Tories Won't Change 161: Force Them Ou

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growing body of opinion throughout the world, the Tory government remains intransigently opposed to the slightest concession to the demands of the eight Irish republican hunger strikers.

Four brave men have already died; hundreds of thousands of Catholics have demonstrated their support in the North of Ireland; first Bobby Sands and now Kieran Doherty and Paddy Agnew have won elections North and South of the border; and claims that the republican prisoners were simply an isolated handful of gunmen have been crushingly refuted. Yet the Thatcher government remains obdurate.

Deaf and blind to reason and to protest, the only language they understand is the language meted out each day on the streets by the army and the sectarian RUC -the language of brute force.

In fighting for solidarity with the Irish prisoners, we are at the same time fighting for the defeat and removal of the Thatcher government.

We've seen Social Democrats and "wet" Tories do it; TUC leaders in Congress do it; on the Peoples March bishops (applauded by the Communist Party) did it; last weekend Eric Heffer added twopenny- his worth.

What they all to?

They are appealing to the Tory government to "change course", , begging for a "U-turn" , and looking desperately for any hint of a concession.

They are hoping against hope that their windy protests will be sufficient to shake Thatcher's iron determination to drive up the rate of profit at workers' expense.

They are hoping above all that their voices of sweet reason will prevail, and thus defuse what still threatens to be an explosion of working class anger against this hated Vain hopes! The armwaving and tub-thumping of reformist leaders, their gallons of hogwash about "unacceptable levels of unemployment" and "irresponsible" Tory policies, are recognised at once by Thatcher for the empty gestures they are.

This government has set itself the task of frogmarching British industry back to profitability. If that means bankrupting weaker employers, laying waste whole areas of former industry, throwing millions onto the dole and destroying the social services, then the Tories are ready and willing to undertake that task.

Thatcher's arrogant disdain for her more weak-kneed ministers and back benchers was summed up by her speech to the CBI leaders last week.

On the eve of a much heralded cabinet debate on economic strategy she defiantly announced that there would be no change. And -surprise, surprise!- the next day saw unanimous endorserent of her position.

This is a government inseparably wedded to the interests of the British capitalist class-the most wealthy bankers and industrialists.

It will not be forced off course without the mass action of the working class.

But there's the ub. While Thatcher's gang speaks unambiguously in the name of capital, the TUC and Labour leaders shrink at each stage from spelling out policies necessary for the working class.

Instead they offer us a programme of pleading, pressure and supplications while the Tories force home redundancies, cuts and plunging living standards.

Protest

As the TUC plans out its next year of protest and petitions, and as Labour leaders prepare their plans to knife last year's democratic reforms, workers must ram home the most basic lesson of all.

We can't change the Tories; but through the mobilisation of the industrial strength of the working class we could force them out of office, and create entirely new conditions to press home demands for socialist policies to meet the crisis.

The Workers Socialist League remains committed to the building of a revolutionary leadership to spell out and develop the fight for such policies.