West, in The Times, 24 January 1975 THE REFUSAL of Home Secretary Roy Jenkins to exercise his prerogative' and release the Shrewsbury 2 has sparked off two reactions inside the official labour movement.
The right wing, Headed by Prentice and company, emphatically defend Jenkins' decision. Edward Lyons MP. for instance, claims in a letter to The Times: "Many good trade unionists have been badly misinformed aboul the background to the case. He goes on to quote how Lord Justice James "described it as a "terrifying display of force and violence"
CRACK DOWN The Government has no doubt but that it is going to have to resort more and more to the law in order to crack down on the struggles of the working Class.
The working class has shown a stubborn disregard for Labour's social contract on the wages front, and its more militant and better-organised sections have battered their way through Labour's thinly disguised wage restraint. The continuation of this situation is intolerable if capitalism is to be restored to health.
Like their Tory predecessors, the Jenkins wing-know that the use of mass pickets, like the occupation of factories, challenges the capitalist laws and has to be suppressed. Further. more, they are deeply concerned that the use of "llegal" methods of strucele will spread into fights over housing and in all the other fields where the crisis of social expenditure is ripping apart the Wellare State.
concessions from Jenkins over the laws on picketing He assures the Teaders of the Swaday Maror. "Unions eft King The Home Secretary without violence to the rule of law cannot properly release these men now any more than he could properly release offenders in other categories equally harshly with mercy and with good law, '-Lionel Murray, TUC General Secretary, in the Sunday Mirror, 26 January 1975 do not preach violence.' He pathetically complains that, the punishment for a brawi outside a pub. is not three years in jail".
Speaking of assault, wilful damage, prievous bodly harm, Murray goes to some lengths to explain that, "no trade unionists complain if another trade. unionist is sentenced after being found guilty of crimes like these Like Lyons he thinks that the use of the conspiracy laws was a mistake-the Shrewshury workers should have heen charged instead with intimidation in an industrial dispute'! Then the sentence would only have been "three months at most'.
The positions put forward by these two camps inthe Labour and trade union leadership both treat the law as some neutral force above the class strugale. But the Lyons-Prentice axis are more realistic and see the law as a means of preserving the present system, while Murray and his supporters would like it to use softer whips and plead with it to be fair to everybody.
DELIBERATE To expect such people to lead an effective campaign to free the Shrews bury _ is naive at best, and in present circumstances downnight treacherous. particalarly the Prentice The jailing of the Shrewsbury workers wus a deliberate blow struck by the ruling class against any attempt by other workers to challenge capitalist If the Shrewsbury brothers are to be freed; if the workers' movement is to ensure more Shrewsburys do not happen; if the working class is to fight the ravages of the capitalist crisis; and if a socialist society is ever The TUC boss Len Murray, however, to be established then we will have sees Shrewsbury as a lever to gain some to prepare ourselves for a mass breakine advised to stop the bus where of all capitalist law and order. polling booth, put a cross on the ballot paper, and get out. cvery issue against your interests.
According to the Guardian all you cunlike Stonebouse would never be do is grin and bear it. They understand that MPs are there to run the capitalist system, not express the need beach he would be engaged on u use of the working class-hence their of the parliamentary system, People clected in the first place. Instead of sunning himself on some Austrulian ful progranime of public works.
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sentenced." Mr Edward Lyons, OC, Labour MP for Bradford •We are concerned both with people and with principles,