Life after Blair's steamroller
Socialist Outlook1990sScanned print read by OCR, and not yet proofread: expect run-together words, dropped letters and, where a piece began partway down a page, a few lines of its neighbour. The printed page is the authority.
"DON'T MOURN: organise" - socialist film director Ken Loach used the lessons of the Spanish revolution to summarise the tasks ahead for socialists now Clause Four has been taken out of the Labour Party constitution.
More than 150 left activists attended the joint meeting between Tribune and the Clause Four campaign to discuss the way forward for the left in the aftermath of the defeat. The discussion centred around the challenge Blair has given the left in the trades unions and Labour Party.
Despite a good rank and file campaign the left suffered a heavy defeat at the special conference on Clause Four: The socialist left in the con. stituencies was steam rollered by Blair's bandwagon.
The June 17 conference began to lay out a plan to respond to the new situation.
it recognised that the unions have become the key to the fightback. The dominance of the right in the constituencies will not be reversed before the next general election - the impetus to change the balance of forces in our favour will come from the trades unions and social struggles.
UNISON activist Geoff Martin argued that the battle for a minimum wage should be the focus of our campaigning in the movement. It gives us a significant opportunity to force a wedge into the Blairite bloc. We should have a rally before Labour Party conference demanding that the party sets an adequate level, he argued.
This issue is particularly naign Campaign C Policies for for rightwing Labour Coordinating Committee has become Blair's shock troops, forcing through the changes in the constituencies.
Mark Seddon, the editor of Tribune, explained how Blair intends to turn the party into a social democratic style outfit.
This means the left must unite against the offensive.
In a very positive and friendly speech he offered to build the link between his paper and the Network.
The labour leadership's adaption to the politics of Conservatism was stressed by Ken Coates. He pointed in particular to the abandonment of trades union rights and the aspiration to full employment.
A speaker from the CWU told us how, despite their unions' vote in favour of Blair over Clause Four, the left won a position to repeal all anti-trades union laws.
Although the mood of the conference was resolute and determined no significant new forces were there.
It was based on those in the Socialist Campaign Group Network and far left groups. However, the link with Tribune is a positive development.
The left needs an organisation which will bring together those who fought for Clause Four and those who want to fight now around class struggle action. The task now is to go far beyond those who supported Clause Four.
We must reach deeper into the unions, the campaigns and social struggles to show the need for socialist policies today. That can start the realignment we need to win struggles in the future. Capitalism fouls things up