IF YOU HATE THE TORIES, DONATE TO THE FIGHT BACK P8 NOUROO NOTE WILLIAM Secretary, Said after the police riot in Southall that Labour Ministers had ofien failed to give their full support to the police and the judges. Defended Thatcher's statement that people in some areas of Britain feared being "swamped by immigrants with the comment: Fran do exist and the Conservatives intend to LORD CARRINGTON, Secretary. His directorships include: Barclays Bank, which has extensive interests in southern Africa utifully purchased a sheat of Sout Africa's defence bonds; and Ri Tinto Zine. one of Rhodesia's four biggest profit-makers. RTZ's Rossing mine in Namibia supplies Africa with its uranium.
SIR KEITH JOSEPH, Secretary. Monetarist. Says he's sick. of these academics and politicians who have prescribed rubbish that redistribution is on the way. It has already gone loo far and is reducing the standard of this country." Heir to the fortunes of the Bovis construction Believes 'social class five' showide't have children.
Photo: OM COOKSON Focallet Chi NORMAN ST JOHN Leader of the House. Ecclesiastical and political correspondent of The Economist. Ferveat anti-abortionist, whose new government post is likely to be of benefit to a Private Member's Bill seeking restrictions on abortion rights. Describes the new government as moderate right wing' Socialist Challenge 10 May 1979 page 2 remove House of Lords Foreign helped to uniqueness South Alliance - EMI.
Industry tary. which successfully Transport strike. Said law.
STEVAS, has LUTETUSUSEIL West.* LORD HAILSHAM, Lord Chancellor. Stated in a previous election that anyone who votes Labour is 'stark, staring bonkers', which shout sums up his view of the working class. His Dimbleby Lecture two years ago was devoted to the theme that the House of Commons has too much sight, freedom and that the powers of the should be back SIR GEOFFREY HOWE, Chancellor of the Exchequer. As Solicitor General in Heath's government he manage the Industrial Relations Court which Juiled the Pentonville Five. Believes that the individual and day. freedom of choice? will revive British capitulism. Directorships incode Son London Insurance, Party.
policies JAMES PRIOR, Employment SecreDirector of United Biscuits, prusecuted Union official for organising a 'secondary picket of its factory during the lorry drivers* during the the right' to go to jail if they break the FRANCIS PYM, Defence Secretary Says: 'On the question of Namibia, it seems to me thut the South Africen shown moderation and good faith in the face provocation and will prevarication from the other side and accordingly deserves the help of the SO FAR, no tanks have been spotted on the streets of Great Britain. Margaret Thatcher has not brought generals into the cabinet; the unions have not been declared illegal.
The Tary victory is a setback for the working class but that's not the entire story, nor the end of it. There's the world of difference between talkine politics, be they right, left or centre, and carrying them out.
The working class oppressed may find themselves on the defensive in the next couple of months but their capacities to resist remain impressive.
So what is in store for the Tories?
First, there are severe economic prospects for the new government. Certainly no honeymoon period is in The international cconomic situation will undoubtedly pull the British economy into a downturn by 1980 whatever temporary recovery' we may see in the rest of 1979 And, of course, the Tories will try to make the working oppressed bear the brunt of the crisis.
The Thatcher government is out to turn back the clock on the gains notched up by the working class in the period. Living standards will fall with Tory increases in indirect They will attempt to end the right to a wide range of social services The Tory government will step up an ideological offensive to get womer in the probably beginning with an attempt to lower the time share alike recal abortin limit for people will be stepped up. There will be no let-up in the attacks on the Catholic masses in the North of Ireland, A nore right win and well-armed foreign policy will be the order of th Above all, Thatcher's government wants to weaken the working class by attacking its mass organisations with its first target as trade union militants and strikers.
When it comes to all these major policies promoted by Thatcher there are no serious objective differences of interest within the ruling class or Tory The so-called divisions between Heath and Thatcher are of no importance for the working class.
Some ruling class representatives are worried about whether Thatcher will be able to carry through her without ancontrollable working class resistance, but that's quite a different question.
On issues where there have been some differences in the ruling class — for instance, incomes policy, aspects of monetary policy, on state subsidies to major industry Thatcher will casily be brought into line.
corder to hate their ador ALVETEE Thatcher different tactics than Heath Hmediately after he formed his government, He ventured to openly proclaim. his desire to attack working class. He refused to meet the TUC for the first year and a half after he came to office, for instance.
However, Is policy of confron tation with the working class was not minimally prepared on political level.
Thatcher will not make a similar error. She has learned from both the defeats of Heath and from victories of Callaghan and Wilson. Thatcher to turn consciousness created by capitalism into a weapon against the labou movement, and the Labour Part itself. And because of the relation of class forces she is forced to actively involve the labour bureaucracy in her project, rather than taking on the unions outright.
The familiar appeals Callaghan to rally behind the nation continue to be echoed by Thatcher, Equally, Callaghan's Talling calls on a variety of other thentes til in with her project: calls to unity, not conflict; for the erosion of classes, class Parhament and common interests. not wreckers; and so on.
Thi kind of ideological offensive. coupled with direct sabotage and working das area bations, sill be collusion used to try and derail and weaken the working class and oppressed.
The economic, social and political policies of Thatcher fornia coberent and polentially powerful reactionary plan. She maintains that the only way forces on the working class is through a challenge to post-war GO BULOUS In other words, the working class and oppressed must begin to reject the dea that they have the right to a job, to have their illnesses treated, or to have a home. Furthermore, it has to be drilled into popular consciousness that the rising numbers on the dole queucs are really gers*. "Mothers' or "homemakers" will become the order of the day, rather than women trade unionists And when the working class merely LEASES democratic organise in defence standards through effective picketing. Thatcher will try and present them as "hoodlums and thugs' To achieve this kind of change in popular consciousness, an intensive ideological campaign whipped up. Its beginnings have been evident in recent months. At every Jevel, Thatcher will try to promote policies of divide and rule Hearh'sattacks were launched on a different basis. fundamentally challenge the political basis of post-war consensus on the welfare state; "full employment; Keynesian strategy: "liberalising system; and maintaining nationalisations Indeed, the response of the working class to Heath's administrative and organisation measures was fuelled by existing Labourist policies The scopeol Thatcher's goals is far broader. And for all these reasons she TELESCUL more opponent in the political field than did Heath, She could well try enhance the use of traditional class methods by using new innovations for reinforcing her attacks, For instance, it would not be at all surprising if referendums to gain a 'democratic mandate for moves against union struggles and the labour movement. A change in the voting system if the government fails is almost certain.
Having recognised the adop represented by chis coherent political did attack, it would be quite wrong to think it can be carried through by the siring es and testame the dare the struggles and resistance. mood of despair sweeping sections of the left has no basis if it rests on an assesment that the clection represents a fundamental change in the relation of class forces.
Thatcher has not yet notched up any political offensives launch first. True, the policical debate the has seriously shitted to the right. fact, the election campaigns waged by the both the ruling class parlies and che Labour Party have been further to the right than in any previous post-war But this does not mean these policies have acceptance from the working class.
For instance, that trade unions have too much power may well have won some support amongst backward layers in the working class, but this is a far cry assault on working class organisations she is after.
conflict;
with the buresucracy re-asserted fundamentally Inva vot political living Sate, and soon.
been *work-shy scroun Despite seriously rights of its living STEISTEN barcaucracy.
be coisic has He did BOC the miners.
years: the social forces econonic legal existing formidable and setback it is.
she begun to use will meet, dangers the whatsoever, rein forced.
SESSILICI qualitative sucoesses in the chose la won wholesale Thatcher's notion justified.
agreeing to the full-blooded Similarly, more may agree there are "scroungers' in growing numbers, but acceptance that wide sections of the welfare state should be dismantled If there is one thing the election is the fact that combativity of the class has not been defeated, and existing commitment to defend basic gains and rights has not been broken Some sections ol workers were even STruggle during the clection campaign.
The Tories became defensive wben they were accused of aiming to lower standards through indirect taxation, to dismantle the welfare This kind of response indicates the limits of Thatcher's victory: It is true that the working class experienced set-backs in 1975-8. But chere bas qualicative defeat The IcH have mown in membershin evidence that they continue to be seen as organisations of basic defence.
defeats in sectors hit unemployment construction, shipbuilding and so on active militants haven't heer integrated into the Ford workers and lorry drivers showed that the bosses could be defeated by serious struggles wager by strong groups of workers. In the public sector, setbacks were mflicter but new struggles around compara bility are on the agenda. The bourg can win a major confrontation which would involve groups of workers like Furthermore, there have been big especially atonest youth — organised by the Anti Naz Leagud and the anti-racist strugele And while women's gains have been the one sharp move to limit the 1967 Abortion Act was met with rapid mobilisations It is this class relation of forces which determines perspectives for struggle. Ultra-left bravado that the Tory victory is irrelevant is useless, The fact that the working class was unable to overcome the effects of its leadership and DIETERE Thatcher forming a government will be fell by sections of the working class as the The Tory victory gives confidence and clear advantages to the ruling Nevertheless, the - recent struggles of the working class and oppressed, and their general political consciousness, combined with the rapid unpopularity which Thatcher all create a tendency towards struggle. In Sentland, where Tories have mandate this can only be It would be idle to speculate on the exact form and tempo of the coming ruggles But the general perspecti re clear: whatever the initial dela while Thatcher collaborates with the union leaders, tens of thousands of workers and oppressed will enter into struggle against Thatcher's policies. Revolutionaries should prepare now for struggles which will finally involve central sections of the working cluss This duamic clearly does not call for the shift to the right in political approach which is apparent in the left - from the Labour left through the Communist Party, to the far left, Thatcher's victory is a setback but not at all the end of the wat Any rightist political stance based on an analysis that a fundamental defeat bas been suffered cannot be And it certainly won't provide the fighting lead chat is needed for the confrontation between the classes which is clearly on the