Last month,Socialist Action supporters in London called a public meeting to discuss the way forward for the Labour Party Young Socialists. Addressed by George Hold and Graham Weight, the meeting was attended by over 30 people and a lively discussion followed the main speeches.
Both speakers touched on the ways in which the Tory attack was affecting young people today. What with Thatcher's policies, George Hold explained, "the only forseeable future for thousands of young people leavingschool is the dole queue".
Cuts in education-in training courses and vocational facilities at i liege-only made the unemployment statistics among school leavers evell worse.
DEAD-END All young people are affected by these policies, George went on, but certain sections are hit doubly hard. "If you're Black,the situation is doubly hard since unemployment is made more intense by the racist attitudes of employers and police alike"
The same is true for young women. Cuts in abortion rights or in nursery facilities-which the Thatcher government has been pursuing are an attempt to drive young women back into the home and deny them a right to a job.
"Is it any wonder", he pointed out, "if, after leaving school and being faced only with the pittance handed out by social security, explosions like that at Bristol take place?".
CAMPAIGNS Echoing some of George's point, Graham Weight went on to show that the problems facing young people today were having an increasingly radicalising effect. This offered,he said, a real opportunity for the Young Socialists to boldly move out with a dynamic policy and win layers of young people into its ranks in the fight for socialism. But, he stressed this won't happen "if the Young Socialists concentrate on endless talk and passing endless resolutions of no concern to the real interests of young people today".
ago? Was it because it had been unable to link up with the real issues of concern to young people - the fight for abortion rights, the ment?
WAY FORWARD The key task before the YS was, he ended, to turn it into a real a role- an organisation that wins young people around clear issues.
struggles against the cuts- particup of ILEA- and against sexual discrimination and for black rights. An acid test was also the need to inscribe on its banners the YS so far has a dismal record the need to take up the needs of young workers to fight for train. ing schemes, for apprentices rights and for proper union representation.
DEBATE was a lively one, with a supporter cy in the YS- disagreeing with many of the points put across, and arguing for a more 'propagan. dist' line, suggested that one of the ways in which YS branches in London could begin now to get involved in concrete campaigns was to lead the fight against the Tories' racist laws by affiliating to CARL -the Campaign Against Racist Lawsanti-racist movement. Why is it,he asked, that the YS was still as small today as it was a decade fight against racism and unemploy.
their faces. campaigning organisation in which young people can find a voice and It should be taking part in all the ularly around issues like the break- HARDEST HIT 'Troops Out of Ireland', on which Equally important, he said, was The debate following the speeches of Militant - the majority tendenAt a more concrete level, it was and helping to build it into a mass labour market.