right-wing leaders ment to change the policies and leadership of the workers' movement. Despite the TUC decision, groups of workers have been in struggle against the pay norms — as at Swan Hunter's, for instance. Workers on the railways, in the post office, in steel, at NVT, etc. are faced with the pressing need to detend their Conspiracy Hundreds of thousands will be involved in fights against cuts in public expenditure. Cases like the Shrewsbury pickets, the Glasgow anti-fascists, the Iranian 21 and the Iberian 19 all involve militants in fights against conspiracy charges and other frame-ups. Meanwhile tens of thousands have taken to the streets - and will do so again — on issues like abortion, Portugal and Ireland. It is in fighting to unify, coordinate and organise these forces, ensuring that they are turned towards the mass organisations of the working class, that a real movement can be built to defeat and remove the Too often in the past the working class has won important victories, which could have been used as a springboard for a real offensive against the capitalists, only to allow the advantage to be dissipated. In 1972 the victory of the miners and the releasing of the Pentonville 5 by mass working class action set the stage
manipulation to retain control inside the Labour Party • starting from the way he put himself in line for the leadership by draping the mantle of Bevan around his shoulders - would arouse the envy of Machiavelli himself.
Compared to Wilson, Prentice and Jenkins are amateurs, and their more open declaration of their capitalist loyalties makes them less able to influence the trade unions. "Unifier' Wilson, however - added and abetted by Jones and Foot - has been able to impose a 5 per cent cut in living standards and 1½ million unemployed.
Nevertheless the workers' movement does have one lesson to learn from Wilson. He serves the interests of the capitalist class with | leaders of the parliamentary and trade union left, he never fails to ram home his victories to strengthen his position. If the workers' leaders displayed one tenth of the determination on behalf of the working class that Wilson devotes to the interests of the ruling class, they would have capitalism rocking on its heels.
Any determined struggle must include a fight to remove Wilson and his supporters from their positions at every level of the labour movement. Of course some people will claim that 'it is policies that count, not personalities". But while one must always begin from policies, it is essential to understand that it is people who have to implement them. Labour MP Sid Bidwell understood this when he explained Only one of two conclusions could be drawn from Heffer's statement. Either Wilson is reformable — which is obviously untrue -or the EEC issue was not very important.
labour party 7 of reactionary politics.
Benn made no call for the workers to organise themselves in every area, nor did he put himself forward as a challenger for the leadership. Yet there is no doubt that he would have got a big response to such a call, which could have set in motion the forces that are capable of bringing down the right-wing leaders.
By remaining silent on these issues, Benn built no base that could come to his aid when the Cabinet 'reshuffle' took place. Prentice was kept in the Cabinet as a result of an ultimatum from Jenkins. But no such ultimatums came from the left. Jack Jones was more interested in getting the TUC to support the pay norms.
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september 1975 ? ? ?