Be are beginning to organise and act against the Social what of the 'lefts" of the Labour Party? Those such as Allaun, Barbara Castle, John Forrest, Judith Hart, Eric ena Jeger, Joan Maynard, lan Mikardo and Renee Well, all these are members of the Labour Party National tive, and as such all, in association with Nick Bradley of recently produced a document entitled The Report enoue Norrussi This document seemed to imply a vigorous attack on the Social Contract, in that it contrasted the differences between the conference decisions of the TUC and Labour Party and the actual policies which emerged from the 26 July meeting of the Liaison Committee of the TUC, Parliamentary Labour Party, and the Labour Government.
This exposure was underlined by what Joan Maynard wrote in voice of ine umons on ine eve or ine toc conterence, saying *The Social Contract and the 4½ per cent endorsed by the recent the Labour Party NEC, the round of public expenditure cuts will be opposed and rightly so.' Opposition to the Social Contract is also shared by the LPYS, which at its last conference had denounced the Social Contract.
So with Nick Bradley on the NEC, with Joan Maynard saying what she did, and with the publications of the "Secret Report, it might appear that the lefts were loading their big guns against the Social Contract. But not so. The preamble of the report stated:
*Some members of the Liaison Committee and some members of the NEC suggested that those who take our view are trying to smash the Social Contract.. But of course the suggestion has no truth in it at all.' The statement was signed by Maynard, Bradley and all the other "lefts'. Bradley's capitulation is especially disgraceful in that by signing the statement he is in open breach of the decisions taken at the LPYS conference — and it is the LPYS he is meant to represent on the NEC. At the very least, LPYS members should ensure that such a representation is now challenged.
the Social Contract.
For two years the support of the trade union bureaucracy for the Social Contract has confused the working class movement in this country. cuts, inflation, cuts in social expenditure — all can be attributed to the shady deal which took to itself the high sounding title of 'social contract.
-Trade union leaders such as Jones and Scanlon, to whom many militants once looked to defend their living standards, fully promoted the deal with the right-wing Labour leaders. Left Labour leaders such as Benn and Hart on the NEC have consistently argued support for the con-trick. mounting pressure from the economic crisis, some left-wingers who have • opposed the Social Contract are buckling.
But a fight back has started. On 17 November, thousands of workers will take industrial action and demonstrate against the cuts. A number of conferences have been organised to continue the fight. All such initiatives should be supported. But the central problem they must all tackle is how to build the broadest possible unity in action against the Government's policies The first step is to develop the struggle to turn 17 November into a day of strike action against the Social Contract. Socialists in the labour movemen should take up the call from last Saturday's meeting of the National Co ordinating Committee Against Cuts in the NHS for the building of an anti-Social Contract contingent on the 17th; and then take this forward by -building an ongoing alliance against the Social Contract of public sector workers both locally and nationally, turning such an alliance into a strike force for mobilising mass united labour movement action against the Callaghan ICK STRIKE CO APEX KEAK LIS