The Labour Party Programme: 'Let Us Face The Future' (1945)

From the October 1945 issue of the Socialist Standard

The Labour Party was returned to Power on a Declaration of Labour Policy under the above title.

Very briefly its salient points may be summarized as “public ownership” of the “fuel and power industries"; “transport”; “iron and steel”; “public supervision of monopolies and cartels” and “public ownership of the Bank of England.” (Pages 5 and 6).

Right at the outset, the Labour Party says in this document.

“The nation wants food, work and homes. . . . These are the aims, in themselves they are no more than words. All parties may declare that in principle they agree with them. (pp. 3). . . . The nation needs a tremendous overhaul—all parties say so—the Labour Party means it.” (pp. 4.)

It is thus clearly stated that all parties proclaim the same programme; “food, work, homes,’ the difference being that the Labour Party means it. This genuine workman like plan is the proposal for Public Control.

Despite the fact that on page four of “Let us face the Future” all parties say they stand for the same objects—on page 6 a rather startling change takes place.

“The Labour Party is a Socialist Party—and proud of it.”

“Its ultimate purpose at home is the establishment of the Socialist Commonwealth of Great Britain. "

But Socialism cannot come overnight, as the product of a week-end resolution .... There are basic industries—ripe and over-ripe for public ownership and management in the direct service of the nation.”

The question therefore arises! Will “Public Ownership" as propounded by the Labour Party “ultimately” establish Socialism?

There can be little doubt that the astounding success of the Labour Party at the polls was largely due to the association, in the minds of the workers, of Government Control with Employment.

The bitter memory of the Depression years after the last war still rankled; and many jumped to the false conclusion that what had found them regular Work, was not War, but Government Control.

When this is coupled with the specious, though spurious, notion that Government Control and State direction lead to Socialism—a perfect vote-catching programme results.

Let us see what the Labour Party is actually doing to “implement its election serenade.”

Immediately it was returned, two authoritative spokesmen were put up; one from inside the Government and one from outside, to reassure the American capitalists.

Sir Stafford Cripps, on August 1st, outlined the Five Year Plan of the Labour Government in an important broadcast to America.

“The Labour Party, Sir Stafford said, did not believe in Confiscation, but rather in fair compensation for any person whose interests were taken over by the State, whether in Industry, Land or Finance.”— (News-Chronicle, August 1st, 1945).

“Professor Laski, chairman of the Labour Party National Executive, in a broadcast to America last night said he had been asked what would be given priority in Labour's programme of Nationalisation.

The Bank of England was going to be socialised and the direction of investments planned as part of the progress of industrial re-organisation.

This would follow nationalisation of mines and electrical power and the iron and steel industry.

The programme would follow the broad outline of the Tennessee Valley authority scheme—planned production by the State. . . . ”—(Evening Standard, August 1st, 1945).

In response to urgent requests from the Conservatives. Mr. Hugh Dalton, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, intervened in the Debate on the King’s Speech to make perfectly plain exactly what the Labour Party means by “Socialisation” of the Bank of England.

“To a large extent the changes we propose will have the effect of bringing the law into accord with the facts ... as they have developed. . . . Private stockholders will disappear from the scene, carrying with them fair compensation. They will be fairly treated. They will lose the powers which legally they still possess, though they may have fallen into disuse, it is proposed to eliminate the stockholders with appropriate compensation from the State.”—(Manchester' Guardian, August 22nd, 1945).

This was quite clear to all the financial Editors beforehand, who said the same sort of thing as the News of the World, for example

“The ‘socialisation' of the Bank of England will do no more than give formal recognition to what is already an established fact.

Ever since we came off the Gold Standard in 1931, responsibility for the general direction of our financial and monetary policy has been assumed by the Treasury. And since .the outbreak of war in 1939 control over the Bank by the Government has been absolute. It is not expected that there will be any change in the Governorship, which is at present held by Lord Catto.”— August 20th, 1945).

In any case, Dalton had already made the position obvious to the Bankers by shouting at them in the Lobby.

“Tell your friends there is no need to sell their Bank shares. Now is the time to bay.”—(Daily Mail, August 6th).

Articles are now appearing in the public press, like that of Mr. Laurence Wilkinson, in the Evening Standard for August 28th which discuss How stockholders of the Bank of England (17,000 of them) are going to be compensated! He points out that the Bank has paid a dividend of 12 per cent for the past 29 years but claims, on all sorts of grounds, that more should be paid in compensation, because the Bank stock is actually worth more. Another Argument is that; if Bank stockholders are to be given a fixed interest Government security in exchange for stock (say 12 per cent.) they lose all hope of the small gradual increase which the stock showed! And well-meaning members of the Labour Party are solemnly debating these points!

The same largely applies to the Mining Industry—except that it consists of tangible assets, i.e., the actual material and plant involved.

On August 16th the National Mining Association passed the following resolution :—

“In view of the fact that legislation for the transfer of the industry from private enterprise to public ownership is to be proceeded with, and having regard to the statement made on behalf of the Government that the industry would be fairly treated as far as compensation is concerned, the colliery owners, through the Mining Association place themselves at the disposal of the Government.”—(Manchester Guardian, August 31st).

At the same time, Mr. Shinwell, the Labour Minister of Fuel, has demanded more production (exactly like Beaverbrook and Churchill), and appointed the Communist Miners’ Official, Arthur Horner, to get going. Horner has already called on Miners to be “ Stakanovites.”

The net result of the Labour Party's “Socialist” Public ownership, so far, therefore; is that the value of the Bank of England stock has gone up—Coal Mine shares are at a premium—and the miners are expected to work harder this winter.

On the same day that the Mine-owners “placed themselves at the disposal of the Labour Government”—the Daily Herald declared in an editorial, that “the foundations of the Socialist Britain,” will be “laid in the coal pits”? Which makes one wonder what the Labour Government have got to do with it—the coal pits are the last place to find them. “Socialism” has been proclaimed from some very funny places—Karl Kautsky twitted Bernstein with discovering it in every municipal public lavatory fifty years ago—but never before down the coal pits.

The foundations of Labour Party “Socialism” may be in the coal pits—the first floor is already in the British, owned lead and zinc mines of Yugo-Slavia.

“The British Government intend to make an urgent protest to Marshal Tito's Yugo Slav Government against the nationalisation of British lead and sine mines without compensation.

The French Government are to make similar protests. . . .

The protests are considered not important in themselves, bat they are being watched as test cases concerning other Allied properties and concessions in the Danubian and Balkan States, including oil in Rumania, gold, copper, zinc and lead in Bulgaria, lead zinc tin and steel in Yugo-Slavia and other interests in Poland and Hungary. (Evening Standard, August 28th).

Poor Tito—he believed those election speeches too! Socialism is the Common Ownership of the means of wealth production. The means of wealth production under capitalism are the private property of the capitalists. The only way to transform Capital (private property) into Social Wealth is to take it away by expropriating its present capitalist private owners. Socialism cannot be inaugurated by compensating capitalists—which leaves wealth in its Money form (Capital) in the same hands. Nothing whatever is changed by the Labour Government's “Socialisation” of the Bank of England, except the name on the documents entitling the owners to their pound of flesh. Same owners—same flesh—“the 12 per cent." comes out of the hides of the workers.

Banks are institutions of the Money system—Capitalism. They only function for, and in that system: They can only operate when the great mass of production is carried on to exchange products—for profit. They are the clearing houses of that commodity—(or its paper tokens) gold; which serves as the universal medium of exchange—which stems from private ownership.

Banks borrow—and lend other peoples money, i.e., they take deposits, and make advances on security (property). Banks make profits (without which they close their doors) from the difference between the cost of attracting deposits; and what they make by lending or investing a large part of these deposits for short periods. Banks are Profit making concerns of Capitalism. They are nothing whatever to do with Socialism; which will abolish Money and Banks, along with parsons, prostitutes, pawnbrokers and politicians.

Mr. Arthur Greenwood told the Conservatives that the Labour majority in the House to-day is “quite different,” from the Conservatives, but went on to say of his own Labour Party colleagues:—

“I look around among my colleagues and I see landlords, capitalists and lawyers. We are a cross- section of the national life.”—(Hansard, August 17th, Column 261.)

And not one voice was there to interject, “Double-cross section”!

The Labour Government's object is not the establishment of the Socialist Commonwealth of Great Britain—which can only be done by “dispossessing”—“taking away,” (Oxford Dictionary) expropriating—not compensating Capitalists. Marx's slogan was:—

“Expropriation of the Expropriators.”

“Public Ownership” simply means wealth in the form of “public corporation” stocks, quoted on the Money Market to the highest bidder, in place of private stockholders. Mr. Dalton has already expressed the hope that British Government securities will increase in value, as a result of his legislation. Under the Labour Government's convenient “Socialism," the profits and wealth of the capitalists increase.

For a great many years the Socialist Party has declared that:—

“It is impossible to exaggerate the harm done to the Socialist movement, by those who, calling themselves Socialists, have taught the workers to believe that State Capitalism and Social Reform are Socialism.

The Socialist Party of Great Britain has always been careful to define what Socialism means. Nobody who grasped that definition ever made the error of supposing that State Enterprise like the Post Office or Public Utility Corporations like the London Passenger Transport Board had anything to do with Socialism. Nor did they imagine, even for a moment, that Hitler and Mussolini were Socialists, or that Socialism could result from the Bolshevist dictatorship in Russia or from a Labour Government in Britain or Australia. But our critics who ridiculed what they called the “doctrinaire” Socialist Party of Great Britain, all fell into these errors—with disastrous results."

The greatest disaster of all will befall the National Labour Party—as the workers discover, by bitter experience, that it does not stand for Socialism. We shall proclaim louder than ever what Socialism means—the workers will learn—and the Labour Leader take his place in the museum of antiquities, with Money—Banks, “ the spinning wheel, and the Bronze axe."

Horatio.