Devon Labour Briefing no. 3

WHOM DO THEY REPRESENT ?

LIST OF CONTENTS

' : The behaviour of Neil Kinnock and other ‘dream ene ir ticket’ and 'new realist' Labour politicians oe aes oe qos Bl i eins towards the miners' struggle has given the eter Bowing Slee ea = ° bulk of the Party a cause to question the right ae ee wing call for unity. Today we ask: unity with

In 1983 ninety-two percent of CLPs panicked and - we voted for Kinnock, when, if you remember, Benn

a Today, a large majority of the CLPs reject Kinnocki ; wi ism by backing the miners, opposing the so-called PAGS “nyt. aT|S one man one vote'proposals on the reselection

ANGE THE Sunters e spac 6 EMCTo BE-CR AL the Miners’ struggle and Liverpool City Council eA . to reject the opportunism of Neil Kinnock. Large

F-US... oa ACAS sections of the Party are prepared to fight the PROPOSALS class struggle; Kinnock

» 4S it is plain to see, is not. . g In the 1983 leadership contest Kinnock took the A :

lion's share of the consituency vote; Eric Heffer, i took seven

percent. The two far right wing candidate, Roy

Hattersley and Peter Shore, took two percent and

zero percent repectively. In other words they have no support in the Labour Party.

means that.a future Labour g0vernment would be totally out of line with about 98% of the Labour Party. The man whom the Party most trusts and whom it elects each year onto the constituency

section of the NEC, Tony Benn, is not even in the shadow cabinet.

it thought he was a socialist or because he was the only canidate who could lead the Party. Today, thanks to events, we know better. Yet it is claimed by some that because Kinnock won 92% of the constituency vote that we owe him

loyalty; a false, but more importantly an irrelevent argument.

>» @ majority of whose members Support the directly anti-socialist

ideas of Hattersley and Shore, According to the 1983 election the shadow cabin j

Editorial

Devon Labour Briefing has been set up by members of the Labour Party in Devon to defend and advance # socialist policies within the Party. There are many forces, both inside and outside the Party, which are pressurising us to drop our socialist policies. These notions must be firmly resisted - their acceptance would mark a gross betrayal

of our principles and responsibilities. What we need to do now is to BUILD on socialist programme. We require a claear, redjble and coherent set

of policies and strategies which are capable

of tackling the problems of our exploiting and crisis-ridden capitalist society, We must become IN REALITY the party which organises

What we need to do now is to BUILD on our socialist programme. We require a clear, credible and coherent set of policies and strategies which are capable

of tackling the problems of our exploiting

and crisis-ridden capitalist society. We must become IN REALITY the party which organises Opposition to the Tory attacks on the weak and

the sick, the young and the old, the party which

is dedicated to elimionating racism and sexism,

and to advancing the cause of working people. (These goals can only really be met by terminating capitalism in Britain)

We hop that this Briefing will be a useful information service to members of the Party.

But more importantly we seek to stimulate active socialist debate and action in Devon.

BRIGHTON BOMBING

I find the bombing at the Conservative Party conference in Brighton abhorent. The indiscriminate deaths of four people who happened to be staying

at the same hotel as the Conservative Party

prime minister. The adding of the staff at the

Grand Hotel to our ever lengthening dole queues. These are just tw» reasons why all socialis=® must oppose such action. But there are more funda-

mental reasons.

The fact is that the only people successfully 'terrorised' by the Brighton bombing were the

staff of the Grand Hotel and the people of Brighton. The bombing has not changed Mrs. Thatcher or the ruling class in this country one iota,

nos could it have done.

It may, if, for example, Mrs Thatcher had been killed sr seriously injured have served to chang2 the balence of power within the Conservative : Party, but to what end ? so that the ‘moderates

in the Conservative Party could gain power, half heartedly manage a slight reflation of the economy, reduce unemploymen: by, say, two hundred thousand and win an even greater landslide victory at the next election on a wave of sympathy votes ? Thus rewarding Britain with another five years of incompteent management and inept economic theory. Would this really have been to the benefit of

the working class in Britain ?

At the present time in Britain we are facing _

a conservative Party which is firmly in the grip of a dogmatic and entrenched right wing faction. This control is embodied in irs. Thatcher and the mindless economic policies she has persued in “he ame of free enterprise. If that control were destroyed now and Mrs Thatcher were to lose power, without being thoroughly disgceaced, and Conservative policies were changed wholesal2, without them being thoroughly discredited, then this ‘would only result of a reemergence of these policies in twenty or thirty years time with the right wing egged on by a new, stronger Thatcher.

In a society which has the power, literally,

to destroy itself overnight, we can no longer afford Thatcherite policies. It is therefore vitaliy important that now, while we have the chance, the Labour Party finally destroys the policies which are presently being pursued.

So far, much to our shame, we have not even Managed a serious assault on Thatcherite dogma.

The post war rebuikding of society was based on liberal philosophies expoused by Liberals such

as Keynes and Beverage,; this time round we must ensure that socialist policies are used to rebuild Britain. The last time present policies were pursed, in the thirties, it took a world war finally to destroy them. This time we must ensure

that it does not require a world war to replace what has gone before.

Terrorism, by its very nature, relies on fear

to pursuade people to a particular point of view. Capitalism, particularly Thatchers current brand, also relies on fear to control the population, wheter it’ be fear of unemployment or of the "Russian threat’. As socialists it is our job

to create a society which governs itself through reason and persuasion. We must replace the fear under which we presently suffer with reason.

We cannot win if merely replace fear with another type of fear.

Gerald Taylor Chair Teignbridge CLP

RIAL

a \

RETO

Issues arising from the self-organisation of oppressed minorities do not normally get on to the Labour Party conference agenda after only a year or so of campaigning and discussion; yet at last month's conference we heard a major debate on the issue of black sections in the party. The level

of attendance of black people at conference this year was the highest ever, stimulated by the

black sections debate. Hearing some of the speeches made against the black sections motion, many of them may have felt that the Labour Party is no place

for blacks to attempt to organise.

Nonetheless, although the vote was lost, there

was evidence of substantial support among the constituencies, and half a million votes, including those of the NUM, were cast in favour. The EEPTU wheeled out its first ever black speaker at conference, to speak against the motion. This very tactic served only to confirm a major plank of

the argument for black sections: that black people themselves are best qualified to speak on black oppression, and that therefore some form of autonomous organisation, in which black party members can meet, discuss issues and organise campaigns, is essential.

26 constituency black sections already exist

and it is certain that more will soon be springing up. Despite the leadership's refusal to tackle,

or to give approval to blacks tackling, the sensitivdt and electorally unpopular issue of racism, grass roots pressure will ensure that black sections form themselves. Kinnock and the right on the

NEC fear the power of black members of the Labour Party to campaign for greater black representation in Parliament, on Councils etc. They threaten

the traditional white male domination of the party.

Most of the opposition from the platform centred around the word "divisive". Of course, black sections are divisive in the literal sense: they give blacks the opportunity to divide themselves temporarily from from the rest of their local party and discuss their special concerns. But in a far more important sense they are not divisive: they can provide the first step for us to move

Zontinued...

Black Sections,,.

natural many do uninterour

forward to a party where blacks find a political home, and no longer feel, as today, that Labour is a 'white' party, ested in the most oppressed section of

society. Black sections are founded with a view

to a future in which white comrades will be more widely aware of the special problems faced by the black working class in Britain, leaving black sections no longer necessary.

For now, as Diane Abbott said at conference: "We're accused of creating apartheid in the party. But the real apartheid that exists is an allwhite Parliament, an all-white NEC, all-white councils, and a nearly all-white conference"

Mark Wilkinson Exeter CLP

Greenham

You may have noticed that since Easter there has been hardly any news in the press about the women's peace camp at Greenham Common. This does not of course mean that there is no women's peace camp any more and nor does it mean that nothing is happening there. It just means that there is a press blackout, nevertheless, it makes it difficult for the public

to maintain their support for the camp since many

of us don't know what is going on there.

I have visited the camp twice recently, once at the end of September when there was a call for mass support at the camp (the ‘women's strike) and once since then. During the ten days in September the camp was visited by thousands of women, who stayed for varying lengthSof time. It was impossible to provide

a true estimate of numbers, but in general the supportg.

was good. It is a measure of the success of the Greenham women that where before all seven gates of the base were busy with traffic, there are now only two gates fully operational as entrances and exits to the base. During the ten days women mounted several successful blockades of these two gates, providing continual hindrance to traffic entering and leaving the base. In addition to this the fence was pulled down in several places and many teamS of women cut holes in the fence and went into the base. On the night that I went in for the first time there must have been at least a hundred women in the base at some time during the night. Women's entry into the base is now never reported in the press, presumably beceuse the military would not like the pubiic to

realise how poor the security is. Another strange event was that the aoe somehow got hold of the idea that there was to be a mass invasion

of the silos on one particular day. This brought the U.S. military out in strength to stand in rows guarding the silos. The women, of course, left them to it! Thus , as a result of the women's prescence and actions the running of the base was for from routine during the ten days.

My most recent visit to the camp was a couple of weeks ago, when I stayed at blue gate. This gate is to the north side of the base, where cruise convoys come out. Indeed one had come out the morning before I arrived. Because this gate is so sensitively placed it is suffering constant evi.ctions by police and bailliffs with their rubbish munchers. This makes it difficult to maintain any routine to the camp, as every morning everything has to be packed up and hidden from the police and bailiffs.. Nevertheless, morale is high and the women have uw intention of being put off. The most heartening thing of all was that there were constant visits from members of the public bringing food, wood, money and goodwill. In spite of the press blackout the public still know that the camp is there

and give theix. support. This is of course essential

as without public support things would be much more Hifficult to maintain. So if you are passing Newbury don't forget to drop by the camp and give the women

msomething useful.

Anne Cahill Exeter CLP

A PERSONAL VIEW

Earlier this month I accompanied £500 worth of food to Maerdy in the Rhondda Valley in South

Wales. I had never been to South Wales before

and this visit brought the miners’ strike and

the class struggle, both of which seemed very

much removed from Exeter, into sharp focus.

The journey to Maerdy took us along barren

valleys, scarred by both man and nature. Tiny : houses cling to the hillsides, stacked precariously in crooked rows; there are few landmarks or big buildings until you reach the sole reason for

the settlement, the pit. There were once sixtythree working pits in the Khondda; there is now

only one, and the familiar profile of the dis-

used pit is cruelly real.

But if slag heaps have disfigured the landscape, Tory cuts will carve even greater wounds in the community, and the people know it. In an alien environment I was touched by the warmth of the striking miners. The miners we met appreciated our solidarity with their struggle, and the phrase ‘brother help brother’ was a common one. We were heartely thanked for our contribution and later given a large meal by one of striking miners.

Discussions with the miners revealed a highly developed class conciousness. They rightly see themselves at the centre of the trade union move -ment, which Thatcher, via the NCB, is seeking to divide and destroy.Their solid militancy was mixed with mourning for the divisions between miners in other areas. . ;

But what impressed me evi.n more than the class solidarity of the miners was the way that the strike had helped them to extend their awareness to a number of more radical issues. The oppression of coloured immigrants was often cited as a problem the miners had been exposed to as the strike bought them into contact with other unions on a more personal basis. Their relationship

to the nuclear industry has also raised a whole host of other issues. I was amazed to hear

a fifty year old miner's wife showing entusiasm for "stop the city", while the active role

taken by women's strike support committees has earned agreat repect.

Hence, I left Maerdy with renewed vigour for

the socialist struggle, having seen a working class community fighting for survival. The miner' strike is raising the class awareness of its participants every day, as they question the _

system which would deprive them of a way of life.

Practical help for the miners (ie, by collecting food and money) results in valuable communication, and this food for thought is just as important

as food itself if the left is to gain the support of the class which holds its destiny...

Paul Giblin Exeter CLP

THEORETICAL BRIEFING. The first part of a two- : part article by Peter Bowing on ‘What is Marxism ?

THE IMPACT OF THE TEACHINGS OF KARL MARX HAS BEEN IMMENSE. EVERY CONTINENT HAS BEEN STIRRED BY POLITICAL MOVEMENTS CLAIMING ALLEIGENCE TO HIS IDEAS. EVERY ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY HIS TEACHINGS. WHAT DID KARL MARX AND THE

IDEAS HE BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD REVEAL TO MANKIND ?

THE PHILOSOPHY In fact the basic (and revolutionary) philosophy is not hard to grasp. Human society is the ‘on-going product of men and women's operation on the natural world, eg, the provision of food, making machines. The manner in which this is done, s politically and culturally as well as economically, defines and characterises society at a particular stage in its development. Put simply, how men and women produce in the widest sense, so they are. Men and women made society and the relations and structures exist in it, not God, not ‘inevitable forces'. The man-made society is a collective product which through man-made institutions determines how and why particular men and women live.

It is true that ants socially make nests and bees socially make hives. Yet what distinguishes

man from ants and bees is his capacity to reflect on his production and to develop it. Capitalist society with its industries, technology and division of labour is 'advancement' on the production of the primitive tribe.

Philosophically, Marxism is also a revolutionary liberating force; if men and women can make a society which is unjust, cruel and devalues human ability, then humanity could equally make a different and better society. The great fetter, | though, is that while mankind makes history, the direction and comprehension of history lies beyond man's grasp. (In Marxist political theory the inability of man to control his environment is rectified by the organised political party, and the lack of comprehension is solved by the development of Marxist theory).

OUTLINE OF CAPITALIST SOCIETY Marx's main concern was the type of society we

live in today, capitalism, which grew progressively out of feudal society. In capitalist society

the vast majority of the means of production (factories etc) are privately owned by a small 3 group of people, the capitalist class or the a5 bourgeoisie. Production takes place so that the

capitalist class may realise profits. But why, and in what ways is this so important ? E

Material production (eg, food, houses, comuters) is the foundation of any society. What is produced, why, where, how and by whom are clearly the most important questions - and the bland answer

to all but the last of these questions is to realise profit.

People become who they are by virtue of their relation to the means of production. To receive

an income all but the capitalists must sell their physical or mental capacities to the process of material production or its administration. This determines where people live, with whom they

meet and share common identity, and their income and status. Their lives change according to the needs of profit. Although diverse, we classify these people as working class.

In capitalist society there is always a struggle between the borgeoisie and the working class.

It is the working class which makes all the goods and services; yet a disproportionate share goes

via profit, to the capitalist and their managers

who often do nothing. Even the machines and factories which the capitalists own are the products of previous working class labour. At times workers are unemployed and machines lie idle because no profit can be realised for the capitalist class.

i.

Although the liberating potential of industry and technology is massive, the capitalist system works only towards the realisation of profit through the exploitation of the working class.

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UNREST OVER ST. LEONARDS

Condemnation of the decision to withdraw the Labour candiate from the September St. Leonards by-election is growing inside the Party. Four branches Pennsylvania/St. Davids, Polsloe/ Stoke Hill, Rougemont/St. Leonards and the Young Socialists have all passed resolutions aimed at preventing a reoccurance of such practices.§ sane matter will be debated at the December GMC.

MINERS' VIDEOS

Tuesday, 27th November, 7.45pm, 26 Clifton Hill. The Polsloe/Stoke Hill branch of Exeter CLP will show videos of state violence directed against miners. All are welcome.

YS VSio* YS YSe Fa YS

Wednesday, 21st November, 8pm, 26 Clifton Hill. Exeter CLP Young Socialist will hold their

monthly meeting. Mark Wilkinson will talk on “The Witchhunt Against Exeter Labour Briefing". All persons under twenty-five are welcome. Subsequent meetings will be held on the third wednesday of each month.