missiles on the occasion of Reagan's visit to Britain.
In October the annual Labour Party Conference voted in favour of British unilateral disarmament by
The organising centre of this movement, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) now has over six million affiliations through the trade
Despite vigorous attacks by the Thatcher government, and the right-wingers in the Labour Party, such as Deputy Leader Denis Healey, who announced he would never serve in a government committed to unilateral nuclear disarmament, the antimissiles movement from a strong minority viewpoint to a majority viewpoint. By the end of the year, polls showed that 58 per cent of the population opposed the introduction of Cruise Missiles into the country, and 56 per cent opposed the Trident
WOMEN FOR PEACE
A marker in the significant change of attitude towards the anti-missiles movement was the reporting of the women's demonstration at the Greenham Common site for Cruise Missiles.
This grew out of a fifteen-month long protest camp outside the base organised by the group 'Women for Life on Earth'. The camp had twice been evicted, suffered numerous arrests and imprisonments of protestors. Police harassment had reached the point of refusing to allow camp to have tents, instead the protestors had to sleep under plastic sheeting
A national women's demonstration was called at the camp on December 12, 1982, bringing 30,000 women to add their voice to the protest, and their childaround the base as a symbol of their commitment to fight for world safe for the future The women chain nine-miles event proved the truly mass nature of the anti-missiles movement. Of course all the events of CND are open to both sexes, and many women are leading activists of the movement. Greenhowever brought thousands of women who were not otherwise active into the major political movement in Britain today. a diversion as some sectarian left groups like the British Socialist Workers Party this women-only demonstration proved to be extremely effective.
PLANS FOR 1983
The national CND conference took place on the weekend of November 27. 28 1982 to map out plans for 1983 -to strain every nerve to finally stop the installation of Cruise missiles.
This conference radicalisation of the moveDespite the speech of the E.P. Thompson, one of the leading spokespersons of the movement, the conference voted to maintain the campaigning slogan *Britain out of NATO, NATO out of Britain'. Moves to link this to a strugtwo superpowers' their 'blocs' were rejected.
There was a forceful debate over tactics for the movement. The heroism of the Greenham Common protestors caught the imagination of the delegates and ensured overwhelming support the tacties of 'non-violent direct action'
A much sharper debate took place over the relationship of this to attempts to win and mobilise the mass support of the labour movement as the crucial ally for the movement, and over mass political action as an indespensable instrument in the struggle.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Labour Party have jointly called for a mass demonstration in August 1983, to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima
Some speakers opposed this being a central action for CND this year - arguing that it was partisan to support a call
(There is a small group of members of Thatcher's Tory Pary in CND). But the conference overwhelmingly supported this call-indicating the vast majority understand that the labour movement is the real ally of the anti-missiles movement — and aimed to mobilise a million in the streets' by the end of the year.
SABOTAGE BY THE LABOUR BUREAUCRACY
Despite the majority opposition to Cruise missiles, the Thatcher government is continuing at full speed with their introduction. However, the Labour Party leadership have been less than forthright on their position.
The left-wing Labour newspaper Tri bune pointed out on November 26, 1982, 'Only Labour Deputy Leader Denis Healey has been straightforward. He has said that he would not serve in a government committed to unilateral nuclear disarmament. Since everyone expects him to be part of the next Labour government, we are entitled to ask - what does he know that we don't?'
The Labour Party is committed to refusing Cruise, and sending back the missiles if necessary. But the leadership have not said what they will do about the other US missiles already stationed in
The combination of the continuing growth of the movement - which can be expected to reach a peak this year, when Cruise missiles are scheduled to be installed - and the approach of a general election will make these central
Given the mass sentiment on this question, the Labour Party would be immeasurably strengthened if it went to the polls campaigning on the basis of its the Labour leadership knows only too well that unilateralism unacceptable to the British bourgeoisie, whose entire military strategy is built around nuclear weapons.
This contradiction highlights the importance of the strategy widely supported in CND of continually working to win support and mobilise active support in the labour movement to leadership to carry out the policy of the Labour Party Conference.