"against the Wage Freeze" Conference a Success

Considered from the point of view of registering opposition to Government policy, last Saturday's conference "Against the Freeze"; held at the Beaver Hall, London was encouraging, At the conference, which had been called by the Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions, were some 850 delegates and visitors representing militant sections of the labour movement from many parts of the country. One of the many speeches which sharply attacked the Government was that of Mike Cooley (DATA) who brought a message of support to the conference from 19 members of the DATA executive. He referred to the fact that Wilson had reverted to the old style incomes policy: a queue at the factory gate, later a "Declaration of Purpose" was overwhelmingly adopted which called for a campaign of opposition to the freeze, wnemployment and state interference with the rights of workers and their unions, The Declaration was cakulated to win the widest possible assent; indeed, opposition was confined to a tiny but noisy section = thought to be supporters of the Socialist Labour, League. Earlier, some of these self-same people had received enthusiastic support when they correctly called for Wilson to be replaced and a campaign to force MPs to fight for socialist principles. However, they showed their sectarian nature when they howled down a speaker who emphasised that we should reject the idea that Cousins and the left MPs were the main enemy. Not surprisingly this led to their complete isolation and lessened the impact of the many correct points they made, By this incorrect political position they assisted those who, in the name of unity, want to avoid criticising left leaders at all. In the end they themselves were shouted down by the body of the conference, Another tragic result of this sectarian behaviour was that legitimate points of criticism about the conference were neglected, For instance, one impress~ ion that gained ground was that there was not enough emphasis on practical steps to promote solidarity action with strikers and trade unions engaged in struggle. Also the declaration, which had been drafted in advance, was mild compared with the militant mood of the conference, Nevertheless, the event was useful in getting across the need for liaison, solidarity and co-ordination, Local conferences, leading to local committees , should be organised everywhere,