messes and this is not large. Those drawing lessons about the way forward are organised in different currents inside the labour movement; in national tendencies, like the Broad Left or the Defend Our Unions current, or they are isolated as individuals in shop. stewards committees, Labour Party branches, or sometimes any combination of these. the labour Unifying this militant minority in the trade unions is one of the first steps that can be taken to break out of the stalemate. It would be a step mass of towards building a new left-wing in the unions; based on class struggle policies rather than class collaboration. Such unity in action could start to have profound developments within the Party, too, because the left in the constituency parties also needs organising. the The proposal ordinating Committee — to organise Labour Party members in the unions valuable catalyst in both respects. Such a proposal should apply to all trade unionists who are counted as members of the Labour Party by virtue of having subscribed to the political levy as well as individual members.
Neither socialist policies nor a new left-wing in the unions will be fought for without constructing a revolutionary organisation in Britain. The depth of the crisis on a world scale means that we have to construct an international party; a party which simultaneously builds on a national and an unaccountable international basis.
Today there is only one such organisation in Britain: the International Marxist Group, British section of the Fourth International. made by the Labour Co- could destroy them.
to the community at large.
bination punches back them up. THE Thatcher government is not a re-run of Heath's. They have as their aim not just to cut the welfare state, public ownership, and comprehensive education; they want to faced.
The Tories are also in the battle of ideas. Take health: for every hospital they threaten there is also a barrage of propaganda, aimed at undermining the basic democratic idea that the responsibility for looking after the sick belongs And so it is on every issue; a cluster of com- both hard hitting policies and a fierce drive to push reactionary ideas to The Tories have made much popular mileage out of issues like law and order, racism, rates and Right at the heart of the Tory strategy is to g for the organised trade union movement, both t cripple the unions' ability to mobilise to figh back and to weaken the influence of progressiv ideas in society.
In their campaign against the Day of Action the class character of the Tory offensive become very clear. Big business, the Conservative Party the media, the judiciary — all have their part t I do not think the Tories have succeeded i this strategy. However, building the fightin takes places in a political context which provide a hard arena for the left. This context include the Tory offensive, and a growing awareness an fear among working people of the depth an severity of the economic crisis Coupled with much foot-dragging 'leade ship', this helps to explain the uneveness of th fightback and some of the setbacks the left ha Right from the general election, the Com munist Party said that we should not accept th Thatcher was here for 'the duration' The fir question is how to create the political condition which will force an early general election.
The determined fight by the left at last year' TUC which resulted in a commitment to na tional demonstrative action' was an importar stage in this. . The right wing in the trade union and in the Labour Party always oppose the use o industrial action for political ends.
One of the big lessons of the fight for the Da of Action is that it is where the policies have bee