear-tree Europe was handed in at the NATO building which was heavily guarded by Belgian riot pollec.

An antimissies campaigner warned that:

'On November 4 at every level in the labour movement to promote debate on questions ot policy and programme.

Such a debate opens up possibilities stretching far beyond the considerable limitations of the five points put forward by Benn in his election plattorm.

Critical support

Socialist Press, while not endorsing Benn's platform, gives its critical support to this campaign. And we welcome the initiatives now being taken by the Rank and File Mobilising Committee to promote the campaign in the period between now and the October Party confer ence.

Benn told a meeting last week of the RFMC that he had only recently discovered the extent to which secret deals had been made by union leaders and Shadow nuclear warhead was elected President of the United States. Only through an international movement will the people destroy the bomb before the bomb destroys the people."

Meanwhile in Britain a 9,000 strong rally was held on Saturday in Manchester. following a 600-strong march trom Leeds.

In the Midlands. over 10,000 people turned out to support a protest march and festival in Rugby targeted on the Hillmorton radio transmitter, used to communicate with Polaris submarines.

In the Southern Region. CND activities were focussed on a Monday rally at Greenham Common, the US air base destined as one of the sites for the new Cruise missiles aimed at the USSR.

Some 5,000 protestors turned out.

And in London, five CND marches were held.

USAF Cabinet right wingers in their efforts to prevent Benn even standing in the first place.

It is necessary to take decisions out of the hands of such people.

Pressure must be brought to bear on MPs through local GMCs, and on union leaders through resolutions at branch, area and national level as well as conferences.

The Shadow Cabinet is Healey At the same time the vote of the NUT conference to dely the line of the union's Executive and adopt a "no nukes" policy underhned the growing anti-war current within the trade unions and broader labour movement.

The civil servants' strike has shown that many personnel essential to the operation of the British nuclear arsenal are prepared to take action against the government and able to have an impact on British military capacity..

The task in the next period is to develop the campaign within the labour movement and at the same time ram home the message that there will be no disarmament while Thatcher's government remains in office.

To secure jobs and dispose of the bomb requires working class action to kick out the Tories. pledged, almost to a man, (and they are all men!) to the objectives of 'Labour Solidarity"-reversing the democratic gains that have been made and avoiding any new measures to make them implement conference policies.

The RFMC looked in detail at the list of forthcoming trade union conferences. It was agreed to lobby for Benn to address these conferences on the politics of his campaign-and where necessary to organise fringe meetings on the issues involved.

Most important of these conferences are the USDAW conference (26-29 April): NUPE (10-12 May), ASTMS (16-18 May), GMWU (7-11 June); TGWU (22-26 June)

ar and COHSE (23-26 June).

We urge readers in these unions to submit emergency resolutions through their branches calling on their leaders to invite Benn to address the conference, and to mandate their own delegates to support the REMC campaign.

The impact of Benn's candidacy in sharpening the without the nationalisation of the banks, land and major The "alternative economic strategy" offers no such perspective: and it is also strongly infected by nationalism -with strident demands for import controls to protect "British" capitalist industry against "foreign" capitalist competition.

• The "strategy" therefore offers no real alternative to the class collaborationist policies of Labour's right wing.

'3. To support and strengthen the rights of women, to extend democracy and self-government at all levels in industry and society, to defend the trade unions, to protect the interests of the ethnic communities, to enact a Freedom of Information Bill and to end the House of Lords."

These praiseworthy objectives are all couched in terms of Parliamentary retorms: yet the abolition of the House of Lords and the ettective detence of trade union rights and extension of the rights of women demand a mobilisation of mass support.

"4. To develop cooperation with all the countries of Europe to secure the complete withdrawal of Britain from the Common Market and to support the United Nations in its work for political questions within the Labour Party was confirmed at a meeting of the Tribune the so-called "left wing" of the PLP was split down the middle on whether or not to support Benn against Healey.

The next few months will see a large number of pseudo-left poseurs smoked out within the Labour Party.

peace, international justice and world development."

Benn's call for withdrawal from the Common Market is infected by the same nationalism as the alternative economic Rather than seeing the British working class as part of a necessary European struggle to destroy the fabric of the EEC and establish a Socialist United States of Europe, Benn simply addresses the question of disentangling the British capitalist economy from the EEC straitjacket.

And his support for the reactionary United Nationswhose sole task is to work for the stabilisation of imperialist rule across the majority of the earth's surface-speaks volumes for the political confusion of left wing reformists.

"5. To adopt a non-nuclear defence strategy for Britain, to work for European nuclear disarmament, and to secure the removal of all American nuclear bases from Britan."

Evaded

Benn's formulation neatly evades an important question. Against whom is his "non-nuclear defence strategy" intended to defend us? Does he agree with Labour's right wing that British capitalism should be TGWU confer and in the course • struggle Socialist Pre:

porters must press hor fight for a consisten gramme of socialist po in contrast both to H reactionary platform Benn's inadequate points.

Tony Be "defended" against supposed "Soviet threat' In fact the danger obliteration comes from military build-up by the imperialists, and the gro mood of desperation aggression that is dri American military leader contemplate launching "limited" European nu‹ wat.

Overthrow We need not plans equip the British ar forces with effective 1 nuclear weaponry, bu strategy to overthrow disarm British imperial altogether, and assist tr forces in lreland throughout the world 1 are fighting imperi oppression and exploitat:

We do not of col expect Benn to elabo such a programme. He come a long way from period of collaboration the Wilson and Callag governments, but remi firmly a reformist rat than a revolutionary.

But his candidacy off the chance to discuss all these issues throughout labour movement, and fight to raise the und standing of leftward mov forces in the Labour Party the need to go beyo Benn's five points io a cr sistent, internationali socialist programme.

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win substantial support from the Parliamentary Labour