TORY AND STALINIST WITCH-HUNTERS UNITE AGAINST SLL

Workers Press no. 895, 16 October 1972 · scan page 9

Topics: Communist Party and Stalinism, Tory government, Socialist Labour League and the WRP, Shipbuilding and UCS

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La member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Labour 'We are now concerned with getting the maximum co-operation to make a success of the new venture on Clydebank. We know it is a boom market and it is our concern to co-operate as best we can to make it successful.' These were the words of James Reid, spokesman for the Clydebank shop stewards and Communist Party member, on the day the work-in at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders ended.

Truly no employer could wish for a more unqualified statement of goodwill and class-collaboration from a 'workers' representative. Having already signed what amounts to a four-year 'no strike' pledge, Reid, fellow Stalinist James Airlie, and the union leaders are now giving guarantees that they consider the interests of the employers (the American Marathon Manufacturing Company) and the workers to be identical. They are to collaborate in exploiting a 'boom market' in oil-rigs.

This kind of politics is long established in Britain. It 1S called opportunism: it collaboration with the e mployCentral Committee ers, for some supposed sectional and temporary interest of one group of workers, at the expense of the general interests of the working class in the struggle to overthrow capitalism.

The Communist Party was founded—largely out of shop stewards' struggles on the Clyde in World War I-to break from this opportunism. But by the time of the 1926 General Strike the young Communist Party had already succumbed to the influence of the growing Stalinism of the bureaucracy in the USSR. Today the CP, through men like Reid, plays the most reactionary role.

Right at the time when international capitalist war and depression threatens millions of workers and poses the question of forcing the Tory government to resign and returning a Labour government pledged to socialist policies, Reid told a TV programme on Sunday October 8 that the deal with Marathon could well lead to a 'regeneration of the Scottish economy' This statement indicates very clearly how far Stalinism has gone.

A traditional industry, shipbuilding, is faced with shutdown. State subsidy creates the conditions for American iocialist League. big business to invest in the shut-down yards. The unions accept a 'no-strike' pledge and guarantee collaboration on speed-up. Thousands are left at the end of the day without work. And Reid hails the regeneration of the 'Scottish' economy!

Is this then the Communist Party's vision of for the workers of Britain?