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Throughout Britain, in small meetings and huge

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By R. PALME DUTT

LONDON

The policy of the British Communist party in the forthcoming general

lection was defined by Harry Pollitt, general secretary, in his

statement; to the

“Xtended executive of the Communist patty a year ago: _
“The central aim of our electoral policy is to bring the fight for peace

into the

heart of the election, and to build unity of all working+class forces and

Supporters of peace against Toryism and reactionary policy. We shall strive for

the return of a number of Communist candidates, and contest against
the principal right wing Labor leaders.

“In all other places we shall seek to get the Labor candidate
Pledged to fight for a militant policy, and will recommend the electors to
Vote for Labor candidates, while making clear’ that this recommendation
18 not based on any important difference between the official program of

Oryism and right-wing Labor, but in order to facilitate working-class
Unity against Toryism, reaction and right-wing Labor policy.”

That statement stands today in: the conditions of the now close-

8pproaching general election, so far as those conditions can at present

oreseen.

Since those words were spoken, three important developments have
taken place which have an important bearing

8eneral election on October 25.
General elections have been
held in the majority of the

“Ountries of the American orbit

%utside Britain. In all these elec-
tons governments of the Right
have been returned..

There has been little conceal-
Ment that this has corresponded
“0 the aims of American policy.

i In France and Italy (in the lat-
+t country municipal elections tak-
ME on the significance of a general
flection) ‘the entire electoral sys-

*m was gerrymandered to keep
°ut the Communists.

In Australia and New Zealand
€ already displaced Labor gov-
‘"aments have continued to be
€pt out.

oa Greece, American influence

'S ‘openly behind General Papa-
9S"and his semi-fascist Rally.

- . Signs are not lacking that Amer-

ian Policy is calculating on a

{ottesponding change in this coun-
*y to bring Britain into ‘line.

had must be a warning to the
& Ire Labor movement and to all
““Pporters of peace and national
ueePendence to stand firm and
Rited for a policy which can de-

bart, the menace of a Tory come-

The armament, program is
bringing’ heavy’ hardships on
People. The Tories are seeking
shrok® advantage of these hard-
Cregg, and of the consequent dis-
i “diting of the Labor’ government,

the
to

Pther oct to return to power,. al-

‘onyee their policy would in fact

-® > Make conditions worse.

Ost important, the revolt of
R the Left is rising in the Labor
of tement and among all sections
of € people against the war policy

rearmament, worsened stand-

a :

aoe and subjection to America,

dro .J0r @ policy of peace and im-
®Yed conditions.

on the prospect of the

This ferment,in the Labor party
has been reflected in the resigna-

tion of cabinet ministers and in
the Labor party elections. |
The . Blackpool Trades Union

Congress has shown a consistent
vote of around two million, often
higher, against the platform, for
peace and a_ progressive policy,
with victories on such issues as
the unanimous condemnation of
the government’s policy on Franco
and the demand for the all-round
increase of social service benefits.

In face of this rising revolt of
the working class and ‘the people,
the big monopolies and their
American backers no longer have
confidence in a Labor government
to control this revolt. _ ;
They hope to take advantage
of divisions and disorganisation
in the Labor movement in order
to bring a Tory government to
power for the coming period of
‘industrial battles and the sharp-
ening issue of war or peace. ©

It is the supreme responsibility

of the Left, the representatives of
the future of the Labor movement
to take the lead in defeating this
plot. — ~, .!
The heaviest responsibility for
the menace of a Tory government
returning to power rests with the
right-wing Labor leaders.

It is the Labor government’s
‘policy of surrender to Toryism
and to the American dictators,
of rearmament and the race to
war, and of worsened conditions
at home, which has angered,
disheartened and confused many
of their supporters, and so play-
ed into the hands of the Tories,
making possible the creeping
Tory advance at byelections.

A fighting popular policy could
soon finish this advance. For it

’

does not rest on any popularity

of the Tories. It only reflects dis-
illusionment with the Labor gov-
ernment.

But the Labor ministers are more
concerned to» fight the weft.than

* ANEURIN BEVAN
An eye to the future

CLEMENT ATTLEE
Afraid of the future

to fight the Tories. They reserve
all their vénom .for the Soviet Un-

ion for militant - Socialists and
Communists, for supporters of
peace.

|

SS oi

Against the Tories they only
put up an empty make-believe
show of parliamentary and elec-
toral shadow-boxing, of gentleman-
ly bantering cross-talk and quib-
bling over invisible differences.

At bottom they agree with the
Tories on all essentials of present
policy.

Therefore, at the heart of
Labor’s High Command there is
a creeping defeatism in relation
to the election. They have no
policy to offer the people save

the arms race dnd worsened con-
ditions.

They dare not even make prom-
ises. The last policy statement
laid bare this bankruptcy to all.
Labor Minister Hugh Gaitskell’s
speech to the TIUC behind all the
gloomy economic - platitudes, re-
vealed the same bankruptcy.

They are even preparing with
a sigh of relief to shuffle off res-
ponsibility and hand over -to the
Tories.

The Labor MP, Richard Cross-
man, made the ominous comment
that the present Labor government
was acting like “a caretaker gov-
ernment.”

This is the most menacing fea-
ture of the present situation.

There ‘is no room for illusions

what the return of a Tory govern-
ment would mean,
' It is not a question of the paral-
lelism of \the program on top, which
sometimes gives rise to dangerous
illusions among a section that a
change could not mean much dif-
ference.

It is a question of what such a
change would mean in the real
relations of political forces in Brit-
ain.

A Tory majority at the coming
election would mean a political

Step backwara «1 Gritain. It

would represent, not the defeat
of the right-wing leaders by the
advance of the working-class, but
the defeat of the organised work-
ing-class movement by reaction.

A Tory government would carry
forward the whole policy of war
and subjection to America, along
the lines of the latest Tory “dis-

cussion” pamphlet of Brigadier
Head.~ x
He called for an immediate

“European” (American-controlled)
assault army of one and a half
million men, with ten Nazi divis-
ions and 20 Franco divisions, to
constitute “trained forces ready in
tactical positions” alongside a
“firmer policy” in the Middle East
and elsewhere. :

The return of a Tory govern-
ment in the present situation
‘would be the signal for the full
drive of reaction at home.

For the purposes of electioneer-
ing, the type of Tory MP like
David Eccles, the rising hope of

Tory propaganda headquarters,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE

R.

gatherings, like this Communist rally in London, the issues of peace or war, independence or U.S. dictation, are being debated today.

_ Big business, U.S. backers fear
_ people's demands, want Tory win

may talk of the importance of
concealing the fact that the Tory
party represents “the old image
of wealth and privilege.” >

But it was the same Eccles who,
in the London News Chronicle on
January 30, 1950, declared that
“within two years half the subsi-
dies should go..’

On the basis of a Tory electoral
victory, big business would feel
in a strengthened position to:

@ Cut the food subsidies.

@ Drastically reduce the social
services.

@ Shift further the burden of
taxation for the benefit of
the rich.

@ Impése a policy for lower

real wages and longer
hours.

Above all, the examples of Aus-
tralia and New Zealand have shown
that a Tory government would dir-
ect its offensive against the trade
unions and trade union rights,
against the Communist party and
the Left, and against the supporters
of peace, and would seek to bring
in new crippling legislation.

‘This menace must be defeated.
But it can never be defeated by a
right-wing Labor policy which sur-
renders to Toryism.

It can only be defeated by a
fighting alternative policy which is
capable of arousing the enthusiasm
of the working class and of all
sections of the nation to save peace
and to save Britain. Only unity
for such a policy can defeat Tory-
ism and reaction.

The British people are not mov-
ing to the Right.

On the contrary, the rising
fight at the Trades Union Con-
gress, and the response to the
peace movement, has shown that
they are moving to the Left.

They are stirring against the
policies of war and national be-
trayal, against the subjection to
American dictation and the
worsening of living standards at
home,

They want peace. They want
friendship and. trade with the

Socialist Soviet Union, with Peo-
ple’s China and all the peaceful
nations of the world. _

They want an end of dollar
dependence, a

They are moving into action to
fight to improve their conditions.

This is the fight which needs to
be voiced at the coming election.

These are aims wHich the Com-
munist party will voice through
its candidates and through its
campaign in every constituency—
so thatrthe militant united strength
of the rank and file of the Labor
movement shall at once ensure the
defeat of Toryism and advance the
battle for a new policy—a policy
corresponding to the true interests
of the British people, a policy for
peace, national independence and
the aims of socialism.

— OCTOBER 12, 1951 — PAGE 3