Kinnock is Golding's dream

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WITCH-HUNTER-in-chief John Golding has endorsed a Kinnock/Hattersley team for the Labour Party leadership, saying that a combination of *the respectable Left' and 'the moderate wing' is needed.

And indeed Kinnock has done quite enough to prove himselt 'respectable' • in John Golding's eyes. He sabotaged Tony Benn's campaign for Deputy Leader. As front-bench spokesperson on education, he threatened to resign if Labour committed itself firmly to reversing Tory school meal price increases. And this is his record on six important recent votes on the NEC, as compiled by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy.

Keep commitment to nationalise clearing banks: AGAINST.

Amendment to remove NEC's arbitrary powers over groups in the Labour Party: AGAINST.

Total opposition to incomes policy, support for minimum wage: AGAINST Replace Benn by Golding as. chair of Home Policy Committee: ABSTAINED.

Allow CLPs full re-selection after the boundary changes: ABSENT.

Expulsion of Militant editorial board: FOR.

Hattersley is an open right-winger: an aggressive advocate of nuclear weapons, of incomes policy, and of the witch-hunt. Kinnock is a 'left-winger' of the stripe of Harold Wilson or Ramsey MacDonald: marvellous left preaching, vicious careerist practice. No wonder the leading trade union bureaucrats think that Kinnock/ Hattersley (in whichever order) is a 'dream ticket' Kinnock/Hattersley ticket would mean sugary phrases about Party Unity masking a redoubled purge of the Left.

Eric Heffer and Michael Meacher are on a different side of the fence from Kinnock. On all the six issues cited above, while Kinnock voted with the Right on the NEC or abstained, Heffer voted with the Left.

We should campaign not only in the CLPs but also in the broader arena of the unions, where Kinnock has more credit as a left-winger.

The Hattersley camp is pressing for more democratic procedures to decide how unions vote on the leadership. They have their own motives: obviously Kinnock did his groundwork with the general secretaries better than they. did. But that should not deter the Left from also pressing for ballots through branches (where a conference vote is not possible) and for maximum discussion at rank and file level. * There is no question of 'letting the Right in'. The leadership vote is by eliminating ballot, not first past the post. It and when Hetter is eliminated, we can (with gritted teeth vote for the fake-Left Kinnock against the open right-winger Hattersley.

But the first job is to build a real left wing campaign in this leadership contest. And that means a campaign behind Heffer and Meacher. CHILEAN dictator Pinochet's fight for his political life has already brought death to demonstrators, blood on the streets, the jailing of union leaders, and the opening of a new concentration camp in the far north of the country.

But far from subduing the protests from growing sections of Chilean society, Pinochet's latest crackdown has been met by escalating strike action, and now the calling of an indefinite general strike by leaders of 1½ million workers.

The first big protest was on May 11. A mass demonstration was followed by street fighting in which two were killed and 550 arrested. Subsequent police raids on working class districts brought 2,000 arrests and, 200 detentions.

The Workers' National Command - an umbrella group of labour organisations which called the May 11 protest - then organised a follow-up protest for June 11 and the l1th of every month until the junta concedes workers' demands.

Crushed

June 11 proved to be the biggest challenge since Pinochet rode to power over the crushed and tortured bodies of working class and student militants in September 1973.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion and other cities — to be met by police using dogs, tear gas and guns. Hundreds were injured, three killed, and 1973: the rule of fear. But now the 1upe 1,351 more arrested - including the main organiser of the protest, Rodolfo Seguel, Uhristian Democratic leader of the key copper miners' union CTC.

Pinochet followed up the repression by publicly threatening to 'harden the Government' which is among the most barbaric of the dictatorships in Latin America.

But the threats did not intimidate the copper workers, who on June 17 walked out on strike at the Teniente, Chuquicamata, Salvador and Andina mining, smelting and refining works, demanage mean se 1iua tha immodiato Mo lease of Rodolfo Seguel. management promptly sacked

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EDITORAL Socialist Organiser no.137 June 23 1983 Page