Communist Party of Great Britain

The British Road to Socialism (1968)

Next Steps Ahead


How can the British labour movement and the British people begin to move in the direction of socialism? What is the next stage?

A Broad Alliance

Working class unity is essential, but it is not only the working class that is under attack from state monopoly capitalism. It is necessary and possible to build a broad popular alliance around the leadership of the working class, fighting every aspect of the policies of the monopolies; to develop a wide movement for peace, democracy and improvement of living standards, and for a democratic programme that leads in the direction of socialism.

There are many points on which all those who stand for socialism are agreed, but which can win a far broader support than that of committed socialists.

Many different organisations are battling for particular reforms. They can be won to realise the common factors in the situation, to understand that particular aims can only be achieved in the framework of wider social and economic policies.

In this way the broadest popular alliance against monopoly capitalism can be built up, embracing all working people. Thus workers in factories, offices, professions, working farmers, producers and consumers, owner-occupiers and tenants, housewives, young people and students, pensioners, workers in the peace movement and those active in defence of democracy - all those whose lives are immediately affected by policies framed to perpetuate and uphold monopoly capitalism can be united in struggle.

Understanding can be built up of the interconnection of different aspects of monopoly policy and the fundamental issues involved. A new unity of purpose will be thus created, enabling sustained pressure to be brought to bear in favour of alternative democratic policies. Through united action for a clear programme not only will practical gains be won, but also understanding of the nature of society and the need to develop the struggle to extend democracy and win fresh advances.

When the leadership of the main organisations of the labour movement stands squarely and openly for the interests of the workers by hand and brain; when it advances a clear democratic and socialist policy, it can rally the great majority of the people against the monopolists who now control their work and their leisure, their lives and their future.

This would undermine the mass support of the Tory Party,,the party of big business which nevertheless, aided by newspapers and other mass media in the hands of those hostile to working class aspirations and to socialism, attracts votes from professional workers and a large section of the working class.

What is needed is the continuous use and development of all the traditional democratic means of struggle, among all sections of the people, understanding that all aspects of struggle hang together—whether demonstration or strike, Parliamentary or extra-Parliamentary pressure.

By these means unity and confidence can rapidly grow, political understanding deepen. A great popular movement can develop for new policies and priorities, and for ending state monopoly capitalism, and can pave the way for the transition to socialism. The core of this alliance will be the working class and its organisations, the main class force in the struggle to change society because of its key position in social production. But it will draw on all whose interests are threatened by monopoly capitalismAthc overwhelming majority of the people Their interests are also the national interest.

The Fields of Struggle

What are the main areas of struggle, the new ends to which all effort should be directed, in order to open up the process of radical change in Britain?

Living Standards

Today the labour movement demands as social rights full employment and the guarantee of work at a decent wage. Continuous struggle is needed to win and maintain these rights.

This involves ending all policies of wage restraint, whether embodied or not in legislation, and ensuring that the trade unions are able freely to carry out collective bargaining. In place of state regulation of wages what is needed is a continuous struggle to increase wages, salaries and social security payments. The movement should demand that no one is made redundant or sacked unless suitable alternative employment is provided.

If the working class is to challenge the power of the monopolists the autonomy of the trade union movement will have to be defended, for the unions constitute a most powerful force of the working class. Hence the ruling class seeks to hamstring them. Therefore collective bargaining, strike action and picketing, rights won in bitter struggle, must be maintained by the determined action of the working people. More trade union action is called for, not moves to suppress it. The unions and the labour movement will need to carry through sustained efTorts to raise the level of the lower—paid workers and win a statutory minimum wage. Equal pay for work of equal value for women workers must be made a legal obligation on employers.

In order to ensure that all increases in productivity bring increases in wages and salaries, shorter working hours, longer holidays and improved fringe benefits, the unions will have to win negotiating rights over all working conditions. The employers' powers of arbitrary dismissal can be ended by establishing 100 per cent trade union organisation, backed by strong shop stewards' and workshop organisation. Blacklisting, victimisation, discrimination for reasons of trade union or political views or activities, or on grounds of colour, sex or religion should be prohibited in all forms of employment.

The winning of these demands will raise living standards; strengthen enormously the organisation of the working people, and deal heavy blows at the power of the monopolists.

Economic Affairs - Public Ownership

There cannot be a true democratic advance in Britain unless an effective challenge is made to the big monopolies and their present domination of the economy. This challenge can be made in various ways. The labour movement must use its strength to intervene much more decisively in industrial and economic affairs, and win much greater control over the key enterprises and resources of the country. A determined struggle should be carried through to bring the monopoly concerns in the most important sections of industry and finance into public ownership, and secure a radical expansion of the nationalised sector of the economy.

But nationalisation must be made to serve the interests of the people, not of big business as it has done in the past. This means removing the burdens of heavy interest charges and compensation and reorganising the industries on democratic lines, with governing boards made up of workers and technicians from the industry concerned.

A programme of expansion would entail:

The winning of such a programme is essential for the development and planning of the economy in the public interest. It would bring about far greater industrial efficiency and social well being, and make possible the proper planning of housing, industry and transport.

To ensure both the modernisation of industry and the correct financing of the social services control of capital investment is essential. The needs of home investment must have priority, export of capital be strictly controlled and limited.

The balance of payments position can be improved by limiting inessential imports as well as increasing exports. Britain's role as a world banker and the role of sterling as a major reserve currency should be ended. International currency co-operation would be strengthened by giving the underdeveloped states a place in the controlling bodies of the international monetary authorities.

The course must be set for economic expansion of a kind to meet the needs of the people and the nation. This involves above all shedding the burden of overseas military expenditure, and turning resources to production for home consumption and export on the basis of careful planning.

Industrial Democracy and Control

Today, trade unions are pressing in all industries for the right to intervene at all levels of management, to be informed of management plans, to negotiate on matters arising and to receive all relevant information. Elected representatives of the workers, at workshop and plant level, want the power to negotiate on work loads, work standards and manning, rights of control on safety and welfare and on all matters affecting employment.

These are justifiable demands. This right of the workers to be involved in policy-making and control in industry is essential for economic advance and to safeguard the interests of the working people.

In nationalised industries the trade unions should be directly represented on national boards and at all levels of management. At workshop and plant levels the workers should have rights of consultation and participation in all management decisions.

The co—operative movement is a major obstacle to the growth of monopoly capitalism in the consumer industries, and its expansion is vital to the working people. As a socially-owned and democratically controlled movement it acts as a champion of the consumer. Strongly entrenched in retailing, manufacturing, banking and insurance, its actions can greatly affect the struggle for social change, and through its nation wide political, educational and guild movement it can win many for the anti-monopoly struggle and for socialism. Every effort must be made to strengthen and widen its scope of activity, and every pressure put on the Government to end discrimination against it and provide favourable conditions for its advance.

The campaign against the monopolies must include the demand to bring the Monopolies Commission under close Parliamentary control. It should be composed of a majority of trade union and consumer representatives and its proceedings should be widely publicised. Its powers should be extended to ensure that where large-scale productive or distributive concerns are operating and monopolies are ripe for merging, this is done under public ownership. New machinery is needed for rapidly collecting information about price increases and ensuring enforcement of price control. The powers of the Restrictive Practices Court which operate against price fixing must be strengthened, so that it can deal more rapidly and effectively with cases brought before it. Trade unions, co-operatives, local authorities and other democratic bodies should be drawn into the fight against restrictive trade practices.

A successful struggle to curb the monopolies on these lines would make possible new policies to foster economic growth, without any threat to living and working conditions. To succeed it will have to involve millions of people, not only manual workers, but professional workers, scientists and technicians, housewives, farmers, small traders and producers. These problems concern the widest circle of people, and form one of the decisive fronts on which the broad popular alliance can be built. As the battle for them develops it will increasingly throw up the question of the ownership and control of the whole economy.

Peace and National Independence

The vast destructive power of modern nuclear weapons makes the prevention of a third world war the most important issue facing humanity. Such a war could result in the annihilation of Britain and the devastation of great areas throughout the world.

Peaceful coexistence between states with different social systems and the ending of colonialism in all its forms should be the main objective of the British people.

This aim of establishing peaceful relations between socialist and capitalist states does not mean the damping down of the class struggle within capitalist states, nor of the liberation struggle for national independence and against imperialist influence and domination. On the contrary, those struggles, by weakening the positions of monopoly capitalism, contribute greatly to the struggle for peace.

A third world war is not inevitable; but to preserve peace imperialist aggression must be halted. The combined forces of the socialist countries, the developing countries and the labour and peace movements in the capitalist countries are strong enough to achieve this, provided they act in a resolute way.

The danger of war arises from monopoly capitalism. Imperialist expansion and aggression is its direct product. It is, then, a major task of the people in the capitalist countries to compel their governments to follow a policy of peaceful coexistence. The main aggressive force today is American imperialism. Its military, naval and air forces are everywhere directed against democracy, national liberation and socialism. It wages war in South East Asia and occupies South Korea and Formosa for its own imperialist purposes. It dominates NATO, an alliance directed against the socialist countries and progressive movements within member countries. Its policies could precipitate a third world war.

In order that Britain can act on the side of peace British foreign policy must cease being subordinated to the United States of America and the interests of British imperialism. The ending of the British Government's support for American aggression in Vietnam is the first essential step in the struggle for world peace.

The danger to peace also arises from the growing strength and aggressive aims of West German imperialism with its demands for nuclear weapons and frontier revision. It stems too from Britain's "East of Suez" policy, from imperialist plans in the Middle East which bring us into conflict with whole peoples struggling for national liberation.

This position of acute danger can and must be ended. A policy which calls for continuous struggle on these issues can command the broadest popular support, for the peoples as a whole want peace. This has already been borne out in experience, for nowhere has opposition to capitalist policies been more widely based or more strongly felt than in the field of foreign policy.

A peace policy will vary according to events, but it must include certain main demands:

It is equally necessary, in the interests of the British people and of the international solidarity of the working people, to end colonialism in all its forms, including the continued exploitation by the monopolies of the peoples who have achieved political independence. The right of all peoples still under British rule to self-determination must be recognised, all British armed forces withdrawn from colonial territories and bases, and the British military presence East of Suez terminated.

The enforced partition of Ireland should be ended and British troops withdrawn from Northern Ireland, leaving the Irish people free to realise their united republic.

New economic policies are needed to replace those designed to close the ranks of capitalist Europe in opposition to socialism. Such is the Common Market (European Economic Community), a combination of the biggest trusts of capitalist Europe, a lure to British monopolists determined to increase their profits and improve their position in the world. The aim of this combination is economic and political domination of European resources, and of developing countries still dependent on European states. It represents not only a threat to democracy in Western Europe, but a hardening and strengthening of forces bitterly opposed to the working class everywhere, to the USSR and other socialist countries and to the national liberation movements.

Britain's needs would be better served by an all-European form of co-operation or trading pattern, coupled with a systematic expansion of world trade. There is no future in closed economic groupings ranged against each other. What is needed is an expansion of trade, including mutual long-term trade agreements with socialist and developing countries, as well as more trade with other states.

The decisive forces in the world are the working-class movements, the great popular movements for national liberation, freedom and democracy and the socialist countries. They look to the future, to the realising of new potentialities opening up opportunities for the many and creating a new way of life.

The fight for peaceful coexistence, international co-operation, disarmament and the end of colonialism is profoundly in the interests of the British people, as of all peoples throughout the world. It is part of the struggle against the most aggressive forces of imperialism, both here and abroad. Success in this struggle will provide favourable conditions both for the development of the national liberation forces and the advance to socialism. The fight for peace is therefore a form of struggle which can win overwhelming support, and lead to the isolation of big business both politically and morally.

Defence and Extension of Democratic Rights

It must be a main concern of the labour and popular movement to use and defend every democratic right won in the past, whilst working for a general extension of democratic liberties.

This aspect of the struggle assumes greater importance than ever as the power of the monopolists grows, and the threat to democracy becomes more open. The British people have a long, deeply rooted history of struggle for democratic rights; and this makes it possible to win wide sections of them into action to preserve what has been won, and to make new gains. Every step that extends the people's control over the affairs of the country weakens the power of big business.

Freedom of speech, of meeting, the right to organise, demonstrate, lobby, picket and strike - all are vital in securing any economic and political change. They must be defended and extended by active use and pressure.

Popular control of the mass media, especially radio and television is most urgent. The movement should demand the setting up of a national council, comprising representatives of all the main democratic organisations, to meet periodically to review programmes, put forward proposals and influence policy. The chief aim should be free discussion of controversial issues - political, industrial, ideological - by those genuinely representing diHerent points of view, untrammelled by biased interviewing or summing up by reactionary "experts". All democratically organised political parties must be accorded time to explain their policies, and trade unionists involved in industrial struggles be given the opportunity to state their cases.

It is just as urgent to halt the growth of monopolist control over the press. The fight must be made for legislation to prohibit any further merger or concentration of ownership of newspapers and periodicals. No firm should be permitted to own more than one daily newspaper or one Sunday paper. Practical steps should be taken to reduce dependence on advertising revenue, and government advertising should be fairly distributed.

Freedom of access to printing presses can be extended by government intervention. Publicly-owned plants should be set up to print newspapers for trade unions, co-operatives and other political and social groups and churches. The chief firms producing newsprint, ink and equipment should be nationalised and price control ensured.

The age-old struggle for equal rights for all citizens, irrespective of race, religion or sex needs to be energetically carried on, particularly in view of new threats.

Women are still the victims of discrimination and prejudice in many fields, legal, political and economic. They still have an inferior position in education and employment. The liberties and potentialities of half the population are at issue here. Equal rights and opportunities are not only a matter of justice, but would bring great benefits to the country in all spheres of work and activity.

The same applies to all citizens. Racial discrimination is still being widely practised in Britain despite recent legislation.

The Communist Party has always opposed racial discrimination and race prejudice. Racialist ideas and practices divide the working class and democratic movement, and play into the hands of big business and the enemies of democracy. Racialism provides the most fertile soil for the growth of reaction and fascism. The fight against racialism and for full social, economic and political equality is therefore fundamental for democracy.

The new amended Race Relations Act (1968) is an improvement on the previous one. But it still requires strengthening in order to secure the effective outlawing of racial discrimination in all fields, and ensure that all incitement to race hatred is made illegal and subject to appropriate punishment. The Commonwealth Immigration Acts of 1962 and 1968 should be repealed since they are in purpose and practice racially discriminatory.

Young people should be accorded the vote at 18.

Popular representation, the effectiveness of democracy would be greatly increased by introducing the principle of proportional representation in local and national elections. The £150 deposit required of all Parliamentary candidates should be abolished. They should instead be supported by a list of nominators.

The House of Lords which embodies no democratic principles, should be abolished.

Popular control over the police should be extended, not diminished, as has been happening in the amalgamation of forces. This would mean local authorities everywhere exercising close control over them through strong, democratically constituted committees.

The movement should work for the ending of all restrictions which deter members of the armed forces, the civil service, and the police from full participation in democratic, political and trade union activities.

 

National Rights

One of the most urgent steps in any real extension of democracy in Britain is to meet the national rights and demands of the people of Scotland and Wales, by the establishment of Scottish and Welsh Parliaments. National history, democratic right and modern development combine to make this an essential act of justice, which the entire British labour and working class movement will be the foremost to support.

Such Parliaments alone can provide an adequate focus for the energies of the people of these two countries, in the fullest expression of their cultural and economic life. They are essential to drive through the overall planning of Scotland and Wales for economic prosperity, for the best use of all their natural resources, for co-ordination of communications, and for the massive programme of social regeneration which is needed to overcome the effects of past exploitation. Only this can ensure the national future of the Welsh and Scottish peoples.

We see the Parliaments as single chamber assemblies, directly elected by proportional representation, with full powers for self-government for Scottish and Welsh affairs in the fields of trade, industry, transport, agriculture, housing, social services, radio and television.

The establishment of Scottish and Welsh Parliaments will not of itself solve the basic economic and social problems of their people. Only an effective struggle against the domination of monopoly capitalism will do that. But the struggle to achieve such Parliaments and to make them really representative of the people's will, must be a major part of any movement which mobilises the progressive forces of Scotland and Wales for the common cause of defeating British capitalism.

Whatever the best relationship finally worked out and agreed between the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments and the British Parliament, such radical constitutional reform is not only necessary for the national development of Scotland and Wales; it is in line with the urgent need for increased popular control and democratic effectiveness in the whole structure of government in England as well.

 

Development of Social Rights

Some of the greatest movements in British history have been developed for better social security and improved conditions of life for ordinary people. Today, many of the benefits and conditions won are under sharp attack, and widespread struggle is growing to extend popular education, improve housing, hospital and other health facilities. Round such questions a broad alliance of people can develop that goes far wider than the labour movement.

But to achieve this it is essential to co-ordinate work undertaken by many different democratic organisations on a basic minimum programme.

Such a programme could cover first:

Recent years have seen the growth in all parts of the country of powerful movements for educational development, ranging from nursery schools to universities. Every effort should be made to involve still more people, not only to defend the present standards but to demand a great extension of the whole service.

The demands could include:

One of the biggest of all social problems is housing, and on this there needs to be the concentrated effort, not only of private and council tenants, but the whole labour movement, to demand urgent measures to provide good housing for all as a social right.

Immediate steps should include:

The quality of life of the majority of people is affected by the unplanned growth of gigantic urban areas and the associated problems of transport and housing. Monopoly capitalist interests, standing in the way of any serious town planning, rebuild town centres solely with an eye to private profit and with little regard for community needs. The result is urban congestion, a totally inadequate transport system, daytime only commercial town centres which are not community centres, the clogging of towns by private cars and vast neglected areas.

There is urgent need in all these fields for democratic planning. The public should be involved in discussion and consultation about the development of each town. Planning should preserve green belts and Open spaces, ensure a modern and convenient system of public transport, and provide for the transformation of each city and town into a healthy and beautiful living centre for the people.

Strong pressure for such developments would unite tenants, those needing houses, councillors, town planners, architects and traffic experts in a joint venture to create a new environment worthy of our time.

Local government reform needs to be carried much further, and democratically elected regional councils formed with powers of regional planning. They should consult the people and bring in expert assistance in the development of the region as a whole. Such planning would aim to end chaotic urban growth and rural neglect. It would set out to provide controlled balance of industry, and agricultural development, and ensure the proper provision of educational, cultural, transport, social service and recreational facilities for town and countryside. Its purpose would be to promote the economic, social and cultural welfare of the people of the region. Recreational facilities would include National Parks giving access to mountains, forests and foreshores.

A People's Programme

The policies of monopoly capitalism put profits first and the people last. They create chaos where there should be planned developments.

The programme which we put forward unites the interests of the working class with those of virtually all sections of the people outside big business. Such a programme, if implemented, would improve the life and opportunities of the majority of the people. But to win it requires continuous struggle and firm leadership on all the questions we have indicated~political, economic and social.

On such a programme the mass of the people can move into action; a broad popular alliance can be formed. Democratic advances along these lines, directed against the monopolies, can pave the way for the advance to socialism> represent a definite stage in social progress.

In the course of the struggle new political alignments will be created, and the people's confidence will be generated in their own ability to transform the whole social system. As the battle sharpens and the power of big business is challenged, experience and knowledge will more and more Show the logical need to end the present capitalist system and build a new socialist society.