Richard Kuper

Introduction to Our Programme

(July 2015)

Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.

Socialist Review published a 12-point programme on the back page of the newspaper on a regular basis. In 1954 a series of articles appeared, explaining the programme point by point. In practice points 1 and 2 were dealt with together in the first article, and point 7 on the NHS seems to have been so obvious no article was needed to explain it. So the series only ran to ten articles.

Socialist Review

Our Programme

The Socialist Review stands for the earliest possible return of a Labour Government and for the carrying out of this programme :—

The complete nationalisation of heavy industry, the banks, insurance and the land.
The renationalisation without compensation of all de-nationalised industries.
Suspend interest on the national debt. Compensation to ex-owners only as a result of an Income Test administered by elected workers’ committees.
A majority of workers’ representatives on all nationalised and area boards subject to frequent election, immediate recall, and receiving THE AVERAGE WAGE OBTAINING IN THE INDUSTRY.
Two or more workers’ representatives to sit on boards of all private concerns employing 20 or more people with access to all documents.
Workers’ committees to control hiring and firing and working conditions.
Abolition of payments for national health service and of private beds.
Establishment of principle of FULL WORK OR MAINTENANCE.
Sliding scale of adequate pensions based on new and realistic cost-of-living indices.
Interest-free housing loans to local authorities and drastic powers to requisition and rent free state-owned land.
A foreign policy based on independence of both Washington and Moscow.
Withdrawal of British troops overseas; freedom for colonial peoples and offer of economic and technical aid.

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Last updated on 13 February 20175