partial basis on a whole series of questions -against the Americans in Indochina, in the trade union struggle and so on. But most people feel the need to go further than this. What then are the problems for extending united left action? They are twofold - political and organisational. Some of the political problems have already been mentioned. While it is clear there are many differences, there is also a wide range of issues on which common political positions exist and where, therefore, united action is possible.
What poses new questions for left unity on the organisational level is the existence of tens of thousands, or even, in France and Italy, hundreds of thousands of people who are actively engaged in politics but who support policies and organisations other than those of the Socialist and Communist parties. In the 1950s or early 1960s left unity could mean simply the unity of the Labour party and Communist party. Now there are thousands of people not in those organisations whom real left unity will have to include. These are also frequently the most active political people - active in supporting and participating in strikes, demonstrating against the Americans in Vietnam, defending the Shrewsbury 24, fighting for Womens Liberation, and so on. Organisations like the Shrewsbury Defence Committees, the AntiInternment League, etc, are going to keep appearing. These may, of course, include the Labour and Communist parties, but will extend to wider forces as well At the present time the most pressing need is for unity against the Tory government and its policies. We cannot wait until the entire left has reached agreement on the correct way of fighting the Tories before starting the job of building left unity. The important thing is to start the struggle now, with unity around those things on which we can agree. Everyone will be free to put forward their view as to how the struggle can best be carried forward, and we will be able to see in practice who is right. If comrade Heffer's view is right that the way forward in the struggle for socialism lies through the Labour party and a Labour government, then it is we who will be proved correct in practice. It is the real experience of the struggle that will decide who is right and who is wrong, -this will convince far more people than a thousand articles in Red Weekly or Tribune.
For this reason we propose the formation in