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ation into focus for American and
other non-British readers, it would be
as though the Democratic party in
the United States were an a rm of the
AFL-CIO.
The quest ion ofwhether the union–
dominated Labor party is really rep–
resentative of the working class as a
whole is· another matter altogether .
Sorne analysts contend that the
vested interests of the trade unions
are actually generally antagonistic to
t he working class. Because of Labor's
control by the power ful unions, the
party is usually fi rm in support of
certain
i nter~sts-union
interests.
Yet, of the British working popula–
tion in the prívate sector, only 40
percent are trade union members.
The situation is ditferent with re–
gar<! to public servants and those em–
ployees in national ized industry.
Here the close ties between union
labor-small "1"-and Labor- big
" L"- have resulted in a unionization
rate of 80 percent. Thus, a strike by
employees in the public sector auto–
matically becomes politicized and of–
ten leads to agonizing conAicts with–
in the ranks of a Labor government.
In contrast to Labor, the Conser–
vative (Tory) party takes essentially
an upper-class outlook. With Labor
tied to the trade unions, it is inevita–
ble that business interests, and to
sorne extent skilled workers, will
back the Conservatives. The Tories
have consistently called for curbs on
union power.
Thus, British elections often be–
come vi rtua l class struggles.
As a result of this past winter's
turmoil, Labor's principal appeal to
the electorate- that it could handle
the unions better than the Conserva–
tives- wasseverelydamaged. Wheth–
er, and how, to curb the power of the
unions became a major issue of the
campaign. The months of strikes and
combined threats of the other walk–
outs cut dramatically into the Labor
party's popularity, cont ri buting in
large measure to its defeat last May.
Tory leader Thatcher succeeded in
capitalizing on the national mood of
disenchantment over union extrem–
ism, promising reform in Britain's
endlessly contentious industrial rela–
tions. Public patience with the unions
was near the breaking point, as evi-
30
denced in a pre-election Gallup poll
in which 84 percent of the British
public expressed the feeling that the
power of the unions was inordinate.
In the opinion of many observers,
the make-or-break issue for the new
Prime Minister may be whether she
can achieve her objectives while
avoiding the kind of confrontation
with the trade unions that brought
down Conservative Prime Minister
Edward Heatb in 1974. The trade
unions, of course, stand ready to
challenge any new actions that affect
their interests.
It
is a delicate and
thorny problem, which will require
the u tmost statecraft on M rs .
Thatcher's part.
Battle for Survlval
·-
Once the financia! hub of the world,
Britain today is a rapidly declining
economic power. The handwriting is
on the wall- but few seem to be
reading it.
The sun has already set on tbe
British Empire. The trappings of ero–
pire are st ill
ther~the
ceremony,
the pomp, the ritual-but the sub–
stance is gone. A nation cannot live
on memories of its glorious past.
And now, even one of the last
shadowy vestiges of Britain's former
glory may be headed, at last, for
oblivion. Should the new British
Conservative government recognize
as legitimate the black-majority gov–
ernment which emerged from April's
Rhodesian election, the move, ac–
cording to observers, might well pre–
cipita te the break-up of the Com–
monwealth itself. Certain black Afri–
can Commonwealth na tions, includ–
ing Zambia, Tanzania and Nigeria,
have served London notice that the
Commonwealth would be "endan–
gered" if Britain recognizes the Mu–
zorewa government or lifts economic
sanctions against Rhodesia. These
nations all vociferously support the
"Patriotic Front" guerrilla a rmies
which aim to topple t he Muzorewa
government by force.
Britons as a whole- though they
do not like to admit it to others-are
painfully aware of their continuing
national decline. It is a source of hu–
miliation, frust ration and regret. Yet
few are willing to do anything about
it. Calls are frequently seen within
the pages of the British press for a
renewed dedication to bard work and
sacrifice, but to little avail .
It
would
appear that a large segment of the
British public is generally apathetic.
The observation that "life is still
good in Bri ta i n" is freq uent ly
heard.
But unless Britain begins quickly
to set its house in order, economic
disaster could be just around the cor–
ner. Britain may have been able to
muddle through in times past, but
the situation is now becoming criti–
ca!. Britain's reserve "cushion" of a
world-girdling empire is gone.
lt
has
been reduced to its own resources.
The cavalier "I'm-all-right-Jack" op–
timism ca n no longer carry her
through tough times.
Wbether she admits it or not, Brit–
ain is at this moment in the midst of a
battle for survival, a battle which will
require the united efforts of a ll seg–
ments of business and industry- la–
bor and management alike-if victo–
ry is to be won. The road to economic
recovery- if it is ever begun in ear–
nest- wi ll be a long uphill climb; all
must be willing to contribute their
fair share toward ultimate success.
In the opinion of most observers,
the rela tionship between capital and
labor- now essentially adversary in
natur~must
become one of cooper–
ation for their mutual benefit. This is
especially critica! in a welfare state
such as Britain's. As one journalist
noted recently, "Worker and boss
alike havean interest in keeping alive
and well the industrial goose that
lays the golden wel fare egg."
Specifically, the unions must re–
frain from pressing demands that the
national economy is unable to meet.
The British worker must rededicate
himself to hard work and become
more productive, real izing that wage
restraint and a certain degree of suf–
fering for a time may be necessary.
The tax structure must be reformed
so tha t the fruits of barder work are
not stripped away in higher taxes.
The British businessman must re–
cover the spirit of adventure, enter–
prise and creativity. British salesmen
must resolve to vigorously push Brit–
ain's commodities around the world.
The government must make reinvest–
ment again profitable.
The
PLAIN TRUTH August 1979