ment, when instead of seeking to develop a campaign to build the 26 May day of action against the cuts and unemployment, the IS delegates disrupted the conference to demand that the date be chanceo to zi May to coincide witn Ine court aopearance or ne ee. such antics only play into the nands or the Communist Party and Labour lefts, letting them off the hook about taking up the active defence of those arrested.
As we arqued inrougnout the marcn politics must come first, not organisational stunts. The trade union enquiry can be turned into a real parliament of the working people to show what really naopened at stables corner. the best way to defend the arrested marchers at tne present time the defence fund should meanwhile be sent to: Right to Work Campaign Def. ence Fund Treasurer, 46 Prince George Road, London N.16. accept the resolution that such a large number of delegates had been attracted to the meeting.
Unfortunately it must be said that the meeting did not realise the potential that was possible. What is really needed at present is agreement to fight for key demands necessary to meet the crisis. and practical agreements on how to push these forward within the campaign projected by the Communist Party. What is needed is concentrated attention, and practical agreements on how to ge across the key demands which the soc take up. This can get wide support for such poncics is a united fight to commit as many unemployment action committees as possoic to ourinuns poncies. anen now we could begin to coordinate this fight nanonany unrougn ine promonion or a bulletin and fight for a national conference of such advanced action committees Part of this would be a campaign for all the forces that supported our alternative fighting policies to mobilise in unity behind a joint contingent on the demonstration calleu or co may This type of united activity is possIDIC ented together have small but sufficient weight in the movement to make these proposals a reality Donations To Left face What has to be discussed for example lorry.
-ne pontical orzanisations repres said Gill. the ruling ment It is fear of this movement which explains the left face put on by the likes of Ray Buckton and Ken Gill, the star turns on the platform. Delegates were treated to the spectacle of Buckton simultaneously arguing for selective import controls as the cure-all for unemployment and for an integrated transport system' to counter the anarchy of capitalism. Given Buckton's record of opposition to the rail strikes that, as Alan Thornett from Cowley pointed out at a post-Assembly meeting, could mean one bus, one train and one Left MPs Dennis Skinner and Neil Kinnock, fresh from their vote of confidence in the Government's economic policies, raised the roof with their flights of rhetoric, urging that workers should get into the streets to defeat the Government's policies. But Ken Gill, General Secretary of the AUEW-TASS, must take the biscuit *The recall TUC will want to know how little we will settle for.
"The least we want is an The new Black Circular of the TUC outlawing trades councils which refuse to kow-tow meekly to the policies of the General Council is gaining support in strange quarters. In Camden Trades Council, the Com munist Party - the victim of earlier proscriptions - and its supporters have taken it upon themselves to act as the TUC's cops in enforcing In February the Annual General ion. Meeting of the Trades Council, the only body constitutionally permitted to change the rules, voted 3835 against accepting the new Rule 14. Acceptance of the rule would basically prevent trades councils from involving themselves in the -musaroomme campains aralist the cuts or taking the lead in local united action against unemployafter all, the TUC supports the Labour Government's policies in these fields. Presumably trades councils would also have to disatiiliate from the Working Women's Charter Campaign, as this failed to of the movement. Ken Gill spelt it out: 'Only an alliance with the official leadership of the movement can create the unity that will end the present policies of this Government." In other words, militants should put all their eggs in the basket of those left leaders who have lately done nothing but fall over each other in their retreat from the Government's offensive.
Pattern As a result, the Assembly could not be an open forum to plan a strategy against the Government's policies. Quite clearly the CP could not afford an open debate which would have challenged the hypoc risy and demagogy of the invited speakers. Consequently the speakers from the floor followed a predictable pattern. Consisting mainly of Communist Party members and their supporters in the unions, not one challenged the policies or record of the platform speakers.
It is for this reason that many delegates present at the Assembly had mixed feelings about the outBut none of this has deterred
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CP AS