VAN GELDEREN traces the forty years in between.
In one respect Tribune is unique among British papers of the 'left" - it has outlived most of its contemporaries. We would be churlish not to congratulate it on its 40th birthdav. existence, Tribune has fought many battles against the bureaucrats of Transport House, and it has always championed the right of dissent within the labour movement. These, at least, can be put down on the plus side or arounes acmievements Of course, Tribune started off with advantages denied to most papers of the left - and certainly to papers of the revolutionary left. Its founders stanora Cupps, harold Laski George Strauss, and William Mellor — were already well-known figures in the wider labour movement. On its first Controllin Board were eminent veterans of the movement like Ellen Wilkinson and Noel Brailsford.
It also had the good fortune to start off with a substantial financial contribution of £20,000 from Cripps and Strauss. If ever a left-wing paper was born with a silver spoon in its mouth it was Tribune.
It made its first appearance at a time when Europe was in ferment. Mussolini had strengthened the iron heel of fascism in Italy; in Germany the most powerful working class organisations in the capitalist world had been crushed without a struggle, to be followed by the defeat of the Austrian workers. In Spain, the armies of the Republicans and Franco's fascists were locked in deadly combat.
The British labour movement was painfully and slowly emerging from the defeat of the General Strike and the betrayal or 1951. i was ine unar victory or the Brighton (1935) and Edinburgh (1936) conferences Which was to be the Tribune was born with a silver spoon in its mouth. This week Jack Jones and Michael Foot, the "left' architects of the Social Contract, are speaking at a rally to mark its anniversary. CHARLIE During the four decades of its led by Ernest Bevin and Attlee at the determining factor in the What has been achieved in the THE TRIBUNE Unity Is Vital-Stafford Cripps : While Mr. Brown Drones - Ellen YaKinson rarnament and Monarchy — M.r.: Vanoc l defined the aims of the new paper: 'We are part of a world system... that is destroying hope in the world... capitalism... there need be no want, no poverty, no called when ne writes.
in office..
examination.'"
Keally, cuts into Today, 40 years later, this same capitalism still dominates the greater part of the world. Where it has been destroyed it has been by other means than those consistently advocated Dy roune Through thick and thin, in war and peace, in conditions of depression or boom, one thing has run through all the arguments advanced by Tribune -that Parliament is the one and only means through which change can be brought about in our social order, and tne Labour Party is the instrument through which this will be achieved. This was the abiding faith of Nve Bevan. who diaved a primary role in layıng the basis for Tribune's philosophy (if such it could be 'Bevan', writes Michael Foot in his biography adamant as ever in his belief that nothing could b achieved outside the Labour Party' (Aneurin Bevan -Vol. 1, Four Square Edition, pp269/70). This view is echoed by the present editor, Richard Clements, in the special Anniversary Supplement (Tribune, 7 January)
'Tribune's policy then was the same as it is now. We wanted to see the system changed. In 40 years there have been a lot of changes... Most of the best... have been brought about when Labour Governments were Some of those who call themselves "revolutionary" socialists argue that the Labour Government is nothing more than the hand-maiden of capitalism. That hardly stands up to a moment's comrade Clements? Perhaps we should consult the 1¼ million unemployed; or the tens of thousands on short time. Maybe Healey's draconian working class standards of living, slashing of social services including the dismantling of Bevan's own creation, National Health Service), the millions living below the poverty line, the thousands of homeless families - maybe these are merely detours on the road to socialism, and not the propping up of a decaying capitalist system?
Tribune cannot compiain that it nas not nad une opportunity to put its policies into practice. One only 1947 vintage), Jennie Lee, the Labour Party - the list is endless. It is 'was state -, and capitalist-owned enterprises. But he never gave achieved.
workers in when established the world's first Woodrow Wyatt (yes, he was a Tribunite, Barbara Castle, Dick Crossman, and today Michael Foot, Deputy Leader of precisely because Tribune and those wh created it and kept it going for 40 years have n conception of the role of the state - because they can regard it as something above classes, neutral, which can be changed by a parliamentary majority that they have proved unable to get to grips with the real issue once they achieved what they considered to be the real citadels of power — seats in the Cabinet.
The Tribunites have never understood that capitalism can only be abolished when power is taken away from the owners of the means of production and vested in those that produce — the working class. They create an artificial difference between political power (Parliament) and economic power, and believe that by nationalising a few major industries Bevan's euphemism, 'the commanding heights of the economv _ thev can subtly use the mixed economy to achieve socialism by stealth. Economic democracy for them means getting a few workers on the boards of Bevan in his day could turn many a fine phrase into revolutionary rhetoric. In 1942, while supporting the war effort, he was critical of Churchill's conduct of the war — the same Churchill whom he had described in Tribune in August 1940 as the unchallenged leader and spokesman of the British people'. Now he wrote that "the people will have to take charge of the war and this, of course, means the peace as well" (ibid, p302)
thought to how this was to be There was another road, that taken by the Russian lney sezed Dowe -anc That still remains the pattern for the transformation of society from capitalism to socialism, despite the subsequent degeneration of the Soviet Union. But neither Parliament nor the Labour Party are the instruments which can achieve this. That Tribune has
Recent months have seen the stabilisation of the counter-revolution in Portugal under the leadership of the Socialist Party and the growing interest of international social democracy in events in Spain. Jack Jones has headed a TUC delegation to meet the social democratic trade union leaders and a whole array of stars, including Michael Foot, attended the recent congress of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). Here RICHARD CARVER reports on a document revealing social democracy's plans for Portugal, and discusses the meaning of BASQUE COUNTRY 10 January saw a general strike in Bilbao acainst the murder of Juan uel iglesias by tne police. ine strike was solid on the industrial Sestao, estes nome town Was DrONeH I by the police, but it re-tormed marched on to Portugalete, barrIcaded against the police. A masuve allack was launched on ron" elete in which many workers were injured, one critically.
CEYLON ment has clamped down and the orkers' struggle has stepped Posed Dress censorsnio and to follow the example India's Gandhi in imposing a state of emergency and total suspenThe strike wave, initiated by the workers December, Despite a For ine rail workers are out. In two days last week at within coalition continues to be raceraied ov ine workers act which is putting the heat on to withdraw ts support from the Government. CHINA in recent days wall posters have appeared in Peking calling popular sociaiist cemocracy reecom Manv aiso demanene rehabilitation of Teng Hsiao-ping purged by Mao, and the suppression of the 'Gang of Four'.
now lar mese are spontaneous expressions, or wnetner tney are orchestrated by Chairman against radicals, Is unclear. The danger oral tacuons or me bureaucracy is mat sections or ine masses might start taking Hua's democratic rhetoric too seriously.
EGYPT In tne egyptian town or bayla last week demonstrators burnt down a ding civy and alway station. m wallo bassen gers tought win ponce in protests at the state of the public transport There have been frequent student actions against the purge or let-wine teachine stam and tHe imposition ot government-correason for this complex upsurge bacar Tecime. out is apparent na neatest covoran attemot le sell out the Palestinian struggle, opposition among growing secmons or me coypuan idssoo INDIA Comrade Chitta Mitra, a leading of WORLO Bengali Trotskyists baber socialist karmi or waich ne was an editor. He wrote several books and pamphlets as well Bengali biography He also translated Leon BrOISKY numerous writings of troisky inte Bengali.
Chitta Mitra was well respected and liked among the students and teachers or naind, where nis poltical work centrec. in troute inree large meetings have been held at College. salutes mena dna comrade The Andreotti Government in Italy is still searching for is version of the Social Contract. It is seeking to impose wage controls wich. i says, are une ony solu Tion to intation. o DacK InIs us they are using the possibility of ar leaders and the Communist Party (POI IntO has familiar.
main attack is which protect many Italian workers Ine WOrST inflation. The union Many policy, but it seems that they will come to a comoromise ov acree. ing to limit increases for highe paid workers. Meanwhile the continues to support the GovernItalian workers - putting pressure on their leagersnip to derend wages ment by its abstention in Parliament.
FUN UGAL ano Members of PIDE police of the old Portuguese reg are many being orouent to ustice. cor examole erer of Communist Party militant spend all of ten months in prison. Other PIUC criminals guilty, have been released immediately.
Victims of the torturers have been dragged into the witness box ana forced to reve mel nome experiences Henrique bodyguard to Salazar has as his defence that he was on obeving orders cers are canes ano soares obey. ing now? Demonstrators ceedings demanding, trials, no! People's justice, yes! around the an excellent own enders are wage PCI IN St. John's Wood, a quiet and respectable suburb of North London better known as the home of the MCC, can be found the offices of an international organisation dedicated to nenung world com munism in alliance with the Cathinternatonal when ne Labour Party and the governing parties of many european countries are alfiliated to.
who calmedal communism was the enemy in public, of course, but in a closed 1975.
Olaf Plame Wilson and James (Britain). Willy mut Schmidt JOOD den Uyl Anker Joergensen Francois Mitterrand (France) and Itzhak Rabin (Israel).
A transcript of the meeting. the hands of the Spanish paper, Servir al Pueblo, shows that the subject was one close to the heart of European social democracy, particularly in the turbulent summer of 1975: Portugal.
quel was -nOT international capitalist campaign, but because imperialism had failed to intervene ine murd against cne working cass. soares to was disappointed at the passivity and resignation States'.
TOUNC imperialist intervention which they Then discussea Hustrates une alotude of the SI to the rise of the seixas. Europe as a whole. The principal WOSKER HAnG - Dollical ICv guese masses into line was to be wuose of EEC economic aid.
same method is now being applied have to Spain, where Common Market pro*Rigged membership is the bait to tempt the Government into introducing reforms sufficient to pacify the workCIS IHOCHICHL ticularly the contributions of the German and British representatives, indicates that more direct forms of intervention were consciously planned as well. The main propaganda instrument was seen as British and German radio. Soares praised the efforts of the and German demanded increased effort. Only weeks later two left-wing Portuguese journalists were sacked from the she financial support tor tne Fortuguese Socialist Party: the growing influence of the PSOE. The organisation is the Socialist membership.
It was Mario Soares of Portugal international ocratic parties far behind Among those present were weden. Harold Callaghan Brandt and Hel (West Germany), (Netherlands), as legal mass parties (Denmark), in The Socialist International's disbecause or une more decisively The alternative strategy to direct Co in themselves.
COlLUONCEY to force the PortuExactly the The Stockholm discussion, par- the Stockholm warning, mililants in britain, and Radio, but sona Derri Soares also demanded increased sation.
'We need
This, too, was enthusiastically taken up by others at the meeting and has been reflected in Spain, where the Socialist Party union, continent the UGT, received £350,000 in the first nine months of 1976 alone -more than ten times the amount it was able to raise from its own The question remains why the Socialist International goes to all this effort to boost its member parties in the Iberian peninsula.
The reason is simple. Any upsurge workers of the workers movement in those countries will leave une social dem Whereas the Communist Partie were able to preserve their appara- reverse the tus under long years or aictator ship, the social democratic parties necoro nave met sucLures built to fulfil the tasks facing them Events in Portugal and Spain do not worry Callaghan, Schmidt and Felipe Gonzales of the PSOE recieves applause from Brandt and Palme But what Is worrying is the probability that the virus will spread northwards, as the workers of the EEC countries see the gains made by their comrades in Iberia. This is the reason why democracy and strength in the political stability have been laid strikes. down as preconditions for EEC entry in the case of both countries.
Francois Mitterrand summed up the PCE.
discussion good if the PSP was seen to be receiving orders from abroad. would certainly not, which is why DOTE InSICE outside the Labour Party, should rigne to expose me intel vention of the Socialist InternaThis is not because we are opposed to international workers After solidarity or international organicontrary, leadership because we fight to defend interests of the entire working class ALL the hopes of European social democracy for stemming the revolutionary tide in the south of the The with ine Socialist Party [PSOE]. Mario Soares has done his bit. Now it is up to Felipe Gonzales - young, handsome, and with the grooming of a 'statesman".
ine imporance or spain for une Socialist International is the same as for revolutionary socialists. t is clear that a defeat for the Spanish movement will consoli date the achievement of Soares in of the Spanish MaSS aCOn Can aCE aS a SUUUS TO counter-revolution in In recent months the PSOE has looked better suited to pla part allotted to it in the stabilisation of the Iberian peninsula for social democracy. central reason lies in the failure or th tion.
Communist Party [PCE] to present any credible alternative.
Even after the death of Franco, USC, the PCE was the force for the Government to reckon with, with its impressive display of industrial January 1976 PSOE represented no-one, and was forced to keep up its left rhetoric to prevent itself from being completely isolated by For a long time it was forced to make the legansanon or te reta real sticking point. There were obvious dangers tor te creatom of the PSOE in the workers movement it were to be ecs secane not the PCE. Similarly, or trade union quesuon, the vol the PSOE's affiliate, consistently while the PCE-dominated Workers commissions Darticipated while, however, Taure or me ree to ave aecisiv against the monarchy gave the SUE greater room for manoeuvre. It did not abandon the Government without any of the previous preconditions being met.
On the trade union question it has stood firm against an tempts to set up a united class union. This has been possible because of anti-democratic leadership of the PCE in the Workers Commissions, which ha driven increasing numbers of workers into the UGT. The PSOE is thus able to improve its hold in the workers movement through a combination of radical rhetoric in the unions and credibility in its negotiations with the Government.
It is important not to underestimate the impact of illusions in bourgeois democracy arter forg years of dictatorship. Here, too, me ramure or me ree to provid any clear lead has been important.
oreanising to overtaror the dietatorship through the supcracy can the mass of Spanish workers be won away from thei support for reformism.
The PCE is being pinched from both directions. Amongst the most politically advanced workers, especially in the Basque country, revolutionary left and thi Mao-centrist organisations are making considerable gains. On the other hand, so long as the mass reformist parties tell the Spanish working class that it is possible to negotiate democrac Government, the PSOE is going to become a more attractive proposiThis, of course, is where the Socialist International comes in. It is able to influence the growth of the PSOE in two ways. First it contributes massive amounts of cash and facilities for the party's intervening regularly / on its behalf. The vast sums of mones from the British Labour Party and trade unions, persona appearances in Spain of Michae Foot and Jack Jones, are part of shortly arter the meeting of the Socialist Internanons on cornes snotner meet ing was scheduled to discuss the intervention in nately we have no details, but it is probable that the decision of the West German Social Democratic was a result of this.
discussed in Stockholm are clear The Socialist International can be expected to step up its intervention The difference this time is that whatever hopes Gonzalez may have of becoming Prime Minister, it is not a major consideration for the European social democrats. The PSOF is hecoming Kino Juan
JOHN MAGEE reports from Belfast Disraeli once said that every time Britain finds an answer to the Irish question, the Irish change the question. In the past Dossioie to aismiss unis do usta clever way or covers over me lace udk ritain s policy or reoression nas aways peen usumec ov avoroina ine issues and discussing irrelevancies. From last week, dismissal will not always be quite so easy; because it has become clear that there exists in Ireland a group of people who indeed want to change ue cuesion. The group is the 'Peace People', that much-feted movement headed by that glamorous, globe-trotting tro or Betty tingers williams, Mairead "'the tears' Corrigan, and Ciaran "I've lost my job but found a goldmine"
Vocumen emued "Strategy for Peace', which claims to offer the derinitive solution to ine troubes The root cause of violence, according to the tro, is not the presence of 15,000 British soldiers armed to the teeth, undemocratic Northern Ireland statelet, but rather bad vibes between the "Taigs" and the 'Oranges'. To overcome these bad vibes, the which, they claim it is 'special". Such profundity cannot have been excelled since whether he preferred these individual Catholics roasted or grillec has Interned people without trial thoughout its existence, brutal violence agains belong. Nor are they impressed by such brilis rullne ciass wilh ine bister unionists it has always beer however. such we are probably in for more bucketfuls of psalms TC HuTUC MOBIoVOD proscriptions against mixed marriages and the hold of the Churches or six-page oppustu or the existence of the its platforms. trio have asked us all to recognise the 'emerging Northern Irish identity us from the Irish as a whole, What this 'identity" consists of is never defined; all we are told is that Paisley once remarked | love all individual Roman Catholics'. At tha ime as weil Paisley diant go in tor deriniions; ne retused to sa Not surprisingly, this "Strategy for Peace' didn't impress many people on the Falls Road. After all, the only Northern Irish identity with which they are familiar in this Christian state is the decades of discrimination BIC. Wricn centeo inem vores anc loos. the soecia centiv or a s181e 1na whích they words as 'community' and "partnersnip, remembering as they do that this rotten state was founded on ine community or interests of imperialism and ine partnersnip or the Indeed, the only welcome that I heard on the Falls for the 'Strategy for unfounded, for the politicians have now scuttled their support for the corpses are buried there 'peace movement", declaring that it has gone political; this leaves the Churches as about the only institutions continuing in support, and so though, have been coming under attack from within. Des Wilson, a Catholic priest in Ballvmurphy who was sacked Two vears aco trom nis barisn tor criticism ot the reactionar Dal-murony and waterock violence and revolution, and cited their support ranco s spain and ine support tney gave to ine tascist entort in 1950. Me condemned ine churcnes tor advocating peace without change, anc denounced the 'peace movement" for allowing the Church leaders onto wrote to the papers instead This was proof enough, he believed, that the 'Peace RED WEEKLY 20 January 1977 1 People" themselves wanted 'peace without change".
• по but living Ballymurphy he has been unable to ignore thi repression to which have been subjected by the RUC and the British Army. When he mat tha Labour Movement Delegation organised by the Troops Out Movement Belfast last Sentember, he voiced the vlews of his naichbours demanding the immediate withdrawal of the British Army. But Wilson in an exception; his fellow clerics continue Sunday after Sunda with drivelling cant from their pulpits about "Rendering unto Casar The Provisional IRA has been active in the first few days of 197 'rendering' unto the British Army their just deserts. This other bunch o poato noopors nids i te sante perod boen ousy — faking the nome c Mrs mind amiesoe in moiey errace. ronacown with bullets. Mr uniespie is a pensioner. Iney must nave deen atraid of her bin lid One thing the troops are not afraid of, though, is the dead. Belfas City Cemetery on the Falls Road has been the scene of considerabl last couple of years. Because many Protestan many seooie were reaov to acceot ine kut story mat local vandals trom adjacent Catnolic nousing estates wan responsible. One such person was Mrs Edith Bush from Albert Street who regularly visits her father's grave in the cemetery. Over the last fer the grave has been vandalised on number of occasions. Each time the matter was reported to the RUC, who blamed it on the kids from On Boxing Day Mrs Bush visited the cemetery and caught the vandal! in action. She challenged them and was toid that they could do wha they 'bloody well liked'. Mrs Bush did not report to the RUC this time There didn't seem to be much point: the vandals were paras. Mrs Bust Seems that in your
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Des Wilson i is