Solidarity Lessons of the Basingstoke Workers Strike

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the story of the victimisation of Socialist Organiser supporter Alan Fraser and how the fight to defend him was sold out by the union officials. 25p plus postage from 75 Freemantle Close, Basingstoke. in the resistance to the government. Members of the Socialist Organiser Alliance are involved in this struggle up to their necks.

There has been an increase in the number of SO supporters on local councils.

Alongside this has gone the widespread formation of local Labour Lefts and the increased weight of the various Labour Briefings. Today we have a much bigger potential for taking the lead in the struggle against the Tories and to help to stop them in their tracks.

But instead of building on these positive sides Martin Thomas's article seeks to wallow in the problems of building a strong class struggle leadership in local councils.

There are, of course, such problems and as Marxists we have to bring them out in our paper. But we set these problems in the context of how we solve them. The material conditions for such a resolution now exist: two years ago they did not. resources.

If Martin Thomas tollows his reason through, he would not support the Labour Party at all. In fact, he should really join the Socialist Workers Party. His pessimistic article represents a turning back on everything that is most attractive and essential in the Socialist Organiser tradition. Comrade Thomas's direction could be applied to every field of work of Socialist Organiser supporters. It must be rejected totally. Dear Martin, please lead us towards the battle, and not away from it.

Labour-controlled Liverpool Council stands at the forefront of the fight against the Tories. The defence of Liverpool must be one of our highest priorities. It is in this defence we can gain the hearing of tens of thousands of Labour Party supporters, and the thousands of supporters of the Militancy Tendency. In our campaign in defence of local democracy and services we have to prove, and we get the opportunity to prove in practice, that our programme and our organission of these aspects within our paper. Some good expose work on councillors' special privileges should help to inoculate the left. Some of the problems, such as being a 'boss' , being part of a huge bureaucratic machine, are difficulties we have to solve if we are going to get a socialist society. We should weicome the opportunities to learn and to experiment and to pass this experience into the working class. Lenin utilised the experience of the Bolshevik MPs and local officials both during and after the Revolution.

We should stress the positive developments of local government. Its dual nature as a provider of services under local control and as a point of resistance to the Tory attacks. This, of course, must be linked through the local Labour Party in order to develop a relationship with the working class in the council estates.

The changes which have taken place in local government polities over the last few years have been enormous.

We now need to develop in detail socialist strategies for changing the very nature of the local authority services particularly the fields of education, social services and housing. We have to examine ways of giving the workers involved in the council and those served by the council democratic and grass roots control of the services and, above all, the money. This will strengthen our fight to defeat the Tories and to bring about Along with. this must go increasing financial support to non-council bodies such as workers' co-ops and, above all, to the activities of the women's movement. These actions should be seen as building a movement determined and rich in all levels of experience to defend and to extend the gains of the working class.

Every Socialist Organiser supporter should consider standing as their local Labour candidate this May. That is where one of the front lines is going tu be against the Tories. the victory of the October re lution.

The same circumstan occurred in Argentina, unfortunately the British imp ialists won. The result was t the removal of the military ju was done on the basis of a def at the hands of the imperialist This resulted in the victory an anti-socialist government the election and the votes of 1 revolutionary left collaps: from their large 1973 totals.

The British attack on 1 Malvinas could not have be defeated by the military junta could only have been defeal by the independent mobilisat of the working class.

This mobilisation and 1 defeat of British imperiali would have gone on to deal w the junta.

The defeat of British imperi ism would have been the def of the Thatcher government.

Ine question of a popular united front is obviously irre vant under these circumstance Yours fraternal Garth Frankla Lee

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Where we stand Organiser no.165 Fehruary 9 1984 Page