But the best of intentions are useless without The means ro through; nationalisation is task in carrying through socialist programme. It is grave weakness marbell s address gramme doesn't this issue at all.
In the heat of the fight for Benn's deputy leader, it is all too easy for his programme to be overlooked. But this is a dangerously short-sighted attitude.
It is vital that the next Labour government does not repeat the fiasco of the '64 and '74 governments.
wide-ranging debate should theretore be in itiated in the labour movement. For such a debate to be fruitful a fatal illusion has to be dispelled - that a Labour government wil have time to gradually imbit by bits As s policy, by bit. As Ken Livingstone is discovering in London, nothing could be further from the truth.
Labour government acts decisively from the beginning, or it will be driven office - or worse stil. tollow the familiar dreary road markWilson, ouL Callaghan and Healey. Mining Supplies the group oWls Laurence Scott, is a boss the philosophy and style of the government. He's a 1U1Y favourite the Employers Federation which him full support since the day he declared of the Manthe closure chester engineering factwith the loss of 650 jobs.
Like mOsl of the closures which are hitting the North West region the reason given was that the plant was making a loss. That was a lie.
Dennis Barry. now convenor Laurence Scott, explains:
profitability has contributed a third of the group's profits for the labl nine years. He only quotes us as a loss make. because our work is being transterred ouCI Support This was the reason laurence workers took the step of picketing the parent company in Doncaster week in a bid to bring the previously intransigent Snipe to the negotiation table.
The decision to picket had the unanimous support of the occupation the sort of support that has cupation IrON after the workers voted to Still Part of the reason for the fierce loyalty shown to the occupation during the of the dispute has been class hatred against Snipe.
Joan Taylor, an APEX steward, sums up the feeling in the plant: Snipe has treated us like just don't matter. The bulk of us have been here over 25 years.' Knife Elaine Cross, an AUEW/TASS steward, confirms it; 'He's put the knife in and he's just kept on turning it. Everybody just had enough.'.
But many plants in Manchester have had employers like Snipe, lilally but few have fought. Why have been closed, Elaine Cross (centre), 'Everybody just had enough. LAUREN