THE GAP between crisis meetings of the Cabinet shortens. Last week the Tories came even monetarism.
Five hundred million pounds, is going into the "austry. and allocated for electrification of the railways, and other projects.
Does this give the labour movement hope that there is light at the and of the tunnel?
Does it justify the line being pursued by Len Murray, and supported munist Party and many left MPs, of fighting for government to 'change course', instead of trying to confront it and throw it out?
The Cabinet's stupidity of monetarist Wholesale slaughter of jobs and industry isn't necessary. If the government can put f500m into the coal industry now, why couldn't they do it last year?
Why couldn't they stop the decimation of the steel industry and the rundown of BL? There are two and a half million on the dole because the government took a political decision to put them there.
The argument that the country can't afford it is so much rubbish. Every worker on the dole costs the treasury £3,500 in benefits and lost taxes. This means the present unemployment costs taxpayers nine billion pounds year from the pockets of every worker in the This is 18 times what it will cost to save jobs in the pits. So why not use the rest of the cash to save jobs in steel, cars, computers, rail and engineering?
The answer is obvious: it's because the Tories' economic policies are simply the excuse for an all-out drive to break the labour movement. And that's why a 'U-turn' won't that's fine. But miners got results because the Tories knew they had to give in or get smashed.
A U-turn on the wets' terms would look very different, as we can see from the policies which they are canvassing.
They would not spend money to save jobs and services. There houses, new hospitals, or new schools, and Heseltine is still brandishing his axe over local authorities as fiercely as ever.
What's more, another attack is looming. If the government loosens control of the money supply it will have to clamp down on wages, Era margins will stay in the doldrums.
ab incomes policy. stand against the civil sery... of what's to come.
The first prong is a major as: sector wage rises. The second to use state firms like BL to enforce wages policy on component renegotiating contracts every year and dicte ing wages and productivity policy as part of the contract drove Benn from office because he backed state intervention in industry!
Finally, we are hearing ominous noises about 'pay rises only in line with productivity, which always herald an wage increases.
The union leaders will have a line whict fits comfortably into this strategy: go easy witn tne pay rises, and well persuade Tories to give us jobs. dangerous answer of all.
The lesson we learnt from the social contract is that if you give way on any front, money, doesn't go to save jobs but into the bosses' pockets. We have to take the money weaken their resistance - not ours.
Of course, we should put forward our own alternalve SCHOOS. missile madness. We want a proper plan for energy, social services and industry.
But the way to pay for it is to take thet money from the tiny minority of parasites who run the system - not the vast majority of working people.
Socialist Challenge, 25, June, 1981 ; Page 2 dropping hard-line been the comdecisions do show the £500 a by industrial action, are no plans for new hearing loud noises Thatcher vindictive ry a taste : on public 3is attempt suppliers by - this from the people who attack on Tne This is the most save jobs from the bosses and We want hospitals, houses We want to destroy the Tories'
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helpi we can force cash out of the Tories - like the miners did