[page 16]
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND THE SLP
Dear Scottish Socialist. with the chauvinist policies of the British Labour Party and labour
We attended the re-convened Con gress at Stirling on 14th November as visitors, and were impressed by the emphasis on democracy and the right of all points of view to be heard.
We noted, however, as Mrs Mellis from Dunfermline pointed out, that hardly any women took an active part in the debate. Even in her contribution however, the matter was brought to the attention of the Conference in the form of an exhortation to the women to play a more active role, with nothing being said about the responsibilities of the party in this respect.
It is precisely this attitude, this failure to look beyond the inadequacies of the oppressed for the roots of the oppression, which we think that a party like the S.L.P. should be trying to overcome.
As socialists, we look to historical developments, and current social, political and economic factors, and not peculiarities of sex or race to explain difference in status and achievement levels between one race and another, one sex and another, one class and another, and as socialists we agree with Engels that the world-wide defeat of women coincided with the development of a class society. But we think that the analysis should go much beyond that, and must furthermore, be translated into the activities of any party claiming to be socialist.
This has seldom, if ever, happened. The history of the socialist and labour movement is littered with betrayals and broken promises of all descriptions. In regard to women the problems have never even been acknowledged and no attempt has been made to understand its scale.
No-one expects the S.L.P. to arise, like the Phoenix, fully formed from the not yet dead ashes of the British Labour Party in Scotland. The struggle to give flesh to the bare bones of the ! policies on which the party was founded will be a hard one, But the S.L.P. must be wholehearted in its attempt to effect a political and organisational departure from 'Labourism' and thus has to include a break
movement.
This means that the party must recognise the class nature of women's oppression and pledge itself to fight all its manifestations. not only in "society at large but also within its own ranks. It must accept that its women members might benefit from meeting together to discuss, as we do in Aberdeen, in preparation for branch meetings, and also at a national level.
It must realise that it has a responsibility to campaign not just on unemployment, but also on abortion and understand why, to a socialist, these are questions of equal importance, equally involving questions of principle, although at different times different emphasis will be given to campaigning around them.
No one is suggesting that this is an easy task for any organisation to set itself. It involves facing up to problems which have personal, theoretical, campaigning and organisational implications. We would suggest that adopting the Working Women's Charter at the next SLP Conference would be a good place to start. It was on the agenda at the first Stirling Conference, and while it by no means provides a blueprint for Women's Liberation, it does provide the basis for an internal discussion, and the basis on which to take up current issues: employment of women; equal pay; nurseries; anti-
We would like. to add a note of caution at this point. Many bodies within the labour movement (particularly the T.U. movement) have charter without ever really examining it or discussing its implications. This has meant the loss of an ideal opportunity to discuss these neglected questions within the labour movement; worse still, it has often meant that when women members came back later asking the same body to support some activity related to a demand in the Charter, there have been ructions and accusations that these "poor befuddled trade unionists" had been "conned' We would not like the SLP to let itself be conned" into adopting the Charter because the membership was not sufficiently interested to discuss it and its implications.
We hope to write an article on the relationship between women's oppression and the class struggle for publication in a future edition of Scottish Socialist. Perhaps we could meet with other women at the proposed January SLP conference to discuss this and other related questions.
LINDA SMITH, ANNE SHIRLEY, SANDRA WYLES, ANNE-MARIE MeGEOCH, MARIE-LOUISE IRVINE MARIAN KEOGH. (Members of Aberdeen Women's Group who have joined the SL.P since November 14th).
THE WORKING WOMEN'S CHARTER We pledge ourseives to agitate and organise to achieve the following aims: 1. The rate for the job, regardless of sex, at rates negotiated by the trade unions, with a national minimum wage below which no wages should fall. 2. Equal opportunity of entry into occupations and in promotion, regardless of sex and marital status. 3. Equal education and training for all occupations and compulsory day release for all 16-19 year olds in employment. 4. Working conditions to be, without deterioration of previous conditions, the same for men as women. 5. The removal of all legal and bureaucratic impediments to equality, e.g. with regard to tenancies, mortgages, pension schames, taxation, passports, control over children, social security paymonts, hire purchase agreements. 6. Improved provision of local authority day nurseries, free of charge with extended hours to suit working mothers. Provision of nursery classes in day nurseries. More nursery schools. 7. 18 weeks maternity leave with full net pay before and after the birth of a live child. 7 weeks after birth of the child is stillborn. No dismissal during pregnancy or maternity leave. No loss of security or promotion prospects. 8. Family planning clinics supplying free contraception to be extended to cover avery locality. Free abortion to be readily available. 9. Family allowances to be increased to E2.50 per child, including the first child. 10. To campaign amongst women to take an active part in the trade unions and in political life so that they may exercise influence comensurate with their numbers and to campaign amongst men trade unionists that they may work to achieve this aim.
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A 'QUESTION' FOR TOM NAIRN Dear Comrades, board of Question? After all, they have Many of your readers may be familiar
with the writings of Tom Nairn. Author of the book The Left against Europe and contributor to the best-selling Red Papers, he has been a member of the Editorial board of the marxist journal, New Left Review for ten years. Despite his long collaboration with socialists of many different shades. Nairn now seems to have found new friends, with a regular column in the Edinburgh magazine Question. Many of his colleagues from the NLR must have been surprised to see him associated with this journal, many of whose contributors are influential SP members such as Gavin Kennedy, Steven Maxwell, and Owen Dudley Edwards. Their inner circle of SNP policy makers, which includes Margo MeDonald and the Strathclyde economist David Simpson, is a far cry from marxists like Robin Blackburn or Perry Anderson, with whom Nairn worked on New Left Review.
Their surprise no doubt turned 1o consternation when the same journal Question led off a press witch-hunt against the SIP left and came out with an editorial policy 100 per cent in favour of its exclusion from the party by any means necessary. As a leading Sillars" supporter in the Edinburgh SLP, Nairn is unlikely to have taken this amiss. But Question decided to add their own conclusions to the events. Callaghan, they suggested, should learn from Mr Sillars and take the first opportunity to boot out his own left wing from the Labour Party.
Undaunted by this editorial policy, Nairn took to print in the November issue, this time to attack the SLP left in general, and Scottish Socialist in particular. The failing of your journal, it seems, is its stone-age conception that the "class struggle has permanent priority, strategic and tactical, over all other issues"?
In my naivety, 1 always thought that the "class struggle" included such issues as the right of nations to self-determination, the struggle of the oppressed, and the battle against the multitude of social and cultural means by which the ruling class asserts it domination. But perhaps Mr Nairn considers these issues to be classless? As it is, his position is hard to divine, and preciscly which "other issues" are more important than workers' democracy and socialism we are left guessing.
Despite the ambiguity, Nairn does go on to explain to the (rather small) readership of Question a clear enough
tution and democratic politics... This will not be socialism. However it will be the precondition of whatever socialism can be made in this nation"
The most charitable thing to be said about this goal of an advanced social constitution"* , is that it is absolutely confused. "Advanced" for which class, Mr Nairn? For some of the classes in Scotland, perhaps? Maybe for all classes? Or maybe just for the editorial Labour Against the Cuts?
made their own particular commitment to democracy very clear in the stance they took over the events in Stirling.
What is more, if democratic politics will not be socialism', then presumably it will still be capitalism — perhaps showing its nationalist face by courtesy of the SP. Perhaps this is what underlies Mr Nairn's — no doubt purely tactical — form of entryism in Question!
In the past Tom Nairn has played a constructive role inside the left, raising questions in a forceful and articulate way which other socialists were content to mumble platitudes over. His latest contribution is a clear break from that practice. He now apparently prefers the stance of advocate for "democracy', but a democracy which he isn't even willing to fight for inside his own political party. I hope that your readers will draw the appropriate conclusion.
Yours faithfully. Neil Williamson
Dear Comrades, In this situation, the rank-and-file of The attacks on the living standards of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions working people and the policies of the cannot afford to wait for these fake
Social Contract lower our living standards but also seem certain to let the Tories and SP sweep the board at the next General Election. Unfortunately, the traditional "Left" leaders of the workers' movement - the "Tribune" group of MPs - have without exception refused to meet this challenge and lead the fight back.
This was highlighted by their response to the recent disastrous by-elections. While Labour right-wingers such as Denis Healey and Shirley Williams blamed these results on the wild' policies of the left, the Tribune group could only squirm in embarassment and protest their innocence. As Eric Heffer put it, "Quite honestly, people in those positions shouldn't say such things. We don't go around making statements blaming them".
And, of course, Heffer was right! The Tribune group don't lay the blame at the door of Callaghan, Healey and co. They are content to talk loudly about 'socialism*, while at the same time making no attempt to lead any fight against the Government's policies, cither inside or ourside Parliament. They are quite prepared to let Callaghan and Healey off the hook.
"lefts' to provide a lead. We must do this ourselves. A step in the right direction has been the formation of the Labour Against the Cuts Campaign (LACC). This body attempts to unite the rank and file of the Labour Party in active opposition to the social expenditure cuts. After being set up in many areas of England, the LACC has now hit Scotland, its founding meeting being held in Glasgow on Tuesday December 7th.
The LACC can be an important first step in constructing the widest possible unity against the Government's policies. As such it deserves to be supported by all LP members, who should argue for it to unite in action with all other parties and bodies of the labour movement opposed to the cuts, like the SLP.
Finally, I would lik. to welcome the appearance of Scottish Socialist' which could play a very important role in helping to build a fighting unity of the labour movement in Scotland against the policies of the present Government. I hope it reaches a wide audience inside the Labour Party, Trade Unions and all other socialist organisations.
Fraternally, Stefan Piekarczyk (Kelvingrove CLP)