Her a number of years there have attempts by successive Conence Arrangement Committees co event the issue of Ireland being adeately discussed. We can be sure of nilar attempts this onetheless resolutions from Notgham East CLP and from Hackney orth CLP for thdrawal and for termination for the Irish people.
The Hackney resolution in parular opposes both the Prevention Terrorism Act and the Diplock yurts in Northern Ireland. The issue Ireland is one which successive bour leaderships have preferred her to ignore, or alternatively mply pursue a bi-partisan policy th the Tories — following the tradiinal policy of allowing the Unionists the North to keep control of the etarian six-county state.
Hackney and Nottingham East ovide a head-on challenge to this idition. The fight to win the Labour irty to self-determination sh people and troop withdrawal Il doubtless be a long one. But it nnot even be started without ensurz that conterence repeatediv nas is issue out before it. year. rights to the Polish workers however selffor Solidarnose in the conference.
Poplar CLP demonstration Solidarnosc.
simply used the Polish events crude anti-communist propaganda.
The NEC must give a lead here.
niversary of the Jaruzelski coup gets taken up. Basingstoke CLP have put forward a comprehensive resolution calling for Just the lifting of martial law in Poland and the freeing of detainees, together wth the restoration of trade union This resolution, excellent in its intentions suffers from one major flaw - the demand for the should workers movement to break all links WHEEL with the Communist Parties and official trade unions in Eastern Europe. Not only is this wrong in itself, but it is a surefire way to divide the support The resolution from Stepney and contains one excellent call - the organising of a national of solidarity The Stepney resolution has the merit of distinguishing labour movement support for the Polish workers from the fraudulent crocodile tears of Reagan and Thatcher who have for But this situation calls for a stepped up labour movement campaign of solidarity with the Polish workers.
The opportunity still exists to call a major demonstration on the anthis December. Let's hope this call The bloody regime in El Salvador has celebrating its day' with a big military parade in the sports stadium in San Salvador. On display was the military hardware so generously donated by the United Everyone in the labour movement oppose the bloody butchers El Salvador, just as the labour movement has so consistently supported the fight against the dietator Pinochet in Chile.
Alas, only one resolution on El Salvador has been put forward, by Banbury CLP. It is moderately worded, but makes the essential points This is one resolution which should be carried without a vote against. Resolutions 75 to 131 deal with the attack on the Health Service.
Many demand the restoration of all cuts, in abolition of the private sector in health, the takeover of the drug companies. But only the resolution from Braintree CLP mentions full support for the National Health Service workers in their struggle against the Tories.
Naturally, the submitted before the current battle with the government. debate at Conference is to mean anything at all it will have to turn around the struggles currently in progress.
The TUC was correctly dominated with this issue. Labour's electoral fortunes stand lower in the polls today than they did the last time public service workers led the winter of disconSCUL There remains a nettle to be grasped by Labour's ConTerence the discontent'. The debate on the Health Service can start that process.
So far the pressure from the ranks has forced Labour leaders to tailend the fight. But the likes of Foot and Callaghan explain September 22 as trade union battles aimed solely at a fair deal for health workers, completely -reason why thousands are taking action; to break Thatcher's back.
Labour's only chance is to grasp ship of this political struggle against the Government. If Labour is to win back the good faith of millions of workers, as speaker after speaker will attempt to outdo each other in anti-Tory rhetoric, then the simple question must be answered government is such a disaster for the working class why lead the fight to kick it out? The message that must come from Conference is that Labour is prepared to do exactly that.
for the NHS debate. It should read:
'Conference fully health workers in their battle for a living pride that this struggle has become the centre for a massive battle with the Tories. Conference believes that the Labour Party must give a lead to this struggle by calling for mass industrial action in support workers and to kick out the Tories. The mobilisation of every unit of the Party behind this struggle. ing up of a massive political campaign of demonstrations, pickets and rallies of solidarity in support of the health workers and against the government.
These and other turn Labour's standing in the working class completely round. course they depend on a leadership: and ours is presently engaged in a witch-hunt and fighting for a new incomes policy...