Right uses 'truce' to fight on

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Open up police dossiers.

Lawyers' triend FOR David Basnett, one of the achievements of the Bishops Stortford deal was 'not just a self-denying ordinance for all factions and spokesmen in the party (though that is a vital first step) but a real reassertion of the unity of the party ? Iwo days after this appeared in print Michael Foot made it abundantly clear what it meant in practice.

On Sunday he took the middle page of the Observer to launch a polemic against Tony Benn and the fight for democracy in the Party, to declare the Parliamentary Labour Party as a 'sovereign body' , and to defend the non endorsement of Peter Tatchell.

The decision to go ahead with publication of the article was taken after Bishops Stortford.

Predictably, the selfTRADE unionists should welcome the initiative of the YOPs Trade Union Rights Campaign to organise a conference next week that aims to broaden the fight to organise the cheap labour schemes and to highlight the real situation of YOP workers by calling for a mass youth lobby of Parliament.

YOP workers get AS regular readers will know, last year Sean Matgamna and John Bloxam of Socialist Organiser received libel writs from Vanessa Redgrave of the Workers' Revolutionary Party because we criticised the WRP. The case is still buried in the legal machine which grinds small and exceedingly expensive.

But expense is clearly no object for Ms. Redgrave.

The Observer of January 17 reports another writ from her, against a Moss Side (Manchester) Labour activist, on the grounds of his evidence to the tribunal on the Moss Side riots.

The Oxford Journal has also heard from Ms. Redgrave's solicitors. It can be forgiven for apologising quickly, since the article which sent Ms. Redgrave once again rushing to her sulicitors was a spoof!

The Journal reports: 'In a light-hearted look at the resolutions which some denying ordinance is for the left. Michael Meacher excused Foot's article, and Tony Benn, it appears, will not be replying. When the left does go to print, the cry is almost universally for compromise.

Here, for example, is Frank Allaun: "There must be no further election challenge to the leader or deputy leader, at least until after the general election... There should be no further constitutional reforms or pressure for them (my emphasis) until after the election' In contrast, the right wing is growing in confidence. Healey has re-raised the call for a one-memberone-vote system instead of the electoral college. Austin Mitchell of Labour Solidarity says that the campaign against the electoral college and reselection will erable £23.50 for 40 hours work and terrible conditions. And along with other working class youth they face the threat of a conscript scheme that pays £15 or less a week to 16 year olds.

Both of these schemes add up to cheap labour:

and YOPS in unbelieveably being maintained with the support of the TUC.

-rie Seychelles or anywhere else abroad. She does not take holidays in fashionable overseas sun spots and for some years has holidayed in Britain. Her home is in Hammersmith.' Worst of the slurs in the spoof was the suggestion that Ms. Redgrave might be joining the Workers' Socialist League! The Journal states: 'We also acknowledge that Miss Redgrave is a member of the continue.

If certain parliamentary candidates are selected, he threatens a split: 'some of us are not prepared to fight' alongside them. The cards are increasingly stacked in favour of the right (despite Militant's effort to turn reality on its head: aiming for respectability, they call Bishops Stortford a victory for the left!). The right control the PLP and dominate the NEC.

The right have given up nothing. The inquiry into Militant continues; Peter Tatchell and Pat Wall have not been endorsed; Tariq Ali is still persona non grata.

A slowing down of the witch-hunt and paying lip-service to conference policies is a small price for the right to pay for the left to turn tail. There is plenty of Although the YTURC does contain demands that are important to YOP workers, it must be strengthened. This can be done by demanding full trade union rates and full withdraw support from these cheap labour schemes.

Instead of condemning room for manoeuvre in both areas: Pat Wall's endorsement was 'delayed' at the last NEC Organisation subcommittee. Unilateralism will become 'unilateral initiatives. the 400,000 youth on YOPs to the dole queue, the TUC should fight for a programme of useful public works, such as building badly • needed houses and hospitals, employing youth at full union rates.

• YOPs Trade Union Rights Campaign conference: 12 to 5.30, Saturday, January 23, at Manchester Town Hall, Albert St, Manchester.

The important thing for the right is to retain control. And in this they will be greatly helped by another outcome of Bishops Stortford. As the Economist réports: "The unions' (that is, the barons) 'have in effect taken over the running of the Labour Party. ... They will now provide a new special election fund - this time to be kept firmly under union supervision (no frittering it away on left-wing propaganda). And they have promised to finance the party's 'political education' programme.

"This will put policy debate and dissemination into the hands of the unions' reziulia osten- siony to help ere, ,, but in fact to do the job in which the right has miserably fail ed to counter the dominance of the left over policy A TORY MP has gone publicly "over the top" in a bid to halt the destruction of Special Branch files on thousands of innocent West Country civilians.

He called upon police officers to disobey the orders of Chief Constable John Alderson, who had tolc them to 'weed' their files to throw out those on such people as anti-blood sports campaigners, anti-nuclear activists and anti-apartheid supporters.

In doing so, Plymouth MP Alan Clark flouted the same law which is used to prevent pacifists and socialists from fighting to persuade soldiers or police the constituencies?

But will not the action of Foot and the right wing expose them, show them to be the splitters, and make it much easier for the left to re-launch the fight at a later and appropriate date? For many on the left, this argument is central to justifying Bishops Storford.

But the only thing 'exposed' at the moment is the left's wishful thinking.

It's like the argument in the last two years that Labour councils couldn't do anything because the labour movement wasn't ready or ripe' for a fight; that they had to hang on until the Tories were clearly seen as responsible for the cuts and rises in rates and charges. Then it would be a better time to fight... form of complaints to Tory Home Secretary Whitelaw over the bugging of a Welsh village telephone kiosk by unidentified Home Uttice spies.

A local resident found a small radio transmitter concealed behind a panel in the kiosk after two strange men had been acting suspiciously.

Before he could take it to the police, the men returned in a car and snatched back their 'bug'.

Checks on the car number plates showed it to be protected from identification Home Office directive. ATORN Last Saturday (16th), thi Executive of the Campaig for Labour Party Democ racy decided unanimoust that it would not disband it fight but would campaig for the decisions taken at it recent AGM: further dem ocratic reforms (includin local government democ racy); support in election to Labour Party position for those candidates wh had fought for democrac and accountability; and fo a re-vamped Rank & Fil Mobilising Committee as : united front on the left or agreed issues.

The more we can win ser tions of the Left to this per spective of continuing th fight, the better the Lel can regain the initiative -and stop the gains of th last two years slippin away.

by Harı Of course this incident simply the tip of the ic berg - since in most cas it is unnecessary to resc to cumbersome transmil ers, and the telephone ne work itself is used f 'tapping' The labour moveme should not allow Alders to set the pace: the demar should be raised within d POEU and other unions f a full-scale workers' inqui into secret service snoo ing - calling upon form Labour ministers to mal public their inside kno ledge of the scale of su veillance of working cla activists.

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union rights for YOP work- ers, and for the TUC to