POST NOT a police line protecting Fort Knox, but uniformed defence of the Nottingham Post where 28 journalists have been sacked. THE gyrations Communist Broad Left in the National Union of Students have made the union's membership dizzy. On 21 April there will be a first-hand opportunity to see what is behind the most recent alliance projected Communist Party when stu dents meet at their national union conference.
Students will be discussing both the general election and who is elected to lead the union in the next year. No doubt the Broad Left-dominated executive will try and whitewash its own record as well as that of the Labour government.
The Communist Party will also take the occasion to try and explain away how they zig-zagged with the Tories to their present proposals for alliance. In light of the record difficult to of the Party-inspired the announcement that by the the right to exist.
pendently. union certain these have just two years ago. an alliance who turned up broader of the executive, it is not led see why few students have been impressed nin Sars Star's change for the broad left' The failures of the Broad Left are most evident in the further education sector. Here many student unions are still fighting hostile authorities for The Broad her Left's response? To call fo desks and telephones. What is needed instead is a national Broad campaign to achieve and extend the right to organise inde- socialist such disorientation amongst students has resulted policies. Just compare the 5,000 students leaders want who marched on the national grants demonstration this year working class. with the 30,000 demonstrator Even more telling are the 2,000 students at a local Manchester march where the this? Socialist Students' Alliance has La campaign based on independent student action.
The new alliance seeks the inclusion of the Liberals, but this won't entail any major policy changes for the CP.
None of the people involved i this project are prepared to talk about the programme of the grouping, the pact. student organiser gives us a clue letter to Socialist Challenge (see page 14).
The CP wants to drop the Left as a 'harrowly organisation' 'narrow socialist' demands as 'the social ownership of the means of production This indicates that Broad Left to drop their strategy of uniting with the and favour instead a suicide pact with the right wing. But what role has the National Organisation of Labour Students to play in To date, they certainly haven't published their views on this project. Rumours of a split in NOLS over this issue are circulating, but the best way to resolve this would be a recall conference of Labour students. Here big differences would no doubt emerge over any kind of student version of the Lib-Lab The Socialist Students' Alliance has made certain gains in uniting socialist students around class struggle policies. But some sections of the left -notably the Socialist Workers Student Organisation - have refused to be part of this unity.
And so once again, students cast their votes in the union's elections, they will not see an overall alternative to the right-wing policies of the present leaders of both the student and labour movement.
only Canasce can rebuild the student movement is one which bases itself on building a genuine socialist alternative.
Socialist Challenge 12 April 1979 Page
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IN ALL but 12 constituencies vote for the Labour Party candidate.
Of course we want to keep the Tories out but a Labour government also provides the best conditions fighting for socialist policies.
SHUS isn't because government can be expected to deliver these policies, but because Labour's leaders can be put on the spot and fought against best when actually in office.
There needs to be a to Labour's right-wing policies. It is much easier to organise that when it can be shown in practice — that is with a Labour government in office - how the Labour leaders are betraying.
One reason it would be a mistake to in scollana ine for Labour 'Assembly should, they are socialist Scottish National Party.
revolutionary Labour, and none of its advantages.
Scottish Labour Party also sees itself as a working class party. But like the Communist Party the SLP has no mass base and except on one issue its policies are little different Homose or me about carv Wet one issue is the question of the Scottish Assembly. While the Scottish in line with the majority vote in the referendum, be established immediately it is not, as the SLP claims, the central issue in this In suggesting otherwise the SLP often finds itself as no more than an echo chamber for the retoric of the The Workers Revo name o Party is in name only.