Cards movement, the intr strikes, univenit I Rights agitation in Tota Che Tele Party ritish capitaliom the working bout for a long time te has beet member on. in Party mbership of the incillors, prospecthe acrats and the higher resches of "de-proletariantaban ol dership itself is a sign of this, in last the Labour Party tas always had one major leaders with a definite working clais background: Beyn, Mornson, Bevan, etc at Labour Cabinet started off with Counts, George Brown, Gunter and a number ers who continued this tradition. Today Have entirely disappeared and very often hey have left the Goverament not over any of they in bed to mily teete oftemade Oxonian technocrats who surround oincideat with this a new breed of tibionaires has emerged (Lever, mainsbury, Rothschild, Bermtein. ck, ete). sificance of such an analysis of government since 1964 is not that it the bourgeois nature of the Labour we should surely have known that But this expenence has undeniably kened the hold of the Labour Party over the British working class and il is this fact pital importance to any Marxist no the Paper eate of the af the Labour Go lent is that dited not just the our Party bue ur Left. After all on was o of the Left, be bas rounde abour Le impotent if not unpril ipled; it buld be remembered that at one time they were in a position to determine the fate of thi THE DEATH OF REFORMISM We may conclude that the traditional function of Labourism bas been gravely weakened. Labour can no longer pose so convincingly as the cham i retorms 11 can no longer chain to be the lefender of proletarian corporate thin capitalism and it no longer 'left ing advanced members of the reasons for all this relate not ge in the Labour Party us to a posabilities present h imperialist. There for manoeevre given sed by the international It is this drying up of the that has fatally an only namely the зя aborton, clearly sey which entatioa of ner in which they have been politicians. We should not be sarprised that the main victims of such legislation have in faci been the militant black groups and not any soctor of white society Who Will Vote Labour and Why Even when everything hai been taken 10to account, one thing remains certain. more than alf the British working claw will vote Labo t the next election and more than a third wi What is new is that increading numbers of these workers will realise that they are votine for th bourgeois party of their choice, All the evidence of pelts bureauerts in the lahour moverteot suggests that the decision of whith Party to ote for will be determined less hy class loyalt Party can run British copitalism better. In such a situation it would he absurd for socialists to over to a socialist positive: after all such a osition is only presented by tiny grougs of rivially as possble that se reject Wilson as much oursolves of the delissue, that out support E as we reject Heath. (2) Urge the most advanced course, such a position would esponsible if we reilly believed tha Conservative Government would be, in some tion, some groops. which supposedly h eir molitics on a scentific theory of socie have seriously talked of a Conservative victory aving the way lot Fascism in Briter Iteratively we have been oftered the strange concept of the imminent danger of A Tory counter-resolution" and we bave oven been varned about the dangers of a "Bonaportist hreat to British bourgeois democracy Suc aberrant formulations become very ditficill te moid if one starts off from such a fundamental of course true that late capitalism contains powerful authoritarian trends within it, but we it (while retalning all independence of regardless of which Party wits the Election There is certainly to reaton to expect the liticians of the Wilson Hoath sariety for Ch both a strong revolationary bid for power and I really profornd economic and social crisis of the sort Geranny experienced after the Firs World War and during the Depression. Whatever the nature of the crisis of British capitalius, and it is real enough, it certainly does not contain these two features, and in particular not a powerful corolutionary movement What Would A Tory Victory Mean! There are of counse more sober objections to a Conservative victory, Would it cot berald a vicious attack on the Trade Unlons, the sight to strike, etc. Certainly this is possible, just as it would be under a new Labour Government. But the important point is that the only sure defence of working class organisation is the capacity of the class itself to mobilise. It must be emphasised that it would be very dangerous to in any way cacourage the view: that a ceotral issue in the class stragpie of this sort depends sot on the class consciousucas and combativity of the proletariat, bot on the presence of Harold Wilson in 10 Downlag Street. In a curious way Conservative politicians are alten more aware of the trich of this than many socialists. They will certaily Think twice before provoking a situation which would readily appear one of open class conflict just as they have asually done in the past. And if the dire straits of British capitalisms do force then into this, then this is a battle that has to be fought it is certainly not one from which revolationary socialists should shrink. In order that such a contingency be prepared for, we must he most careful to make it crystal clear that the defence of the workme class and is behis o organisation in no way depend on the opportunists who load the Labour Party. Labour and the Student Movement Much the same considerations apply to the problems confronting the stadent movement The Lahour Government, and in particular the Sechohm have made the situation clear enough Indoed. British students de not soem to realise that the repression of their movement which has occurred onder a Labour Government exceeds that to be found in countries where the movement hes actually been stronger than it has here, For example the students' movements * France, Italy and Germany have not beel nel by the use of dismissis or the scale waid we have witscased against our movement her The want cases, Hotossy and Guildford, an ones over which the Edacation Ministry has a fairly direet coatrol and it is difficult to find parallels to the actions of these authorities elsewhere in Europe. Anyone who has had experience of the instinctive authoritirianism should bot be surprised by any of this The Concept of "Marginal" Defe an we really siy, as some comrades co. tha Conservative victory would be a tefeat, cven a "marginal defeat, for the working class? Th ментов; коват e tinphot 155 concile ourselves to the fact tout bourge etsons do not offer the working class t chanes of "victory" whatever happens. Indeed. o long as the maises see no altomative to such lections then they are almost certain to involve some sort of "defeat", In any case we trust rid likely to make any differenos to the immedinte outconse of this election. Our autoroution D the clection can prepare for sometiting moro ubportant than just another piccoon, ae can bald a political force which will lsvo qualitatively more weiptil in the class struggle o the 1970s then we now passes This brings us to the well-known formula that revolutionaries should support the Labour ity ike the rope supports the hangot, 1p ave already angued that Ibe Labour Pi is no lon per the sort of sucial democcatte Party Been rich we ole cos gate. chink that any evolationary group in Botan can claira that its support would to a rope strong enough to hang the Labour Party. Thi valuc of this formula of Lenin's is that it organisation and propaganda). But Lenia Deser encouraged boasting, bluster or rhetone: and that is all it would be if we quated our sappor with an execution order, The tiate may conne when this could be so but it bas certainly not yel arrived. Today this toctio puts a noose round our necks, not Harold Wilson' For the time being we must concentrate un he more realistic tanks of exposing a effectively as we can the Labour Party to th the number of the latter) This is partaculars Govezement at the top of its tiny little voice)
Labour in opposition wald again leave ai opportality to represent i'sell as a clacipion of the people: we should the the present tavourable conditions for dispelling Chis myth. Lubour and the Revoltionary Left For decades now every section of the British Left which proclalias itself Marxist bas been in favour of some sort of support for the Labour Pany at election ticie. Even cow crost groups cling to this line, each adding thur own tortuous interpretation. • Su today we havg "Marxists" talking of "Poting Labour withour Bhaions" when voting Labour is in tself the biezest illusion of thera ail. We hear slogans like "Make the Left MPs Rel!" wien they BEve already demonstraled a Cousand tubes that they will not, cannot, light because they ane sny ine msab fact me сла зетова We are told to vote Labour to keep out rhe Tories whereas politically the Latour Party is Just as tuch an instrument of the ruling class as the Tones have ever been Does the strategy implied by Chis article neglect the opportunities for propagsada that participation in a bourgeois election alfords? On the contrary, if frees our imas for propagande ced acrion which we coald never ger acrous if we rupport Leboar it however deviosa & feshion. We can start to think of all the ways we can attack the two capitalist parties at all places where the clection campaig is conducted and perhaps a few places where il Ian't-in meecings, in lactories, in schoolt, un universities and un the streets, We can offer upport to any candidate who gennery sung o the left of the Labour Party: indeod we car seel of suck osodicates commitalents to vote against the Labour Government oll any issue of principle. Ar any rate this article does not set out to asser all possble questions which will confront us Its aim is to open discussion, not to clus it. It is written wAb the conviction that support for the Labour Party bas for too long been a closed question resting on an заісто аптает.