General political orientation
Our tradition: "Our moves away from our origins in post-Trotsky 'orthodox Trotskyism' have been part of a journey back to Marx's clear doctrines of working-class liberation, without the mystifications and confusions generated in post-Trotsky Trotskyism by its identification of Stalinist states in which a savage system of class exploitation of workers prevailed with 'deformed' working-class revolutions".
Workers' government: "We must confront the Blair faction in the broader battle of ideas, arguing for a vision not only of the working-class goal of socialism but also of the sort of labour movement needed to achieve that goal... summed up in the call for a workers' government, and immediately for maintaining or rebuilding a mass workers' party to attain it".
Reforms, revolution and AWL: "prepare for [revolution] in the only way it can consciously be prepared - by convincing workers to organise and struggle for their own interests on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis, and in the course of this teaching them to accept socialist goals... WSN... FTUC... While socialists work in the labour movement structures and promote our politics, projects and perspectives within them, we do not voluntarily confine ourselves to them... some autonomy of the Marxists is essential".
AWL organisation
Role of the AWL: "task of cadre-building - specifically, the building of reliable AWL branch routines round a central cadre group in each branch; the development of our political education; the development and circulation of our literature - is central for the period ahead".
Organisation report: "Reassert norms of membership... attend branch meetings... weekly public sale and educational/contact work... if norms not met comrades should be lapsed..."
Education: "a new drive... NC and EC to make arrangements for back-up, coordination, and leadership... NC members to play a leading role in their branches... Branches to make education work part of their bedrock routine... All AWL members to participate regularly and actively in education work".
Publications: There will be further discussion at the National Committee on 3 January.
Areas of work/campaigning
WSN: "Pursue affiliations... Campaign '£2 billion for the NHS'... Health conference in March... mass lobby of Parliament in early July... Mobilise actively and promptly to defeat local NHS cuts... [many other details]"
Trade unions: "Recreate national industrial committee... Expand workplace bulletins... Organise a series of schools... [other detailed decisions] FTUC: "Build FTUC, the demonstration against the anti-union laws planned for Autumn 1998, and the mass petition for workers' rights... Build it into a broad and open class struggle campaign... a Chartist-style petition..."
Youth work: "Sales, petitioning and stalls outside FE colleges with the paper.... Short series of small pamphlets..."
Students: "Unity conference... possibility of alliances/joint slates... Student project should be much more closely linked to welfare state project... Regular AWL meetings [in colleges]... regular sales... paper rounds... contact work should be systematically planned... Prioritise setting up WL Student Societies... model AWL leaflets, posters, speakers' notes... NC to discuss an attempt to build campaigning unity across the sectors of education..." "Fees non-payment campaign" referred back for discussion by NC.
Labour Party: "AWL's profile must be raised... security should not inhibit... win some of the better LP people to the group... Regroup LP leftists around our campaigns - TU rights, welfare state... [many other detailed proposals]