GRAYLING THE TROTSKYITE

Dear Mr Grayling,*

Some days have now elapsed since you last corresponded with me. In that time you have, under severe pressure, agreed to make the work experience programme truly voluntary by removing the sanctions that represented the coercive element of the scheme. This following on from your assurance to me that ‘I had got it wrong’ and that the existing scheme was already purely voluntary.
I think you will find that the political formula to be followed when caught telling lies is either a) to claim you were misquoted, b) say your remarks were taken out of context, or c) if you have the stones, to admit that you told an untruth and apologise, usually with a lot of weasel words about a misunderstanding.
However rather than following any of these routes you simply resort to abuse and smears, continuing to peddle the lie that all opponents of your forced labour schemes are Trotskyites.Well to coin a phrase, I don’t care what you call me you are wrong,
Incidentally during the early Bolshevik period, when Trotsky was indeed active, forced labour was very much a feature of the regime, though in that instance they had at least the rationale that they were fighting a civil war and consequently fighting for their lives. That said it would seem to me that you, as an advocate of forced labour, might more accurately be described as a Trotskyite, than my self.
Finally if you imagine that your forced concessions respecting the Work Experience Programme will end resistance to all your other forced labour schemes, you are very much mistaken; again to borrow one of your acute descriptive phrases there are lots of us in this campaign

Alex Talbot

Commisar Grayling advocate of conscripted labour as part of the first Five Year Plan, toward a future free of employment rights and of trade union inteference in the market.

*For related correspondence see below.

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