* That the Alliance can win in a wide variety of different seats even against 'radical scottish Nationalist candidate, Roy Jenkins was able to take the lon's snare or the protest vote from the Tories and Labour and deprive the SNP of its deposit - an outcome which many commentators including Socialist Challenge misestimated.
* That the Labour Party cannot decisively defeat the general election with the sort of 'low profile' campaign waged by David Wiseman.
The predominant attitude towards the SDP within the left of the labour movement has been to turn Nelson's eye towards the SDP in the hope that it will go away. Others have even greeted its emergence. poultice to draw the right wing poison out of the labour movement. of these strategies will succeed.
The argument that the SDP is a creation of the media is true; nobody can question the astonishingly partisan nature of the coverage it has received from a press which it has found its thusiastic members.
But the argument that the SDP will therefore disappear as its news value becomes dated is unjustified. It fails to answer why the press has given this support and whether or not the party has a wider backing from within ruling class circles.
Tony Benn was in no doubt that Cast described the SDP as a consular hatched by the City. But why should such a conspiracy suggest itself?
Thatcher upon assuming office in May 1979 made some firm promises to the bosses. She promised that she would restore the profits capitalist class through curbing the power of the trade union movement. This would be achieved through the won by the workig class.
Such a programme corps from most enliving standards.
when he countdown have their third reading on 26 But of the gramme.
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 PO Box 50 Rape: creation of mass unemolovment and the continuous erosion of basic rights would take two terms of office to complete. recipe was required for maintaining electoral support while implementing devastating attacks on working class Thatcher, despite cries to the contrary from the 'drys' within the Tory Party, has held true to this strategy. Many defeats have been suffered by the unions in the battle to aelena Joos. Allacks on Dasic Ignis have been carried through with little respone crumbe a to a ment 'law order' election has begun. The Tebbit proposals to shackle the unions will April. ruling class still fundamentally doubts the ability of the Tories to carry through this proThe rot set in with the miners' strike against pit closures in February last year. However temporary the retreat of the Tories it confirmed in the minds of the bosses that Thatcher was tar from succeeding in her major • objectives.
This lesson was confirmed by the train drivers dispute, where a small union set back efforts Tories to carry through tionalisation of a major nationalised industry.
The speculation begun a year ago on the outcome of the next general election has not abated. The ruling class is less confident than ever that Thatcher can win through.
This situation would not be serious if it were not the case that the major beneficiary from this crisis of Tory strategy was a rendered an prop capitalism as a result of the gains won by the left over the last three years.
Today there no Wilson/ the pieces from a strategy nets must be found. Coalition, with the SDP as the broker, Is the answe which has been arrived at It is this which explains the flexibility of SDP policies rather than an ol ine ra- holds the line for the bosses on all the most important questions of the day: continued membership of the Common Market; the necessity of an incomes policy as the economy expands slightly; the committment to support Britain's nuclear deterrent and full reponsibilities in NATO; last but not least, the pledge to reform the unions, backed by the majority SDP support for Tebbit. sense represented as a 'soft option', in fact for its policies in all fundamentals correspond with the basic employing class today, unlike those of Labour.
If the ruling class has to carry out Tory the grand manoeuvre of coalition the that brought Other safety Tebbit discrediting In fact the SDP the SDP our and can the SDP. be right wing.
needs accused general The highly defeats in the right which, like those 'hold the line' for the That's why its totally justified to these policies as 'SDP policies', and totally wrong to see the emergence of the SDP as a useful drawing COUl the right wingers in the party. The fundamental problem with the Labour Party been right wingers of the Snowden/Gaitskell/ Jenkins type The fundamental problem is the role of the trade union bureaucracy.
So how should the labour move. against the grand manouevres of the ruling class to deny the Labour Party office?
* There has to be fight for joint trade union and local Labour Party to defeat the Tories drive them from office and to elect a Labour government committed to socialist policies. A defeat for the Tories particularly on will lay the best basis for Thatcher and hence any coalition government involving the Tories.
election campaign based on this type of strategy would also have best chance for success against the The defeats (of the Hillhead type) and the hollow victories (like that of Warrington) as a result of timid, rightist campaigns should now convince the Labour Party that a bold approach based on the fundamental gains of conference policy is the way to win the next election. * There has to be a fight against the SDP policies of the Labour The fundamental way to defeat the effect of the SDP within the Labour Party is to confront the real the trade bureaucracy. Defence of the policy gains of the last three years is part of that, so is the reversal of the witchAt the same time Tony Benn has the Labour leadership of