Up to now the Morning Star has maintained a deafening silence on the betrayals of Scanion and other erstwhile friends like Jack Jones and Lawrence Daly, Allong last, bowever, the depth of these betrayals has forced the CP to speak out against those whom they have uncritically supported for so long But no-one should expect the CP suddenly to mond its ways and cad a principled struggle against the left fakers. The CP's political strategy, embodied in the British Rood to and that is what les at the root of the Ci's inability to counter the sell-outs of the lefts' PRINCIPLE The British Road is based on the perspective of establishing a socialist government through the buikling of unity with the left wing of the Labour Party and trade union bureaucricy on the basis of a broad anti-monopoly alliance. For the CP, unity with the lefts is not a question of joint action around specitic strategid aim which overrides all other considerations.
Despite what Ramelson suys, what he does is another thing. No serious mobilisation was made for the day of action on 20 May. On the lobby of the TUC on 16 Jume, also Shipbuilding and Engneenng Unions - was not even to be seen, MEEKLY In British Leyland, CP-convenors like Robinson at the Austin Longbridge plant and Nicholas at Rover are actually fighting for acceptance of worker participation and higher ing the working class, staying 'friends" with Scanlon and Jones has been put above the interests of the working class.
Apart trom some voling antics at the Engineers National Carnitteo. me Er nas conc gotajas 1 arach ice lo challengo Scanlon. No attemapt was made to mobilise rank and file members before the conference met to ensure a vote against the pay deal.
In the toolmakers strikes at British Leyland, which clearly had the potential to go beyond a struggie to defend differentials into a chalienge to the £6 limit, the CP either opposed strike action or made every effort to confine the actions taken to the narrow sectoral question of differentials. When Scanion summoned the strike leaders to London, the CP mockly returned with their tails time is whole strategy resto un an in the AUEW next time they are involved in strikes against Scanion? To continue the fight, or lo retura to work until conditions are more favourable"?
productivity. On every issue contront: INCAPABLE Socialism must explain how it is possible to carry out the strategic line of that document and at the to that strategy. We say that it's not posible - that to break with Its supporters in the trade unions must mean breaking aiso with the misleaders like Jones, Scanlon and fore incapuble of launching an efective fight on these questions. keep its base happy. But at the same alliance with these self-same traitors, What will Ramelson tell CP merbert Supporters of the British Rood to sume time fight against the betrayals of the very people regarded as contral the policies of this Government and Daly who advocate them, And despite temporary upe and downs with Seanlon in the pages of the Moming Star, we believe that the CP is thereHugh Scanion, President of the Amalgamated Union of Enginser ing Workers, likes the House of Commons. That's why he went there ten days ago to urge a meeting of Labour MPs to stand fast by price controls and so maintain the Government's side of the 4% per cent 'bargain" with the TUC.
Of course Scanion wasn't actually concerned with defending living standards - just protecting the pay deal. He knows full well that Prices Secretary Shirley Williams has already surendered to the Confederation of British Industry on the Price Code to allow a substantial increase in profits; he knows that subsidies on essential items like butter, cheese, tea and so on will be withdrawn.
After all, Callaghan said as much in front of Scanion at the National Committee meeting of the AUEW (Engineering Section) And right-wing General Secretary John Boyd more or less repeated the point in the June assue of the AUEW Journei.
Another article in the same issue - which we presume Hugh Scanlon reads - also commented 'EEC Commission proposals to trim the monetary import subsidies on farm produce to Britain and Italy by between 2 and 4 per cent have been shelved ....Mr Fred Peart, the British Minister of Agriculture, welcomed this decision, saying that he was glad his EEC colleagues had recognised the need to avoid measures which would raise UK food prices while the Government was seak ng a new pay des with the TUC: lour emphasis). And what about afterwards When Scanlon and Jones talk about a return to free collective bargaining in 1977 they do this the better to cover up the wage-cutting pay deal they are implemanting now. Such talk should fool no-one.