THE LABOUR Party is racked by internal struggle. media full of 'Marxist left's bid for power'. Would left takeover anything?
One answer comes quickly to the lips of many workers memories Oi the gevernment- - if the left do what they Ole M the last Labour government, the difference will be hard to notice.
But this quick answer isn't good enough. A new left is emerging.
It claims to have broken with the. past. It wants a new alliance between the unions and the Labour Party lefts; to break the stranglehold of the block vote and the Parliamentary Labour Party; and to pave the way to a new beginning.
Where does this new left come from, and what can it do?
Its best-known "tony Benn. been around a while. But for the past ten years he has been trying to forge a which combines parliamentary legislation with what he calls 'workers democracy'.
TONY BENN is not the only The mass should take decision-making. reports of "planning agreements' change share power.
bitter supervise Wilson-Callaghan extend public ownership.
capitalist hysterical. exactly of taxpayers' money.
The figures aren't so who heads it, has that the bosses effect on workers' actions feared that When he was Industry Secretary sLabour government, Benn's basic idea was that workers part in The government would conclude moves.
with firms in which unions and management would new body.
National Enterprise Board — would planning agreements and class went It forced an immediate moved …to the Department of Energy. All reference to compulsory planning was dropped.
The NEB was put in the charge of Leslie Murphy, a merchant banker, who said its function was to 'supply finance for industrial investment'.
And the government concluded planning with Chrysler UK, which reneged two years later and pulled. out with £37m left argues that this shows planning agreements-worry the capitalist class. But it was not Benn feared. was his bosses After three years of occupations and a near general strike, the bosses workers would take today is the 'Alternative Economic occupying and trying to run industry themselves just the Chilean working class did in 1973.
Benn never fought for such He refused to leave Cabinet and campaign for workers' action in defence of their rights. Amid unprecedented economic political attack by world capital, the government just wilted.
Nor was this a tactical choice on Benn's part. It was built into his strategy.
He hatched elaborate schemes for sharing power owners, and the state. He was looking for a partnership between capital and labour, overseen by the state.
These schemes absurdly undemocratic. They put 18m workers not to mention the rest of the working class on an equal footing with a half million owners, top managers, civil servants. And they are utopian. The bosses accept participation under their terms.
Benn had two choices: accept the terms, fight explaining what was at stake to the working class.
Instead he moved quietly on to the Department of Energy.
the and and them, refusal to invest. Hot money would The first response would be He was sacked wait five