We are very glad that the National Federation of Professioual Workers, at their conference last wockend, spproved the motion which had been placed before them by DATA, the draughtsmen's union. It said: "the whole field of collective bargaining will be prejudiced by fears of legal actions involving substantial damages and leg:l costs against shop and office representatives and full-time officiels." The mover, Jim Mortimer, very rightly stressed the danaging implications of the Rookes V. Barnard judgenent,oy which we have frequently written in these pages. ‘Almost any strike runs the danger of being declared unlawful't, he said. In these circunstances it is essential to regtore at least the measure of protection which was accorded unions by the 1906 Act, which formerly underpinned trade unien freedoms. The Dreughtsmen are carrying on a fierce battle against the ill-effects of the Lords! decision on this matter. It is extremely important that «11 other unions should come to their aid,
The Tory Budget scarcely warrants ean anelysis. One of the most biting comments wes made by Professor Paish, as the news of the Chancellor's proposnls came through, when he said thit the incrense in taxation was less than the normal budget errors, In fact this cffort of Meudling is scarcely a Budget in the traditional British sense. Why should this be? Why in face of all the warning by experts both high end low, that something had to be done to stop expansion getting out of hand did Maudling Isbour to bring forth less than the normal Budget errer? We believe that the explanation is to be found in the crisis of policy which is blighting the Tory party. When one's ranks are deeply split, when no one man really commands much euthority, it is impossible to act decisively, But this merely means that there will be a day of reckoning when the balance sheet will be presented to the British econcmy + both the Tories and Wilson are right when they say Britain needs modernising, but the Tory Budget will hardly help that processe
Whether the reckoning comes before or after the clection remains to be seene The point for secinlists is that the whole situation demonstrates, more than ever before, the necessity of a socialist solution to Britain's probleus - cconomic and socinl, As things stand now the long overdue modernisation of Britain is impossible without real plarming and without the unstinting collaber:.tion of the working class - in other words without the real application of Clause four, Social ownership with democratic control at all levels represents the only way forward - that is the real lesson of the Budget.