IMGpapers 1980–83

Newspapers of the International Marxist Group and its forerunners, 1980–83

We're not fighting to we're fighting for th

Socialist Challenge No. 204, 2 July 1981 · pp. 8-9 of the scan · 1,092 words

The scan: sc-no204.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
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page 8 of the scan

family, Thatcher, the war drive. Women are drawn into the forefront very quickly. When they go into the Labour party, and become active in the unions, they understand very quickly the need to take on the leadership.

Martin Collins, Municipal Workers Manchester We will not succeed in changing British society if we don't succeed in changing Britain's domination of Ireland. How can you go from the perience to taking up socialist policies? How do you take up jokes about Bobby Sands? have to explain democratic rights under attack. As we move towards a revolutionary leaders will be in jail. stand in elections and the right may well have been taken away unless we oppose it now. we nave to look to new types of levers when we take up important issues like Ireland.

Redmond O'Neill, General and Municipal Workers Manchester Militants who get involved are faced with all the political problems. they are looking towards the Labour Party and that is why we have to have supporters in the Labour Party, supporting Benn's campaign. Our newspaper is very important; it means we can begin to organise our forces. venor of Schreibers and a Challenge supporter told us that the reason he likes Socialist because nicated nes spapered seen in his life. most Militants will accept you as a socialist — they are looking for political answers.

Socialist Challenge 2 Jury 1501 Photos by Pete Grant and more answers to General and Union, present the church work place exthat the of all workers are PAT HICKEY, convenor They may want to Solihull, OSCUSSON. meeting at a timely moThere mood for a fightback. 'We have ner's successful occupy for TOUS and Scott and Hopefully soon, plant will also take action Union, to stop the closure. the theme that the policies That is why have followed in the past WICH the Labour now quatee want a national leadership Phil Davies, con- against the Tories. But it is Socialist Just a leadership, Challenge is bigoted, O SOVC LIC CUSS HE LIC H of class?' Pat the shop Reports compiled by Tessa van Gelderen AS THE working class comes more under attack vicious Tory government, it is seeking fundamental questions that are being posed.

How is our society organised? Why are billions of pounds spent on Trident and Cruise missiles when there are 3m unemployed in Britain?

More and more militants are finding that the answer given by their leadership -government to change course, to ally themselves with broad forces such as and chambers of commerce, are not the answers.

What is needed is socialist policies that confront the Tories head on. And deputy organisation SD1 Rover opened. the twin al C Tories' growing the the seen Gard- look Lee Laurence Jeans. government. *The my own explained stewards Pat went on to develop leaders and which they follow are totally inadeto be for fight Party structures of the unions. question OI but of prowhat is going unions, not just to be a current of opposition or the working an electoral machine.

pointed out that wing stewards the native socialists have The the the means stewards level of stewards unemployPat Hickey the Labour the official was openin •We have to fight for way. an evate the leadership of the trade tant tability, and which for a left UmOL unions. committed to class stuggle "The those policies will also challenge the leadership of the labour movement.

But even having a clear alternative to the Len Murray's and Terry Duffy's is not enough. We have to be able to convince workers that such an alterwill work. to be there, on the ground, not on the outside looking in.

sectors that will be decisive in confronting the Tories are those that have the industrial clout:

miners, the engineers, At the same time, the crisis has brought to the fore whole new layers of workers who are radicalising exquickly: young women workers, black workers are all To operate shop side.

1926. We have to be revolutionary are that Socialist can provide up in a big around the bloc vote raised imporquestions of accoun ment. democracy, Darticulally af- tant difference fected the major industrial SLaLC is set', ship. SOCIALIST PERSPECTIVES oppression.

And to do that most It dealt the side challenges workers, stressed Pat, 'and Socialist Chalenge supporters nave to be part of that process. have to be in the factory, on the shop floor. in the stewards organisations. This can't be done effectively from the out"There is more opposition now than since belore of it. We want to bein party small beginning. The framework Challenge Ten oriente in We want longer to build a class struggle left the and Labour Party that is akin Minority Move.

*But with one impornot fighting to be in opposition but in the leaderin the front line when it unemployment, discrimin Socialist Challenge supp last weekend to discuss h fight for socialist perspect dustry and why we need worker revolutionaries.

For a lot of supporters t only just beginning and ference was of a very practi the prob militants are facing in the on the shop floor, in the fa But above all it took up tion of fighting for our pro industry, a progra our misleade labour movement.

page 9 of the scan

McPherson, National Union of Railwaymen Paddington No 1 All the profitable parts of BR are being sold. Thatcher has declared war on the nationalised industries. mes to n and Pete Roberts, General Workers Union, North West London All of a sudden I'm on the trades council, I'm on a course for being shop steward and I'm a delegate to the Labour Coordinating Committee conference. And I've only been a Socialist Challenge supporter for a year. We need to concentrate Ailean and Transport and and payments.

on education to arm us for the struggle. clear way.

'Callaghan Transport General Workers Union, British Oxygen, Wembley Alex Kitson, acting general secretary of my union, doesn't want us to share the work, but to share the pain. When we raise the demand for work sharing, we have to say a 35 hour week with no loss of pay. This means demanding a minimum consolidated overtime The present economic and political situation forces you to come out with aspects of your programme in a first anniversary rally ONE year old and going strong, if Revolution Youth's Rally held last Saturday is anything to go by. All the speakers at the rally stressed the decisive role of young people in the strug

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to get the railworkers. tremely

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