[The continued refusal of the TUC leaders ot…]

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The continued refusal of the TUC leaders ot fight for the release of the Shrewsbury Two has paved the way for yet another kick in the teeth for the unions from the rightward-moving Labour government. The TUC had pinned its hopes on an early parole for the pickets who would then have completely carried the can for the refusal of the reformist leaders to challenge Tory courts and capitalist laws.

But last week in Parliament, Roy Jenkins, the Labour Party's Tory Home Secretary, told deligh ed and cheering Conservative benches that parole would not be granted to the pickets and that he had 'no power' to influence or direct the parole board. The enthusiasm from the extreme right wing for Jenkins statement appears to have been unmatched by any class hostility from the Labour ranks to the blatant attack BIRMINGHAM Digbeth Civic Hall, Committee Rm 4 WEDNESDAY 28th MAY Speaker: A.Thornett a Labour minister. The 'left' ?, who have sat silently through the continued imprisonment of the Two - and failed even to mobilise the forces of the Tribune group to campaign for their release, and who passively allowed the use of troops in Glasgow to break a wages sirs. appeared too cowed by their past retreats to launch any attacks.

The whole trade union moveme must now begin to use its weight to remove the right wing treacherous leadership of the Labour Party, which has nothing in common with the working class.

But the central question is still to force the release of the pickets. The issue must be fought for at every trade union branch meeting and the resolutions demanding national action must be rushed to the TUC and the national leadership of all unions. Only general strike action will prevent the impris. iment of the Two remaining a precedent on the statute b is for the British bourgeoi ow preparing new attacks or the working class.

HULL

Hull Central Library WEDNESDAY 28th MAY Speaker: John Nolan on to state that there is in fact no division within the Cabinet on the Industry Bill.

Nor is the collaborative attempt to maintain capitalism confined to the Labour leadership. The TUC economic committee is discussing «tightening un" the social contract blaming wages for infiation, and thus coming to the aid of Wilson who is forced to unleash the whole result of the crisis onto the working class.

In this situation the left' MPs begin to cry out and make blustering speeches. Their main anger should be first directed at themselves. The Tribune Group of MPs took a decision not to oppose Healey's budget. Not a single leading "left' defended Eric Heffer sacked by Wilson for opposing Common Market entry. The 'left' are refusing to use the machinery of the Labour Party NEC (on which they have a complete majority) to fight Wilson's flagrant violation of Party policy on the EEC question, while allowing him to use the authority of government office to put the pro-Market case. Still more openly refusing to challenge Wilson, the two Tribuneites who had attacked Wilson at the weekend, Sidney Bidwell and Norman Atkinson were reprimanded by a Tribune Group meeting on Monday night.

Bid well correctly called for a complete clear out of the Labour Party leadership, but was immediatelv attacked by fellow-Tribuneites Benn, who says Wilson is of all things, "a good democrat" (having just flouted the LP special conference vote on the ÉEC), and Leslie Huckfield who said anvone attacking the leadership is "helping the right wing"

The realitv of it is that while against inflation through the fight for agreements to include a sliding scale of wages compensating in full for the increase in the cost of living as assessed by elected trade union committees. This is the only way the value of of even large percentage increases can be maintained.

As closures are threatened or redundancies announced by management, the plants concerned must be occupied on the demand for work-sharing on full pay. Every job lost today adds to the 1 millio unemployed as the recession grows The firmest tight 1s necessary on this question. At the same time trade unions must actively begin to organise the unemployed in fighting for these demands.

In every case of jobs and wages under attack the books of the employer must be opened to elected committees of trade unionists. This will establish clearly the basis for nationalisation of firms withou compensation, establishing worker: management in opposition to the direct state management as seen in British Steel and British Rail.

The campaign to reject the capitalist EEC must be linked with the struggle for the Socialist United States of Europe, and all nationalist conceptions of "sovereignty" and of import controls administrated by the capitalist state must be opposed.

This programme requires a revolutionary leadership to be carried into practice. It is the only programme which can answer the escalating economic crisis. We call on those lefts who now talk again: Wilson to carry through a fight to remove him and the right wing from office, and carry these policies into the ranks of the Labour and trade union movement..