"Sell-out will strengthen Weighell

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My assessment of Weighell before the TUC meeting was that he was becoming increasingly isolated, inspite of his efforts, to get settlement, and the instruction to his members to work normally.

If there had been the possibility of action by the TUC, if they had stood firm and offered moral support, or financial support to 'SLEF then Weighell's position would have been increasingly isolated.

I think now, this can only strengthen Weighell's position. The TUC seems to have gone entirely for his option. Duffy has backed him absolutely 100%, so has Chapple.

There is tremendous resentment amongst ASLEF members, not just against Weighell, but against whole sections of the right, against Chapple, Duffy. There's a very clear understanding of the role of these right wing trade union leaders.

The possibilities were unquestionably there in this dispute for a major confrontation with the government. The Executive had been prepared to stand firm, inspite of the inadequacies of their But the weakness was all at leadership level. They went into this dispute waving the white flag. As soon as the dispute started they closeted themselves in the Executive Committee rooms. Buckton actually issued instructions in the last few days that they were not to leave the Executive Committee rooms.

Executive Committee members like our own, Lou Adams irom • te tastern Region, who has shown a willingness to struggle, who has gone to meetings and who has strengthened the position of the rank and file, who has provided a leadership and an inspiration, was constantly isolated by Buckton from the rank and file and kept closeted up in Arkwright Road when he should have been out on the pickets, out on the delegations, out with us fighting to win the dispute.

The strength of the dispute has been the way the membership responded. The picketing has intensified. People have looked to Kings Cross for a lead. We have provided leadership at a totally unofficial level in this dispute.

Organising secretaries, whose job it is to coordinate picketing during disputes were either totally at a loss on how to go about it, and in a state of virtual panic 24 hours a day, or they disappeared!

At Kings Cross we provided this unofficial leadership and the men responded. We had men coming here from different depots all over London, reporting for picket duty, asking us for help and advice on every aspect of the strike from DHSS problems to flying pickets.

So the way to avoid such betrayals in the future lies with the role of leadership. Executive members who are willing to fight are drawn into continual meetings with the bureaucracy and do not realise the strength inside the rank and file.

Circus

Everything in this dispute pointed to victory. It's not as if it has been carried out like a circus from day one.

Inspite of the vacillations inside the executive, the strike had all the signs of being won right up until this last moment.

If the ASLEF executive had been able to stand up to the pressure of the TUC then there would have been