Why Broad Left failed

Scan page 14

Join LABOUR AGAINST THE WITCHHUN' Membership open to Constituency Labour Parties, trade union organisations, Labour Fee. CLPs and unions £10, wards £5, individuals and other organisations £3. Write toLAW, 11 Wilderton Road, London N16. IN ITS final bulletin to CPSA conference on Friday 13th, the Militant tendency declared that 'conference this week has carried many important policies on behalf of members' -'against low pay, for a 35 hour working week, the defence of jobs in opposition to privatisation and the defence of the NHS'.

Great week

It concluded by saying that it had been a 'great week for the rank and file and for Militant'.

The reality is different.

The 'victories' claimed by Militant were in fact no more than repetitions of last year's conference policies not yet implemented.

Why has the biggest Broad Left in the trade union movement suffered such a major setback? The answer lies not only with the Broad Left dominaMember CPSA National Broad Left Steering Committee Broad Left candidate for NEC of disputes such as ihe Oxford and Birmingham DHSS strike, but also with the organisation of the Broad Left itself and the attitudes that some comrades have about the purpose of the Broad Left.

The Broad Left this year has been seen as nothing more than an election machine. It has not inspired members into action. What we need to do now is take a cold clear look at the organisation and learn by our mistakes.

Our first major sin this year was complacency - many comrades did not believe that such a large Broad Left majority on the NEC could be overturned in one year, and there was still belief that the election of a Party affiliates, and individuals. Broad Left run NEC would mean all of our policies would be implemented from the top. When it became evident that this was not going to happen the rank and file membership became disillusioned.

Secondly, we were not_organised. The Broad Left journal 'Broadside' only came out twice in the year - not because the editor was unwilling to produce it, but because no one had written any articles for it. The Broad Left steering committee met only twice -there hasn't been a meeting of local Broad Left convenors for over a year — the list is endless.

The most fundamental reason for the failure was reliance on resolutions to conference and the election of Broad Left candidates, rather than the building of Broad Left Groups and campaigning amongst the members for our policies. In the next year the Broad Left needs to re-establish its links with the rank and file.

I support the Socialist Caucus in CPSA, and would obviously prefer to see people join that grouping within the Broad Left. Nonetheless, the overriding aim of the Broad Left must be to attract members: only after this can we concern ourselves with attracting them to particular factions within the major Left block.

IN LAST week's report from CPSA conference, we wrote that "over 4,000 members were prepared to take all out action" on pay. It should have read "over i2,000" Roach Family Rd, London N16

Scan page 15

Water strikers lobby IUPE negotiator Ron Keating "We don't want a pay policy, not even one cleverly disguised as an economic assessment" IN A SHARP swing to the right, the NUPE conference has effectively prepared the way to support a wage controls deal in the form of a National Economic Assessment involving the TUC and a Labour government.

NUPE's new 'left wing' general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe steered through this fundamental shift in NUPE policy, from free collective bargaining to wage controls, with many of the skills of more experienced general secretaries..

He had nailed his colours to the mast on the first day of the conference. "The press will be waiting to know the NUPE view not come out in the debate. The mover of Composite A managed to mention the National Economic Assessment not at all, and incomes policy only briefly. Both he and the SWP speakers who followed him spent the bulk of their speeches talking about tactics for the next pay round. rea "Bickerstaffe steered through a fundamental change in Organiser no. 132 May 1983 Page ANUHEW WIAND IHErUM - Manchester delegate Anna Lunts but school meals delegates had to organise and campaign in the conference to get the item discussed. The conference passed overwhelmingly a motion calling for unilateral nuclear disarmament. but an amendment from Manchester NHS "to secure Britain's withdrawal from NATO membership.

----- pull-quotes -----

LABOUR AGAINST THE ART WITCH-HUNT!

sed NEC and its inept handling by lan Leedham

Peters reports from NUPE coni ence (May to 17)