of the Labour Party and the trade unions offer solutions that are in not of the workers but of the capitalise class.
Socialist Challenge believes that the twn vital tasks CUITORIE •obuild brogs-based clas struggle tendencies in opposition class-collaborationism labour movement. These should grouping together militants holding a wide range of political views.
• To begin to fight unified democratic revolutionary socialist application of united begin seen alternalive by thousands workers engaged in struggles.
Such an organisation should be based on the understanding that:
The struggle for seeks to unite the fight of with that of other oppressed layers of society. women black people. gays struggling for liberation. This socialism can only be achieved hy creating new organs of power and defeating with all necessary means the power of the capitalist state.
Our socialism will
more democratic I than what exists in Britain today. lull rignis Tor political parties and currents that do not lake up arms against the socialist state. The Stalinist models of "socialism' in the LSSR and Fastern Europe have discredited socialism in the eyes of millions of WORKLES We are opposed to them and will full support fighting for socialist democracy.
The interests of workers and capitalisss are irreconcilable on a world scale. Capitalism only created market. politics. Thus we fight for working class unity scale. This units will in the long run be decisive in deteating both the imperialist reeimes in the West and the brutal dictatorships they sustain in Latin America, and Asia.
In Britain it implies demanding the immediate withdrawal Brilish froops from Ireland and letting the Irish people determine I OWN EUTe The Communist parties in Europe are in crisis. Neither the 'Hurscommunist' the pro-Mascon wings have ans meaninglul strategy for overthrow of the capitalist stale. hew resolutionars socralist parties necessar! than (onditions Inchas more lamouralse than ever the preceding three decades. Bad such parties can only rejeeling sectarianion and seeing infernal democracs nod us a laxary hates i vitad necessity. This means the right to organise factions and lentencies.
Il you agree with these principles wind involved activitirs be Socialist Challenge supperders in your area, fill in the dorm belon and send a to us interested information ahont addivities in uns ila. • I would like additional literature and endose Sop lo coser rests. (Helle it not applicalle)
Name...
Address..
send do socialis ( ballenge. 3289) • pper s. fondn •l.
Socialist Challenge 16 August 1979 Page 2 In lie character.
and through front as an Late el of In this revolutionary socialists unequivocal.
socialism bosses being raised.
their of withdrawal.
others will be forced to be all 4Oгс Africa of nor the ever National Abortion Campaign on the National marr facilities Britain.
were on the Not is ce WIlO themselves.
is the major factor in most cases'. THINGS ARE not going well for the British in Ireland. The tenth anniversary of their latest 'civilising' mission in the North of Ireland has been greeted with flak, flak, and more flak.
The Brits are under ever increasing pressure to do something to sort out their Irish mess. There is the threatened intervention of Jimmy Carter; the events in Ireland and elsewhere at the weekend; and the increasing calls for British withdrawal — the magazine New Society being situation, the of must De clear and Exciting opportunities are opening up for campaigning on Ireland in this country, but these will only be grasped if that campaigning offers political answers to the questions now It is excellent, for instance, that the Young Liberals and the Young Communist League went onto the streets of London on Sunday to demand that. Britain commits itself to a policy It is excellent because as more people demand withdrawal and take action to back it up, then consider Britain'S war in Ireland. Most importantly, it makes it easier to raise the issue in the working class THE RECENT Royal Commission Health Service would exposes the desperate need for more throughout Official statistics show that last year only 41.9 per cent of abortions only NHS. operation where more than half those pay tor The The report suggests that 'lack of availability of NHS facilities, rather than real desire for private treatment, The report doubts that 100 per cent of abortions could be performed on the NHS without cuts in other sectors which 'will not normally be justified'. movement.
class that it will movement.
should be campaign?
The right be postponed or bartered over. troops out now.
suggested.
such as Sunday's demonstration.
Labour Party branches.
It is only when the campaign in this country against British imperialism in Ireland begins to have real roots and real support in the working emerge as a real mass the basis for such a the point of view of revolutionary Marxism, the answer is simple.
the Irish people self-determination is an immediate one, not to That means Yet, as so often with the theoretical positions of revolutionary Marxism, that demand has a practical reality beyond all the others now being A movement simply in favour of withdrawal can and will continue to build one-off actions But what it does not do, because of its vagueness, is to provide the political answers which are needed when Ireland is argued about in trade union and The same applies to those who say that only a campaign based explicitly on the slogan of "solidarity with the IRA' will do. Of course, we should argue for solidarity with all those fighting British imperialism in Ireland. But this movement in Britain.
years, if not Ireland can afford such a wait.
convenient middle withdrawal demand solidarity with the IRA.
"Troops out now
forces want and need help rid Ireland of the curse of Britain.
political answers to the Irish question.
all sections of the revolutionary left.
out, then when is?
Prosecutions planning, clinics.
Although improvement abortions.
made renowned gynaecologists.
Corrie's Bill the unionists, and year, will be We should of that the through the next entire cent of NHS 80 per cent of day-care choose.
The reason is simple: we would have to wait decades, before the working class adopts that position, and neither the IRA or any other anti-imperialist force in It is not the case that 'troops out now' is a way between vague and the demand for specifies withdrawal, while at the same time giving meaningful solidarity with the anti-imperialists in Ireland. It helps to build on a principled basis what those — a mass movement to The United Troops Out Movement remains the only vehicle with a potential for developing that mass movement and. for providing the As we have said before, that movement deserves the support and active involvement of We ask those who have equivocated: If now is not the time to build UTOM; if now is not the time to call more strongly than ever for troops Recently the Director of Public recognised menstrual aspiration techniques as legal under the '67 Abortion Act.
This simple method is performed before it can be conclusively shown whether a woman is pregnant or not, and could be widely used in family well-woman and day-care the use of such and the provision of day-care clinics would be an immense the present situation, these should not be seen as a cheap alternative to providing full health service facilities for all kinds of In any case, none of these facilities will necessarily be provided unless it is mandatory law. At present there is no legal compulsion for area health authorities to provide any abortion facilities at all.
In certain areas, abortion provision is virtually non-existent. In Birmingham, for example, only 13 per cent of abortions are on the NHS. The area is anti-abortion It only needs one leading consultant gynaecologist to be anti-abortion to affect the service of a whole area. provIsIon. of abortion facilities is made mandatory under the NHS Act, this situation will prevail. seeks to limit the number of late abortions through reducing the statutory time limit, but he isn't looking for ways to eliminate the delays and inefficiencies within the health service which are the cause of a large number of late abortions Within the campaign against Corrie we have to continually take up the battle to ensure that the '67 Act is implemented and extended, as well as defeating this current attack.
A concience or positive legislation, planned for autumn of next directed towards the labour movement begin now to abortion facilities so that the issue is raised at round trade union conferences and at the TUC The fight against Corrie is not just a question of defending the status quo. It can lay the basis for a tremendous campaign to improve the law and the facilities for abortion, bringing Lis nearer to winning a women's right to
----- pull-quotes -----
ABOL гомА