THIRTY 5p pieces arrived on Joe Gormley's desk just before the results of the miners' ballot was announced last week. from the Allerton pit in North Nottingham, sent this gift to the retiring president of the mineworkers union with the cryptic note: 'Like Judas, here is your payment for betrayal.' throughout the coal industry. against the national executive's recommendation came as a bitter blow.
Presidential NUM were confident of victory. wrona?
through the managements pasted this up at every pit in the counthat he only managed by a whisker to avoid censure by a normally loval NEC Does the result confirm maestro statesman best able to judge the mood of miners? returns to see that such an explanation is nonsense. It cannot account for the big differences between Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire - coalfields only a few miles apart.
best paid miners and the clerical grades on me •visions causee ov une schemes.
is undoubtedly the different roles played by various local leaderships. In Yorkshire and Scotland a two-to-one majority backed the NEC. picture in refusal of the right wing leadership to wage a campaign for the NEC recommendation, but by their successful blocking of the left's attempt to do so.
paign in the left wing areas. arguments of the right.
Gormley and his refrain that a action. offer, didn't really cut any ice.
turn tail without a fight.
mean confrontation with the resoonse to unis political preparation. that if the Tories sion.
given ne general climate where cave in won t tererore win une next wage Gialls Preparations have to be through the lessons of this deteat.
volving a fight for united class Tories. one by one Solidarity today unions in the nationalised industries through building and extension of the Triple Alliance.
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Socialist Challenge The miners This gesture summed up the feelings of militants The 55-45 per cent vote After Scargill's resounding the left in the So what went Some of the blame must be placed on Gormley's Daily Colliery So blatant was Gormley's final act of betrayal Gormley's claim to be It is enough to take a casual glance at the voting Gormley probably influenced the voting of the building inaustys bonus But the most important factor in the discrepancy the The reverse Nottingham stemmed not only from the The first lesson from the ballot defeat therefore is the understanding that the right must be challenged on their own around. It is not enouan to simpiy camBut more fundamentally, the left needs to provide adequate answers to the cronies played up the NCB's 'ves vote was a commitment to strike Scargill's reply that the mere threat of strike would be sufficient to make the Board increase its Few were prepared to take the gamble that the NCB and the Tories would The right wing rightly charged that a strike would Tory government. A nUCA greater i of Blind insistence that this was iust another wade claim was a mistake. Mutterinas got in the way they would be removed as Ted Heath was in 1974 just added confuIn retrospect concentration on the £100 minimum for face workers was too narrow. The Board's threat of further pit closures had to be openly confronted trade union and Labour leaders have not only failed to halt the rise in unemployment but have done their best to stop rank and file militants taking action on their own behalf.
Crossed fingers and prayers that the Tories will made now as militants sift A massive campaign among the members of the NUM is needed inaction against the Then the Tories will not be able to pick us off with the train drivers void nrovice a tirm bass or late• acron ov un the JOIN THE FIGHT FOR If you would like to be put in touch with Socialist Challenge supporters in your area or would like more information fill in the form Socialist Challenge, PO Box 50, 28 January 1982 By Tessa van Gelderen, Socialist Challenge representative tion.' He tried to reassure the delegates at the Hiccule who represented a whole range of organisations and Broad Lefts in the party and the trade unions, 'no assurances sought or given on any acBishon's ford not even on Tatcnell and lne Millant But despite Tony Renn's reassurances meeting divided whether there was a truce inside the party. 'THE TASK of the Labour left now is to work flat out for a Labour victory at Hillhead, for Labour gains in the local elections in the spring and for a Labour victory in the general elecTony Benn, speaking at Labour Liaison '82, tried to set the tone for the meeting. He was hoping that the meeting was 'not going to waste time on the deputy leadership question.' Reg Race, who describhimselt 'PLP lunatic fringe' firmly that the first condition for unity in the party that was that the right stops its Peter Tatchell and doesn't fudge party policy If not, all bets are off as far as the leadership and deputy leadership are conthe cerned. on This theme was to be repeated throughout discussion particularly from the present who were concerned that the fight should continue.
As Colin representing the Left of the Post Office plained: 'Those of the unions can't keep our heads down. Our jobs and our wages are on ine line we can't have a truce.' stated SDP He argued that we had to have a Labour government but pointed out that those workers who voted Tory at the last election would switch votes to the SDP. Why? Because the trade union leaders were the with the bosses and unless the campaign continued ic
Talbot
us in had their colluding Tony Benn: 'Labour victory is priority