The departure of Blair andPrescott from the Labour Pa rt yl e a d e rship could mark a changeof political direction. It is possibl ethat Labour will break from thepro market pro privatisation prowar ruling class consensus of thepast 15 ye a rs . But on anyo b j e c t i ve assessment it is unlike ly.

Posing strategic electora la l t e rn a t i ves to Labour is a toughcall for the left.The major unionssuch as UNISON remain affi l i a t e d .The anti wo rking class DNA ofthe To ry Pa rty provides a readymade antidote to arguments fo ran altern a t i ve left political project.And over the ye a rs with fe wexceptions electoral initiatives byLabour breakaw ays have beenr e g r e s s i ve most recently inScotland .

But emerging new factors inB ritish politics require the left toreview long term pers p e c t i ve s .

The Phillips review on part yfunding is unlike ly to leave thestatus quo intact. C o l l e c t i vea f filiation even of the curr e n ts u b s e rvient variety is like ly to beo u t l awed by the state. I fi m p l e m e n t e d , proposals for theindividualisation of trade unionmember affiliation to the Labour

Pa rty would end the fo rm a lo rganisational alliance establ i s h e dupon the foundation of theLabour RepresentationCommittee in 1900. It is doubtfulthat Labour will remain a viabl enational party in such a scenari o.

A renewal of trade union andwo rking class confidence inLabour can only come about witha decisive policy change.(Something that is unlike ly if thel i kes of Alan Johnson, w h ob i z a rr e ly Unison is supporting inthe Labour Pa rty deputyl e a d e rship election, is No 2 thed ri ve rs ’s cab.)

H y p o c r i s yThis is the man who, as leader

of the CWU opposed,s u c c e s s f u l ly Post Offi c ep rivatisation and now sits ing ove rnment in support .

These factors raise thequestion of of Unison’s role inLabour Pa rty affairs .T h eoverwhelming majority of politicallevy paye rs are excluded from as ay in Labour Pa rty matters whilee f fe c t i ve decision making power iss q u a bbled over by a tiny handfulin competing factions. Unless allwho choose to support Unison’s

a f filiation to Labour have a ri g h tto shape our union’s politicalstand then the link cannot bei n d e fi n i t e ly justifi e d . But unlessL a b o u r ’s policies in gove rn m e n tchange the link itself will continu eto be questioned.

Put this alongside state fundingand the leve ring in of electora lr e fo rm for parl i a m e n t a ryelections by a future coalitiong ove rnment and ve ry soon fe rt i l econditions could emerge for leftpolitical intervention in electora lp o l i t i c s .

Is the new Left Pa rty inG e rm a ny, fo rm a l ly established as au n i fied organisation last we e k , i nthe unique conditions ofG e rm a ny, is a pointer to what isp o s s i ble? Similarly, left and greencoalitions in Po rtugal andS c a n d i n avia when significant laye rsof left trade unionists,e nv i r o n m e n t a l i s t s , socialists andc o m munists break from the deadhand of pro-EU, pro bu s i n e s ssocial democra c y, and mobilise towin the support of wo rk i n gpeople for a left agenda.

It may not yet be the time tom a ke the same break in Bri t a i nbut we should not shy aw ay fromreviewing our options.

u n i t yat unison

June 2007

C o m munist Pa rt yC o n ference special

W H AT NEXT?Which way for Unison and Labour?

A decenthealth serv i c efor us allThe truth about NHS funding ish a rd to find but John Lister ofLondon Health Emerg e n c y,writing in Monday ’s Morn i n gS t a r, m a kes it clear that theg ove rnment figures cannot bet ru s t e d .

The health minister Pat r i c i aH ewitt lectures health wo r ke r st h at the NHS is running a £500million deficit yet it turns outt h at there are big surpluses inm a ny are a s .

So the the issue isministerial incompetence and aw rong-headed policy allied totop level mismanagement.

Small comfort for the manythousands of NHS wo r kers whoface redundancy and insecurityand management harassmentto meet unat t a i n a ble targ e t swhile facing limited re s o u rc e s .

A billion pounds is held byu n a c c o u n t a ble foundat i o nt rusts and another two billiongo each year into the coffersof private-sector prov i d e r s .£500 and more goes to the PFIc o n s o rtiums that holdownership over much of theNHS estat e .

G o rdon Brown congrat u l at e shimself on the extra re s o u rc e st h at go to health. He willundoubtedly dump thep atrician Ms Hewitt but heshould also be self critical andreverse his policies that putmuch of this money into thehands of profiteers and cre at e sa two-tier health system.

In health as in education so-called ‘ c h o i c e ’ is the enemy ofq u a l i t y. A single unive r s a lscheme based on nat i o n a linsurance with the pro f i tm o t i ve as unwelcome as MRSAis the only basis for a decenthealth system for all.

RO B E RT GRIFFITHS onthe fight for a massp a rty of labour.

THE whole labourm ovement must take stockof the outcome of the

Labour Pa rty leadership contest.The failure of other than 29

m e m b e rs of the Pa rl i a m e n t a ryLabour Pa rty to nominate JohnMcDonnell and so ensure ad e m o c ratic contest is indictmentenough of the PLP.

Almost as damning is the factthat 313 MPs felt the need tonominate Gordon Brow n , m a nyof them well after the "win by "d a t e, including about 130 whoh ave rebelled against key newLabour policies championed bythe Chancellor.

They know his record betterthan anyo n e. Not only has hebeen complicit in new Labour'serosion of civil liberties and itsscapegoating of asylum-seeke rsand Muslims. He promised" w h a t e ver it takes" to fund thedisastrous interventions inAfghanistan and Ira q .

By handing control ove rinterest rates to the Bank ofEngland and cheerl e a d e rs for theC i t y, B r own allowed thed e s t ruction of more than onemillion manu f a c t u ring jobsthrough high interest ra t e s . H ehas propelled the private fi n a n c ei n i t i a t i ve and so-called "publ i c -

p rivate part n e rships" into almoste ve ry area of the public sector,including education and health,a t t a c ked public-sector wages andp e n s i o n s , made means testing thebasis for subsistence-level statepensions and slashed corp o ra t i o ntax on big business profi t s .

He has resisted all calls fo rtaking the ra i lw ays and publ i cutilities back into publ i cow n e rs h i p.The private equityfi rms now buying up Bri t i s ht ra n s p o rt , utility and serv i c e se n t e rp rises were delibera t e lylured here by whopping taxi n c e n t i ves introduced by theChancellor seven ye a rs ago.

B r own was the candidate ofm o n o p o ly capital for thel e a d e rship of the Labour Pa rty -and he won by a walkove r.

Most of his support withinPa rliament came from those 180or so nominally "Labour" MPswho have loya l ly trooped into thel o bby in favour of eve ry anti-wo rking class, a n t i - d e m o c ra t i c,pro-big business andw a rm o n g e ring measure proposedby the new Labour regime.

Their political obituary could bethe memora ble words of theotherwise fo rgotten US vice-president John Garner - theywere not wo rth "a bu c ket ofw a rm spit."

But it is clear that the malaise inthe Labour Pa rty reaches deeperthan the parl i a m e n t a ry leve l .

The reality is that 313 LabourMPs could back Brown safe in the

k n owledge that few of themwould come under any realpressure to do otherwise.

Labour Pa rty individualm e m b e rship has fallen by 200,000- or about half - since 1997. M a nyconstituency parties are mereh u s k s , o n ly raised from the deadat election time. F e wer than two -thirds of them are represented atthe annual Labour Pa rt yc o n fe r e n c e. Of these, o n ly abouto n e - q u a rter voted reasonablyc o n s i s t e n t ly for left-wing positionslast ye a r, with no more than 40per cent opposing privatisation ofthe NHS or supporting the ri g h tof unions to take solidarity action.

M a ny other CLPs have beent a ken over by new Labourzombies who have no roots inthe wo rking class.

With an annual confe r e n c ewhose resolutions are routinelyignored by the party leaders h i pand a national exe c u t i vecommittee which utterly fails topromote official Labour Pa rt yp o l i c y, it is questionable whetherthe Labour Pa rty as such actuallyexists as an independent, n a t i o n a l ,political entity.

The historic question facingwo rking people and their families,t rade unionists and socialists,t h e r e fo r e, is this. Are we to have ap a rty of labour in Britain whichstands for wo rking class andp r o g r e s s i ve interests, h owe ve rp a rt i a l ly and imperfe c t ly ?

We need a mass party rootedin the wo rking class which enjoy s

the allegiance of millions ofpeople at the ballot box .C e rt a i n ly, the Labour Pa rty doesnot fulfil that role at present ando n ly the most sectarian leftist willa n s wer that the enorm o u svacuum that this leaves in thepolitical struggle is - or could be -filled by a socialist, C o m munist or"new wo rke rs" party of a fe wthousand activists.

There is also a vital role for ar e vo l u t i o n a ry Marxist part y, o n ewith a capacity to analy s e,mobilise and even to part i c i p a t ein elections in the broad interestsof the wo rking class and its allies.But having both a mass party oflabour and a powerful Marxistp a rty rooted in the labourm ovement are mu t u a l lyr e i n forcing pers p e c t i ve s , n o tc o n t ra d i c t o ry ones.

The Communist Pa rty hasn e ver accepted the notion thatthere is a only a small, s t a g n a n tpool from which the left draws itsforces and that an advance fo rone section of the left can onlybe at the expense of another.

But what is needed now morethan ever is for the trade unionm ovement to take on its histori cresponsibility to ensure theexistence of a mass party ofl a b o u r. For all that socialists andc o m munists can do, the unionsalone have the human, fi n a n c i a land organisational resources, a swell as the class interest, to takethe necessary steps.

Together with the non-s e c t a rian left, they need to wo rkout a political strategy which take saccount of current realities. F o re x a m p l e, most major unionsremain affiliated to the LabourPa rty and are unlike ly to leave itin the near future.

With the continu i n gi nvo l vement of thousands ofs o c i a l i s t s , the fight to reclaim theLabour Pa rty for the labourm ovement will continu e, h owe ve rfaint the prospect of success.

At the same time, at least onebig and seve ral smaller militantunions are not affiliated to Labourbut see the need for politicalr e p r e s e n t a t i o n . D i f ferences ove rtactics and long-term stra t e g yshould not impede the growth ofmutual respect - even solidarity -and a plan of united actionaround a minimum left-wing

MASS PA RT Y

p r o g ramme of policies.This would also provide the

best context in which to conductan ongoing discussion about howto ensure the existence of a masslabour part y.

It may even be possible tohammer out an electoral stra t e g yfor the left which respectsd i f ferent affiliations andp e rs p e c t i ves while minimisings e c t a rian disunity.

The fi rst steps in this directionmight be for all the major unionsto affiliate and participate fully inthe Labour RepresentationC o m m i t t e e. Deals between unionl e a d e rs in smoke-free rooms towin resolutions at Labour Pa rt yc o n ference are not enough.T h ea c t i ve invo l vement of unions andtheir members in the LRC wo u l dbe the clearest declaration ofpolitical intent.

The LRC could itself go thee x t ra mile and allow fullm e m b e rship status to socialisto rganisations including theC o m munist Pa rt y, respecting theirright to participate independentlyin elections in return for anagreement not to campaign fo rthe dismantling of the LabourPa rty through further uniond i s a f fi l i a t i o n s .

In their relations with theLabour Pa rt y, unions should stopall fi n a n c i a l , logistical and politicals u p p o rt for MPs who consistentlyvote against key union policies.

Of the 100-plus Labour MPs inthe GMB parl i a m e n t a ry group, 5 3h ave not even signed the earlyd ay motion in favour of a Tra d eUnion Freedom Bill.T h i rteen ofthe backbenchers among themh ave also voted strongly in favo u rof foundation hospitals, s t u d e n ttop-up fe e s , the erosion of civill i b e rties and all the rest.

In the Unite (Amicus section)group of 112 MPs, 58 have nots u p p o rted the Bill while, in mostc a s e s , backing privatisation of theN H S , war on Iraq and all theother most reactionary newLabour measures.

Of the 61-strong UNISONg r o u p, 23 have not backed the Billto return rights which unionse n j oyed back in 1907, 11 of themwithout even the excuse of beingg ove rnment ministers , whips or,less acceptably, p a rl i a m e n t a ryp rivate secretari e s . A g a i n , most ofthese same 23 MPs have vo t e dwithout fail against UNISONpolicies on health, e d u c a t i o n , c i v i ll i b e rt i e s , I raq and Tri d e n t .

R e a d e rs of UNISON LabourLink News could be confused bythe headline of an article bysponsored MP David Blunkett onpage three, "The NHS - safe inour hands," and the report ofNHS job losses, ward closuresand private contracting-out onpage fo u r.

M a ny members must wo n d e rw hy their unions are givingcredibility to such MPs andmoney to their constituencies.

Millions of wo rke rs andp r o g r e s s i ve-minded people canbe won to the ideas of publ i cow n e rs h i p, economic planning,social equality and peace.At them o m e n t , they do not find thosevalues or policies in the LabourPa rt y. M a ny are bewildered by thespectacle of such a disunited leftin Bri t a i n .

Until we regain a mass party ofl a b o u r, the main benefi c i a ries willbe the To ri e s ,Welsh and Scottishs e p a ratists and the BNP fascists.

R o b e rt Griffiths is general secretaryof the Communist Pa rty of Bri t a i n .

Why you should join the communists

Through much of its history, the British labour movement hassustained two parties – a fe d e ral Labour Pa rty uniting tra d e su n i o n s , c o o p e ra t i ves and socialist groups; and a Communist Pa rt y.

The Labour Pa rty was fo rmed at the beginning of the 20th centuryto secure parl i a m e n t a ry representation for organised wo rke rs . It wasfo l l owed – as result of the First Wo rld War and the Russian revo l u t i o n– by the establishment of Britain's Communist Pa rty in 1920.

These were not fundamentally separate processes. I n d e e d , it tookye a rs before the right wing was fi n a l ly able to exclude Commu n i s t sfrom the Labour Pa rt y.And it is wo rth remembering that at Labour'smost triumphant moment – the 1945 election landslide at the end ofthe Second Wo rld War – a motion moved by the A E U, the engineeri n gwo rke rs union, for the reaffiliation of the Communist Pa rty was onlyn a rr ow ly defe a t e d .

It is a fact of history that when the Communist Pa rty is at itsstrongest and most influential, so the left and the labour movement inB ritain make real advances.

In all the big battles fought by the wo rking class against massu n e m p l oyment and fascism, for decent housing, better wages andc o n d i t i o n s , for equal pay for wo m e n , against anti-union laws and ra c i s m ,against imperialist war and in solidarity with oppressed peoples – theC o m munist Pa rty has been there in the front line.

No wonder the bosses and their mass media have kept up their anti-C o m munist propaganda for more than 80 ye a rs !

B ri t a i n ’s Communists have fought back in the battle of ideas, t h r o u g hthe Daily Wo rker and then the Morning Star, through many otherp u blications and political education schools, helping to produceg e n e rations of wo rking class activists and leaders .

As the Marxist party of the Britain's labour move m e n t , t h ec o m munists uphold the principles of wo rking class solidari t y, m i l i t a n ts t ruggle and the need to integrate battles for immediate gains into as t rategy for socialist revo l u t i o n .

A militant mass movement outside parl i a m e n t , producing a leftg ove rnment of Labour, socialist and Communist MPs, can open the wayto a fundamentally better, fairer and more peaceful society.

In line with that programme defeating the New Labour cuckoos inthe Labour Pa rty nest is essential. But that will only come about as theresult of unity across the trade union movement and the left, and clari t yin support of a left-wing progra m m e.

Strengthening the Communist Pa rty means strengthening the labourm ovement and the prospects for unity. In all the causes which unite us– for peace and better pensions, for manu f a c t u ring and publ i cow n e rs h i p, for the Charter for Wo m e n , for solidarity with Cuba andPalestine – a stronger Communist Pa rty is vital.You can help strengthenthe wo rking class movement in the most effe c t i ve way, by joining thec o m mu n i s t s . If not yo u , who? If not now, w h e n ?

An independent fo re i g npolicy for Britain

Hear CND chair K ate Hudson & Jane Carolan NEC (in pc)Old Ship Hotel 6pm We d n e s d ay 20 JuneChair Anita Halpin M o rning Star Management Committee

I want to join Britain’s communistsn a m e

a d d r e s s

post codep h o n e e mailr e t u rn to Communist Pa rty Ruskin House 23 Coombe Road Croydon CRO 1BD office@communist-part y. o rg. u k

F O RTY YEARS after Israel'ss e i z u re of the West Bank,G a z a , East Jerusalem and theGolan Heights, the Pa l e s t i n i a npeople are as far away as eve rf rom justice. And the terribl estrife that is tearingPalestinian society apart isrooted in the desperat ep ove rty and hopeless futurefaced by the millions locked upin Israel’s prison house, d e n i e dwork and decent housing,u n a ble to leave their homes orland and deprived of eve nwat e r.

To d ay, US plans for the so-called Gre ater Middle Eastregion do not include ani n d e p e n d e n t , s ove re i g nPalestinian state which acts inthe interests of the Pa l e s t i n i a np e o p l e . The key objectives ofUS foreign policy are to:■ E n s u re cheap and re l i a bl esupplies of oil as US domesticp roduction falls further behindits own consumption■ Maintain pro-US regimes in

the reg i o n , especially in Israeland the oil-producing stat e s■ R e m ove regimes in Iran andSyria which do not complywith US diktat s■ R e d r aw national boundariesin the region to produce ap at c h work of weak clients t at e s■ E ventually cre ate a 'fre etrade' area from Pakistan toN o rth A f r i c a , in which USc o r p o r ations are free to buyup energy re s o u rces andi n f r a s t ru c t u re■ S p read US military basesand facilities up to the bord e r sof China, Russia and India

B r i t a i n ’s New Labourg ove rnment is signed up tothe US agenda, expecting as h a re in economic andfinancial plunder. This hasmeant abandoning pastpledges to seek justice for thePalestinian people, refusing tocondemn the crimes andat rocities perpetrated bys u c c e s s i ve Israeli reg i m e s .

● Hence the Blair/Brow nrefusal to condemn Israel'sb rutal attack on Lebanon insummer 2006● Hence the failure to demandthe release of 11,000Palestinians held without trialin Israeli prison camps, w h i l eex p ressing outrage at thedetention of a handful ofIsraeli soldiers● Hence Britain’s role inp romoting the European Unione m b a rgo on aid to the electedPalestinian gove rn m e n t

The BBC and other powe r f u lsections of the mass mediah ave dutifully followed suit.

E ve ry Israeli assassinat i o nand massacre of Pa l e s t i n i a nleaders and civilians isre p o rted as a ‘ re s p o n s e ’ to ap revious act of leg i t i m at eresistance or individualt e r rorism by a Pa l e s t i n i a no rg a n i s at i o n .

The fact that Israel is thea g g re s s i ve , o c c u pying force inb reach of numerous UN

resolutions is ove rl o o ke d .British gove rnment support

for US and Israeli policy muste n d .

A boycott of Israeli goodsand those Israeli institutionswhich collaborate with Israel'swar machine is necessary

Communists demandeconomic and financialsanctions against Israel until itcomplies with intern at i o n a ll aw and call for a UN-backe dc o m p re h e n s i ve peacesettlement leading to aPalestinian state in line withUN re s o l u t i o n s , which alsomeans demolishing the' a p a rtheid wall' and re m ov i n gIsraeli settlements from theoccupied territories

Our union should supportthe call of the Palestinian andArab trade union move m e n t sto boycott the IsraeliH i s t a d rut federation whichc o l l a b o r ates in the racisto p p ression of Pa l e s t i n i a nwo r ke r s .

'a we e kend of discussions, d e b a t e s , r a l l i e s , fo o d , and drinkand music with leading national and internationals p e a kers from the labour and anti-imperialist movements

Fr i d ay October 26 7pm 90 years of the October revolution R a l ly organised bythe Co-ordinating Committee of Communist Parties in Britain

S at u rd ay October 27 ‘ I n s at i a bl e , i n e q u i t a bl e ,i n h u m a n e : the crimes of capitalism’★ F rom slave ry to neo-colonialism ★ A n t i - c o m munism ★ Imperialism and the drive to war ★ E x p l o i t a t i o n , boom andslump ★ Fascism ye s t e rd ay and today ★ C apitalism vs women Global future or globalised disaster?★ Public ownership or private profit? ★ E nv i ronmental security★ F ree capital and flexible labour S at u rd ay eve n i n gC e l e b rating Che Cuban speake r. F i l m . M u s i c

S u n d ay October 28Marxism and revolution in the 21st century★ Wo m e n , race and class ★ A Scottish Road to Socialism? ★ Trade unions vs. transnational cap i t a lR e forms and revo l u t i o n s : which way fo r wa rd ?contact the Communist Pa rty Ruskin House 23 Coombe Road Croydon CR0 1BD offi c e @ c o m mu n i s t - p a rt y. o r g . u kw w w. c o m mu n i s t - p a rt y.org.uk 0208 686 1659

No justice after fo rty ye a r s

Communist University of Britain 2007

P u blic ownership liftoff U n i s o n ’s exposure of the PFI scandal, our unions’opposition to health and education privatisation andthe debacle that is rail privatisation have given shapeto a new public perception that public ow n e rship isthe best possible model for public serv i c e s .And atlast we e ke n d ’s Morning Star conference on ‘ Po l i t i c safter Blair’ C o m munist Pa rty general secretary RobG ri f fiths said “ We must put the question of publ i cow n e rship back into the heart of politics. It is morepopular now than at any time since the secondwo rld war.”

He added that the old fo rms of nationalisationwere built to save capitalism and a new model ofwo rke r ’s ow n e rship is needed.

The proposal for a new foundation to deve l o pand project the case for public ow n e rship is gainingwide support in the labour move m e n t .

Of cours e, the case for public ow n e rship icannotlimited to public services and utilities.

It is clear that capitalism can neither provide stabl econditions for industrial production nor manageresources to protect our planet.

Taking control and ow n e rship of our country ’sp r o d u c t i ve base, its services and financial institutionsis in the interests of the vast majority of our people.A foundation for public ow n e rship would begin thewo rk to develop a comprehensive policy that wo u l dinspire confidence in the ability of wo rking people toshape the future of the country.