Young Socialists Camp Sumver

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THE Lat: r Party Young Socialists have had an annual summer camp since 1979. About 600 people took part this year, like last Summer camp is a good opportunity to assess the strengths of the YS and the changes which have taken place over the year. This year there were a lot of new, independent-minded YS members present, many more than last year. New people seem to have been drawn into the YS through the general election campaign, and have brought with them a willingness to get The youth who has just joined a YS branch led by the dominant 'Militant' tendency, but still wants to Rock the Bomb, doesn't seem to want to get involved in hurling abuse at other YCNDers - even if they are members of the YS minority News Bulletin No 20 May-June 1983 BEAGANS here darty omeler year. involved in single-issue campaigns.

around 'Class Fighter"

The following report went to summer camp.

"SO LONG as it's not raining;

I don't suppose it'll be too bad. was how a good few Class Fighter supporters felt about going to the LPYS summer camp at the beginning of August.

In fact, this year's summer camp turned out to be the most successful for Class Fighter and most of us actually enjoyed it.

Summer camp has several workshops a day and an evening rally, which amounts to a much better opportunity to argue politics than YS conference. This year there was even a workshop on gay rights. The YS National Committee have been forced to change their attitude to gay struggles after intense pressure and the NUT conferis from Class Fighter supporters who ence proving that trade unionists and workers are interested in gay and lesbian rights.

The other workshops were much the same as usual but this year Harry Meshane came along. He spoke about Red Clydeside and when comrades asked him about his own and his contemporaries positions on Ireland the chair ruled them out of order and threatened to throw them out if they objected.

The Militant suffered badly in the YCND debate. Britain out of NATO is apparently a pacifist demand, ultra-leftist and impractical because it won't get rid of the bomb.

Outraged YCND members took the opportunity to point out that the NATO connection was used by the right wing in the labour movement to fudge croference decisions on unilattralism during the election campaign. It was also made quite clear that any talk of nuclear disarmament and stay.. ing in NATO was fooling people.

The most worrying workshop was on YTS. Everyone agreed that YTS is a bad thing, but how do we fight it? Very little came out, but talk of a conference on December 10. All the conditions to be fought for were agreed, but we should have gone on to discussion how to approach the unions, how to talk to nonpolitical students unions in colleges where YTS youth will be placed.

We also should have talked about just when and how we raise the question of joining the YS during the campaign to unionise YTS. Swapped experiences from YOPs work would have helped. We could have found out if it was generally the case that comrades feared scaring off potential union members..

Class Fighter's ideas for activity and explanations of the shortcomings of Militant's programme hit home to a definite section of the camp. New YS members, who have been influenced by the mass movements against the bomb, who are anti-authoritarian and not sectarian, aligned themselves with us. We found more people who wanted to talk to us this year than anyone can remember.

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Socialist Organiser, August -Fighting'