satlonalised industry.
Be sold off.
Tame-duck', Austin-Morris section.
suge that denationalisation is belleved by the fories to be Imposible, would be left untouched.
remationalised under the 1904-70 Laboor covernment, lack of lace siee workers.
for inbs, Seven millon beopie are unemoloved in the orieate han doubled in the last ten years.
providing johs. The only source of increasing employment in the best ten years has been in the public sector.
Already the prospects for emplosment are disastrous «harp rises in unemployment in Britsin in the 1980s.
The Cambrue Economic ronce Industry means a return to the 1930s with a vengance.
requires a huge expansion and emergency programme of pablic spending. But public ownership is the precondition for uny serious programme of expansion. Without it the unemployment of today will appear as nothing compared to the dole queves of the Tory future.
There are two parts to that struggle. The first, and most argent, is indastrial action agrinst denationalisation. admit that they cannot denationalise even the profitable pits hecause the miners would bring the entire industry to a halt if they tried. Post Office, electricity, gas, British Airways, Ferranti and other workers cun only protect their jobs if they make it clear that denationalisation threats by the Tories would be met with strike action. This should be openly supported by the Tabour Party.
If you agree with these principles and want to be involvad in activities by Socialist Challenge supporlers in your area, fill in the form below and send it to us • 1 am interested in more intormation about activities in my ares. • I would like additional literature and enclose 50p lo cover costs. [Delete It not applicable] NAME ADDRESS Sand to Socialist Challange, 328/9 Upper St. London N1.
rocialist Challenge 24 May 1979 page 2 TORY ASSET-STRIPPING is to be extended from private industry into the public secior. That is the meaning of the widely Iraked government proposals to start selling off sections of The general shape of the plans is aiready clear. Shares would be sold in profitable nationalised industries such as electricity, gas, and British Airways. The profitable shipbuilding and aircraft sanufacturing industries would be treated in the same way. The Post Cffice would be split into an unprofitable postal section and a highly locrative telecommunications section — which could later The same would be done to firms taken over by the National Enterprise Board. Profitable parts, for example Ferranti's, would be sold to private industry. British Leyland would be scheduled Tor splitting up between a profitable specialised cars division and a All that would be left in the nationalised sector would be a totally unprofitable rump. Apart from that only those industries, for example the mines, where working class resistance would be so What would happen to denationalised firms is shown by cample of the steel Industry, That was denationalised by the Tories in 1951. Even then it was in a bad way. Hy the time it was Investment had made the steel industry a disaster area. Today, without a total rebuilding of the industry, endless redundancies But the denationalisation plans don't only affect abstract things sach as investment figures, Denationalisation will be a catastrophe esterprise dominated Common Market. Unemplosment in Britain These facts show that private industry is totally incapable of tonalist The reports of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and British sausage as we know it Development and the last government'» White Paper predict 2.700.000 unemployed by 1985, sad 3,700000 by 1090. Private Hou British sorereientumente Greep Of course nationatisation in itself does not guarantee jobs. That Tory denationalisation pluns must be fought tooth and nail.
The Tories openly WHY should revolutionary socialists oppose the Common Market?
campaign should we conduct and why? These questions are raised once again because of the ciections to the Europcan Parlament', We are opposed to the EEC designed to create an imperialist super-stale which can both crush the workers movement in Western Europe and organise a more orderiy exploitation of the "Third World"
In short the EBC aims to strengthen pro-capitalist forces institutions throughout Western Europe. The concluding paragraphs of Labour's elections put it quite pithily:
helps maintain capitalist system which rewards the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and weak.
It makes more difficult the realisation of traditional socialINE MOHIS - jobs for all, an end help to the needy rising living standards and the abolition of privilege."
But in that case surely the Inmediate newt sien showd be withdrawal from the EEC? Yet the Labour manifesto shies this obvious conclusion problem ATENERTE that the left wing of the British tabour movement has utterly failed to conduct an internaopposition to the Conmon Market Arguments apainst the EEC over: The decade have ranged from the fact that the would disappeir case for supporting the EEC?) to the about British sovercienty, These latter have been fasthfully echoed by the Conmunist Party of Great Britain. On 14 May, the party announced that it would not be utting up candidates, statins The CP will conduct its ow TERC attempis to interick Sito Tany Fosstance u with the British economy and push up prices, and against all EEC moves to limit the rights of the British Parlament.
In otber words, what both the Labour left and the CP counterpose to the EEC is the political, economic and social status quo in Britain today, Socialist arguments must b very clear. The onl way to arguc for withdrawal from the EEC is to counterpose a set of socialist measures that would transform the British economy.
We refuse to accept cither the devil of the EEC or the deep blue sea of British capitalism The nationality of the bosses does not upser us too much. is their class we need to fightt.
Secondly, we cun only wage an cffective campaign against the BEC on a Europe-wide basis. Against the ruling class of Europe we must strive to unite the workers.
The only effective antidote to the poison of chauvinism and a co-ordinated ruling class is The campaign being conducted by the Fourth Interna tonal and other revolutionary CUELLIES (such Lutte Ouvrière in France) is the only internationalist campaign in this election fight agaitist the institutions of capitalise Europc but fight continental basis. We fight for:
a) A. European Congress of Labour. A conference of the Europein trade anons to man out a counter-strategy to fight unemployment and inflation. Such a conference would find it somewhat difficult to favour import controls. Co-ordination on the level of shop stewards in the multinationals would also be considerably aided sphere women inmigrant workers. The latter have no rights whatsoever in most of capitalist Europe.
and maside estromie aid o massive economic aid to those countries in the Third World' prepared to break loose the worid market. Military for the liberacion struggle in southero Alrica d) A free association of Buropean socialist republies in a United Socialist States of burope.
e) Turning the continued occupation of Ireland into_a European issue and bringing to bear for Emmediare Britisit withdrawal.
D A co-ordinated fight against the growing attacks on democratic rights throughout Western Europe 8) Socialist democracy to replace the burenucratic regimes in Eastern Europe Our campargn lor drawal is therefore a Europe-wide campaign. . This is not an empty utopia. Il is the most practical way of defeating the plans of the European ruling classes •Tariq All is the candidate of the Marxist Group, British section of the Fourth International, in West London. If you would like to help or contribute the campuigo write te: A. Lilley, 10 Hamliton Road, Southall, Middk.
Our socialem will be insisiel more democratic thun what exht in Sociali-m'in the 1.SSR and Faslern Farope base diveredited socialis