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Mass pickets at Fastwoods, Belfast 1977 which .viuses to challange the of Catholic workers from the sectarian character of the skilled workforce, Unionisatior Northern Trish -statelet which is the first step ‘ta an effective itself guarantees that the most fightback against the deprivation exploited and oppressed section which afflicts them, It would of the population will always lay the basis for a campaign remain the lot of the Catholic of independent working-class workers, ' action against unemployment That the trade union leader- and to improve our standard ship have been able to get of living. Such a campaign away with this is due in large would aim to mobilise the part to the failure of anti- strength of the entire Irish unionist workers to organise Trade Union movement in this inside the unions around the battle in the sure knowledge defense of their democratic ‘that any serious fight for full right to work, good housing employmentin the anti-unionist and social amenities and ghettoes will aim for an allagainst the structural exclusion Ireland solution, The Connolly Society has run into difficulties since the meeting reported above. The management of the Lake Glen Hotel have refused to allow it to hold any more meetings there and it has had considerable difficulty in finding an alternative ‘hall, It has held a meeting on Loyalism in the Connolly bookshop, but this holds only a fraction of the audiences attending the earlier meetings. Readers in Belfast can help by checking with local organisations to-. see if a hall can be made available for the Society.

CONTd FROM PAGE | a United Ireland a progressr one was defeated, In opposition a motion reading 'A united capitalist Ireland would be reactionary even if were possible since it would require the smashing of one section of the working-class, We must therefore make it clear that the only united Ireland we want is a united socialist Ireland,' Socialist Republic believes that this decision represents a step backwards for the SLE, It sounds like a very socialist and left-wing position but in practice it means that their support for the central political issue in the struggle is ambiguous and conditional. If a united Ireland not controlled by the socialists would automatically be reactionary why do the Pritish oppose it so determinedly? How are we to win to a Worker's Republic if socialists aren't to the forefront in calling for national independence and the right of Ireland to selfdeter mination?

Unfortunately things didn't improve in the debate on activity. Motions calling for united activity with "allforces prepared to fight repression" were defeated, The conference did agree to work for a united front against repression, but only with "workingclass, anti-imperialist forces", Leaving aside the considerable problem of who defines which organisations fit this definition, this means that in effect the SLP will only engage in united anti-repression work if it approves of the other groups involved, For example: would the SDLP have refused to support the Murray Defence Campaign because the Liberal editor of *dibernia' supported it? Do they not support the Independent inquiry into brutality (reported elsewhere in this issue) because a catholic priest helped organise it?

It's clear from the debate that the majority of the delegates lacked the experience to force such problems and that some at least are committed to a politically sectarian position of abstention from any real work in these areas, PD/MSR believe in the necessity of broad based unity against repression, We believe that it is only in action and in debate with other forces that the socialist programme can win the support of Irish workers. A refusal to carry outsuch work amounts to a failure to fight for the socialist programme, Platform at S.L.P. conference 'more militancy’.

the exclusion of broader Transport and General It's :membership was militant speeches,

### ECONOMY

The same approach was evidentin the debate around the document on the economy. A motion for building a broad current in the unions around issues such as equal pay, union democracy, support for wea weaker sectors, etc was defeated, One reason was because this would mean the involvement of at least some trade union officials, The opposing proposal was 'for a'rank and file! movement whose only policy would be In practice this means political issues from work in the trade unions, A good example has been the 'New Liberty’ group in the Irish Workers! Union (ITGWU).

united in nothing but strident criticism of the bureaucracy for not being militant enough and would split if broad political issues were raised. It- has not been hard for the union leadership to isolate th them by making slightly more WOMEN The debate on women's oppression was perhaps the most successful of the con-CONFE ference (helped by the fact that women members are able to organise independently ) but even here there were weaknesses, The party did agree to call for free abortion on demand, but unfortunately there was no debate on the more immediately important issues of campaigning to: change the laws relating to contraception in the South or fight to win effective equal pay.

A motion involving the SLP in broad areas of the women's movement was passed in opposition to a motion calling for a working class women's movement, This is especially significant. It's the only major area in which the 'workers only! line was defeated, It seems that some delegates had detailed experience of work in this area and were able to counterpose reality to sterile sloganising.

### OPTIMISM

Some of the decisions taken at the conference represent a step backwards for the SLP, They cut the party off from broad-based united action by opposing it to ‘workers only' movemems which don't exist, In reality this is a policy for doing nothing. And yet action is a necessity if the SLP is to