[The jump in unemployment to 950,000 after the…]

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The jump in unemployment to 950,000 after the largest monthly increase since 1948, demonstrates without a shadow of doubt the rapid development of the economic crisis:

It comes at a time of year when unemployment usually falls, due crease, alongside an unreduced rate of inflation, now standing at an annual rate of 25%, gives the le to the view that wage pressure is the main factor behind rising prices.

The "remedy" advanced by the Labour 'left' and the TUC -massive reflation - is now completely utopian. Further injections of government finance into ailing capitalist enterprises will increase inflation, especially since huge sums of money will have to be borrowed from the international money markets at commercial rates of interes- depressine stil more the value of the pound. At the same time these tirms themselves will be forced to raise prices in an attempt to increase profits.

But to increase profits and reduce the rate of inflation, government finance must be accompanied by measures to increase the rate of exploitation of the workers still at work - through speed-up and wage cutting. This No one who starts from a belief in the continued viability of capitalism under these conditions can produce any realistic alterative to these vicious policies This is why although mouthing horror at the Budget, Labour's "left" melted away into the shadows rather than challenge Healey at the meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and, with few exceptions, voted for the proposal: to slash jobs and increase taxes.

Unemployment is now crucial to the employers, since by increasing competition amongst workers for a diminishing number of jobs it creates conflicts between those in work and the unemn oved and seeks to undermine resistance and hold down wages.

But at a time when more and more the case is being proved for nationalisation of bankrupt firms without compensation, and for workers' management of nationalised firms to protect jobs and conditions the reformists refuse to carry out even the smallest fight for jobs and turn their backs on the nec essary demand for work sharing on full pay.

Such a programme is critical if the task of uniting employed and unemployed workers, now a pressing need for every Trades Council and trade union branch, is to be carried through. There can be no defence for the unemployed based on separate organisations of unemployed workers or "claimants unions". Full trade union rights and organisation must be opened up to the unemployed in every union At the same time the demand must go out for workers committees from companies bankrupted in the crisis and continued back page, col 3

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But the response of the Stalinis tried the rained arien