For the workers the recent electoral victory of the Conservative Party represents a marginal set-back: marginal in the sense that it cannot be predicted categorically that the policies which the Tories adopt will be any different from those practised by Mr. Wilson's government, but a setback nevertheless because a Labour Party in opposition will once again be able to sustain the illusion that it is the only alternative to Toryism, and in the absence of a real alternative it will not be easy to combat this illusion. For this reason and for this reason alone a Labour victory would have been preferable.
At the moment we seem to have the worst of both worlds. A massive Tory victory could have had the effect of provoking some sort of a struggle inside the ranks of the Labour Party against the right-wing policies of the leadership. The present result will enable Mr. Wilson to retain the leadership of the party and maintain unity as he will argue that the Powellite threat and the small majority could split the Tories and leave the way open to Labour in the very near future.
At this stage it is difficult to predict whether or not there will be any immediate developments inside the Labour Party. Certainly there is no challenge to Wilson from the "left" of the party for the very simple reason that the "left" still regard Wilson as their leader and Mr. Michael Foot and his friends have stated many times in private that Harold Wilson is the most "left-wing" Prime Minister the country is ever likely to have. A challenge to Wilson could therefore well emerge from the "right" of the party. a challenge which could be backed by openly racist and anti-working class lumpen elements led by men such as Ray Gunter. In this situation the "left" would once again prepare to fight, fight and fight again to save their leader from the folk from whence he did not come! The next few by-elections will therefore be quite decisive for predicting developments inside the Labour Party. At the moment we would not even like to forecast whether or not Mr. Wilson will receive his traditional standing ovation at the next Labour Party Conference and whether Messrs. Scanion, Jones and Daly will allow themselves to be photographed applauding enthusiastically.
It should however be clear, despite the 180 degree turnabouts which some of the Opinion pollsters are now making. that the main reason for the Labour defeat was the massive Labour abstentions-a result of the years of wage-freeze and the anti-working class policies followed by the Labour Government. Ironically enough it seems that if there had been a strong left or even fake-left opposition to these policies inside the Parliamentary Labour Party the number of abstentions might have been lower as many abstainers would have still seen some hope inside the party. The Labour leadership itself has begun to admit this quite openly. Questioned on television just after the Tories had won, Mr. Wilson wasn't enough difference between the two parties and it wasn't worthwhile voting." In weeks to come we are bound to see further analyses of the defeat from the pen of the new Editor of the New Statesman, the Rt. Hon. Richard Crossman.
The June "70 poll is the lowest since the Second World War and considering the influx of 3 million new voters owing to the reduction in voting age it is obvious that consensus polities is not attractive to large numbers of young people. It would be incorrect to argue that it is the backward workers who abstained and the advanced workers who voted Labour. Many of the workers who abstained did so in a very positive sense and displayed a healthy spontaneity. Of course they do not have a socialist consciousness. If they did they would be the vanguard of a revolutionary party and the question of voting Labour would not arise. On the other hand the workers who voted Labour undoubtedly represent the organised sections of the working class who vote out of a sense of tradifional solidarity and at the same time display a certain conservatism in their attitudes. For a revolutionary youth organisation it is clear that the young workers who abstained from voting Labour and at the same time were attracted to neither the Tories nor the Liberals represent a force which could be crucial to its developments. These workers will be won over much more easily than those schooled in the parliamentarism of the Labour Party. Of course in the absence of concrete facts and figures it would be wrong to generalise the social and class backgrounds of the abstainers. They will undoubtedly vary from area to area and from constituency to constituency. From the experience of at least five London constituencies it is possible to say that it was the middle-class radicals who rallied to the Labour Party on liberal issues (Powellism, abortions, etc.) and worked extremely hard for its victory and the young workers who abstained.
WHAT THEN WILL THE TORIES DO? Despite the demagogic appeals of the Tories in opposition, their actual policies, like those of Labour, will be determined very much by the situation of British capitalism. They will face similar pressures as did their predecessors except with one difference: the Tories know full well that they will not be able to expect any sympathy from the tradeunion bureaucrats if they try and bring in wage restraints, leave alone the question of shackling the unions. Therefore unless a big strike polarises issues, the Tories will be cautious and careful in their dealings with the trade unions.
On foreign policy the Tories will continue to support American imperialism in Indo-China though it is possible that Alec Douglas-Home might make the effort of proposing a few inane "peace formulas , simply in order to humiliate Michael Stewart. In Southern Africa practice and "resistance" in theory, the Tories will probably maintain the unity of theory and practice. As far as East of Suez is concerned, it is extremely doubtful whether the international bankers will permit the Tories to return there even if they are themselves seriously considering the prospect.
Reginald Maudling in the Home Office will be no different from James Callaghan and it is possible that on some issues he may be even slightly to the "left", In practice then we will see little real change from the policies which Labour has followed: Kill the Communists in Asia, Keep the Blacks out of Britain and Curb the Trade Unions.
Despite the presence of Enoch Powell and his band of racialists it is unlikely that the Conservatives will behave any differently from Labour now that they are in government. A defeated Conservative Party with a strong Powellite wing would have been more dangerous and would possibly have forced the "pragmatists" in the Parliamentary Labour Party into making further concessions to racialism. It is worth recalling that the Asian Kenyans were kept out by Wiison and Callaghan under pressure from Powell and that the only front-bencher to vote against this measure was the Tory lan Macleod. Therefore in their attacks on the black population the Tory policy will be determined by the economic situation of the bosses.
COMRADES: WHERE IS YOUR PARLIAMENTARY ROAD?
One of the side shows of the General Election has been the complete decimation of the Communist vote which has dropped in virtually every constituency by half or more than half and reflects the crisis facing the British Communist Party. We are not concerned so much with the £8,700 which the King Street bureaucrats donate every five years to British capitalism, but with the wasted political energy of many sincere and dedicated militants inside the Communist Party and the Young Communist League. These comrades should think very carefully about the road on which their party is leading them; a road which is both extremely demoralising and never-ending. The main reason for the fall in C.P. votes is the fact that in its policies it is virtually indistinguishable from the "left" social-democrats and its election thrust of "Keep the Tories Out" must have led many of its traditional voters to accept the logic of this slogan and vote for the Labour Party. We would urge those in the C.P. who really believe in the possibility of a social revolution to think hard in the coming few months.
THE TASK FACING REVOLUTIONISTS IN THE PRESENT SITUATION (i) On no account should we exaggerate the present situation and talk in terms of Bonapartism or creeping Fascism. This is what the left did after the Labour defeat of 1951 and the resulting effect was an increase in ideological confusion. As for Tory "counter-revolution" they will have to explain to their followers in ti weeks and months to come how this differs from the Labour "revolution" Nor should we be thrown into a panic some were after the dockers marched Powell in 1968 and proclaim the imm nent danger of fascism and therefore unity before principles to fight this danger. (ii) We should call for the establishn of Trade Union Defence Committees with an offensive programme to deal with all possible situations. These cou play a vital role particularly if the tra union leaderships joined hands with t Government to try and halt unofficia strikes, though at the moment this se unlikely. (ili) The election of both Paisley and Bernadette Devlin in Northern Irelan reflects the increasing contradictions which will confront the Conservative Government. In this situation the Lal leadership could well play a demagogi role and the task of revolutionary soc lists will be to expose and fight the reformists as well. The withdrawal of British troops therefore becomes ever more than before the key demand for to pose in the present situation. (iv) It is possible that in opposition "left" M.P.s might begin to remembe that United States imperialism has unleashed a war against Cambodia which the Labour Government supported. A few resolutions on Vietnam can therefore be expected. All the mo important why all the revolutionary groupings should get behind the Viet Solidarity Committee and defend the position of solidarity with the Vietnamese Revolution and Victory to th Indo-Chinese guerrillas. (v) On racism we must give uncondi nal support to the Black revolutionar organisations and help them as best w can to win larger numbers of black ci zens to their side. The fear of Powelli forced many black citizens to vote Labour and fostered illusions about t Labour Party despite the racist polic of the Labour Government. It is then vital to collaborate with Black militar to win this sector of the population t revolutionary consciousness.
In many areas the Red Circles will be campaigning effectively on these lines other areas the militants of the International Marxist Group and the Spartacus League are fighting for revo tionary socialism. Our policies and ou politics during the election period we correct: we attacked both Labour To ism and Conservative Toryism and di not allow liberal illusions to stand in way. This was not a popular policy bu we believe it was the correct one and are sure that it will not only be vindic in the coming period but will help us the most important task which faces revolutionary Left in Britain: the con struction of a revolutionary party of working class.