ment, growing militarism and economic failure.
It is a Britain whose labour movement is on the defensive. Labour is lagging in the polls, its leadership attacking its policies and membership, its lett divided and unsure.
We aim Ievive d labour movement, in the hope help resolve this crisis and rethe tradiWREC BUCC tion of Tom Mann, John Maclean, James Connolly and Sylvia Pankhurst.
We see this as a tradition of militant struggle by AT its League, tional, Workers Socialist League for talks aimed at the fusion of the organisations. member of the Socialist committee here explains to Socialist Challenge the reasons for this proposal.
approach general electiol the Labour movement ferment. The result of the by-election will rapidly accelerate the right wing offensive inside the Labour Party. This offensive which has been deepening since the 1981 Labour Party conferenc AND forefront the against the Tories. will join the fight to stop cruise in 1983, to defend jobs and social services, for women's and black people's rights, to deteat Thatcher cusuled Success We believe, however, that the best chance of success does not le with compromise and to the Labour Party's right and their counterparts in the unions.
do we accept the drive towards coaliton implicit •December conference the Socialist British section of the Fourth Internaadopted a proposal to approach the Ray Brown, League's political has opened up important divisions the left saW the CLPD conference.
Ltc wing bureaucracy tries to overturn left wing policy decisions and impose Healey leader, and other arm sabotages dustrial action, some peorendering members and Its policies the undemocratic cabal now in control of the leadership.
the road to victory and to unity was abandoned the 'truce' of Bishops Stortford — a truce which only one side has observed. Unless the right wing resisted in bol lne Labour Party and the unions - it will lead us to defeat. An alternative exists Or Me LaDOul Party those leading against Thatcher: the the Walki ple on the left want to tight back and others argue that a fight should be abandoned in the name of 'unity"
The divisions inside the left which have opened up don't divide reformists, but they do define the ground necessary united action of the left dealist the right wing bureaucracy and LOLICO For example, revolusupporters Socialist Challenge and Socialist Organiser have fought alongside supof Tribune and JUILCID Labour Herald against the and against Foot's attempts to fudge the manifesto. In the UNLO OS tionaries have fought alongside those supporters the Labour left prepared organise support of struggles like the train drivers and water workers against the Tories. Equally we have campaigned with the new Broad Lefts when they have mounted Ted challenges to the rightbodies, to campaign for manifesto which includes Labour's socialist policies adopted by conference unilateralism and a rejection of incomes policy and for an alliance with extraparliamentary tion which offers the best for putting these policies into pracLIce Socialist Action will be an open paper. It will not be the house journal of a select few. It will be to contributions Irom everyone fighting Reagan We do not see ourselves as a rival to others on the left, but as the partisan from suboot Socialist campaign for a labour vic1or We believe this paign should base itself or Labour Party to the mass movements and industrial sive. But inextricably linked into this recomposition of the left as a whole there re-alien meness orp re-alignment outside the of a particular point of view deserves a welcome Tribune's new editorial policy Chris Mullin's editorship, and the invaluable work of Briefing and Labour Herald look forward to these and have agreed to provide members of Briefing's with a weekly collecive column differ the approach which led Militant to refuse to join the above papers in calling for the British to withdraw from the South to bring down Thatcher.
After initial hesitations, including calling for self-determination for the islanders, the WSL in addition took the position that Argentina's claim to the Malvinas was just and Meleon that tionists must support a victory The SL fully agrees with this position. In fact we think it marked a major convergence between our organisations tide of adaptation British imperialism in the labour movement.
• It was in this context that our December conference discussed the proposal for fusion the WSL. We have long held the view that many of the divisions between revolu tionaries are unnecessar roducts ot a long histor! of sectarianism on the Marxist left. have long held that the Atlantic But this disagreement takes seto a united cone blacc defence of their absolute right to remain in the Of what will we be partisan? Of the interests of working. people the world over. We intend to against imperialism wherever it sur faces because with Marx we think that 'No nation that enslaves another can ever itself be free'; we Workin three people higher aim than national We stand beside the liberation movements of mon struggle against the right-wing bureaucracy, which is the chief obstacle to the fight against the Tories the third world as strongly as Solidarnosc, and its movement for workers' self-management which regard as the best model vet Droposcu lo should seok to tale w We think the journal closest to the views shall be ad vocating Socialist Organiser, particularly since amended previous posi tion on the Falklands war With patient work and discussior we hope efforts Socialist Action and Socialist Organiser car be united For all of these reasons think our proposal must be considered seriously by the WSL and by all socialists.
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Why we propose unity to the WSL The Socialist League and revolu- tionary unity