TUC: policer leading the long road to

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The figures Strike-days for all disputes in progress "Tories put the boot in" 1963 1962 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 Disputes in progi All industries and services (Jan.-Nor 12.0 29.5 10.1 14.8 All mant facturing industrie 10.9 22.6 THE 1983 TUC represented, at the level of policy, a sharp turn to the right — the 'new realism'.

Distancing the TUC from the Labour Party; voting down a harder policy on the anti-union legislation; talking to the Tories; agreeing to drop an alternative economic programme in favour of requests for marginal changes in Tory policy, were all carried by sizeable majorities.

These moves were important. The idea that there is an alternative economic programme — no matter how shoddy the actual alternative proposed - reinforces class combativity. The idea that the labour movement is 'a government in exile' • no matter how timorous its attitude to a return from exile, provides the Left with a base we can build on.

As long as the movement's policy is not to talk to the Tories, that brands the government as the class enemy and focuses attention on creating an alternative. If the TUC says (however hypocritically) that the Labour Party is our party, and we will have no truck with Thatcher and Tebbit, then it helps to educate workers, and helps socialists in the Labour Party and unions.

Blackpool 1983 was a step back from all that - from everything that the rank and file struggles of the 1970s had imposed on the TUC.

Of course the TUC had always acted as a broker with Capital. But now it was able to recare isen openly. the N/ eleat 1s simply Blackpool i practice.

The TUC's Fighting Fund ainst the anti-union laws, Jo £1 million, has already evaporated. £420,000 has gone to the NGA - not to help its struggle, but to assist with financial problems caused by sequestration of its assets - and the rest will be swallowed up by expenses associated with the injunctions against the POEU and NUJ.

The Tories and the employers are well trained in reading signals. They knew what Blackpool meant.

But instead of calling in the moderate Methodist and smiling: "Well done, Len, here are some concessions" , what did they do?

They put the boot in. In the offices and the factories they felt a surge of renewed confidence.

In another period, they might have made concessions. But today British industry is a declining force in a capitalist world economy crippled by crises. British capitalism's rate of profit is low by international standards. Its products are not competitive. The Tories and the bosses are out to change that the only way they know how -to make Britain a low-wage, lowcost economy.

The Trade Union Bill, dealing with the political levy and ballots in union elections and before Re ou AS 1984 dawns, the biggest problem for our movement is that its leadership is explicitly prepared to act as police for the enemy.

The fact that they are so blatant has already opened the eyes of thousands of activists. The fact that they cannot deliver on their promise of marginal concessions will arouse many more.

We have to hammer the