People's March
Socialist Organiser1983 1983-01-20Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
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motley one - to impose their sectarian tactics on those not prepared to be dragged down the road of political ineffectiveness.
Even though this alliance is composed of politically heterogeneous elements - it includes supporters of the Socialist Organiser Alliance as well as those of the International Marxist Group, Socialist Labour Group and the circle around the new Tribune - they have one feature in common with their Russian counterparts. In Lenin's FAR from "spoiling the image of the Labour Party" (SO115), the real reason for opposing the scotland to London People's March for Jobs was far more cynical. In an election year the trade union and Labour Party leadership did not want resources diverted away from the election campaign.
Despite the public sympathies shown by • this leadership to the plight of the unemployed, this exposes their real attitude to the unemployed; that mass unemployment is a secondary issue, the most important being the election of a right wing Labour government at the next general election.
Of course they argue that only a Labour government can redace the level of unemployment, but there are currently divisions within the leadership of the Labour Party as to whether they should publicly commit themselves to reducing unemployment to any predetermined level.
The more astute Labour politicians realise that the election of a Labour government cannot solve in Britain the current world problem of unemployment, and that they need to leave their options open to be able to make the usual excuses when their policies fail to do so.
Before we commit ourselves to supportint the march, surely we need to know how. the march is going to be organised.
The unemployed themselves need to be fully involved throughout the planning stages to enable them to determine how the march is to be conducted. We should not blindly endorse a re-run of the undemocratic, rigidly controlled People's March for Jobs (1981).
Whilst offering limited support to any democratically run march controlled by the unemployed, we should still recognise that this type of march - a blanket protest against mass unemployment, without a specific issue to focus on - is largely a diversion away from the essential task of organising the unemployed to campaign on all issues, both locally and nationally, affecting the unemployed.
MİCK JARMAINE Leicester