Barbara Castle's retreat on private patients in the health service shows clearly the complete dead end reliance on Parliamentary methods leads to. At the moment capitalist sabotage inside and outside Parliament is preventing Labour passing some of its most minor reforms.
First Parliamentary threats were used to force Labour to back down on the legal right to picket, Next Parhamentary sabotage was used to pre vent the repayment of £10 million to the unions for tax collected under the Industrial Relations Act. Then Shell forced the Prices Commission to approve price rises for its chemical products by threatening to cur off supplies. Now consultanta are threatening to disrupt the health service to defend the privileges of the rich and their own incomes.
On every one of these issues Labour, tied up in its Parliamentery straighracker, har backed down.
But the working class has shown in practice another way of dealing with ruling class attacks. It was the engineers strike which drove the final nail into the coffin of the NIRC, It was the miners strike which drove the Tories from office. Now the health workers have shown how workers control can drive private practice out. It is this direct action. not the Parliamentary sume, which can destroy any sabotaging moves by the ruling class.
The employers know this as well. The Financial Times, for example, has gone hysterical about what it called 'an attempr by a militant group to enforce its owa view of public policy -by which it means workers recusing to be tied down by the Parliamentary straightjacket, but taking direct action to carry out their owa policies.
A government really acting in the interests of the working class, far from holding back action outside Parliament, would bose itself on the direct action of the working class. This would soon pur an end to capitalise sabotage of all sorts. Labour instead subordinates direct action to Parliamentary games. On this basis even its present tiny reforms are blocked. Any major policies it undertook waild be completely sabotaged Lahour says it cannot act on important things because it is a minority in Parliament, This is rubbish. If it is not prepared for workers to act outside Parliament its policies will still be sabotaged even if it does win a majority at the next election.
Even now, although a minority. Labour could carry through any policy it wanted if it was prepared to base itself on the direct actions of the working class. A government resonable to the organiserton of tie working ciars and nor to Parliament ir wher the working class must emend.
under capitalism was an important step. sation payinents. truths about capitalism the industry ar with taca compen openly smash the norms" or guide