LABOUR CONFERENCE MUST DECIDE 25 MARCH 1976 No. 143 Behind the backs of the working class, 315 members of the clique known as the Parliamentary Labour Party are claiming the right to decide the leadership of the labour movement. There are 11 million members of the trade unions and 600,000 individual members of the Labour Party. These 315 people were elected only through the effort and sweat of these millions. Yet it is this tiny group which claims the right to decide who shall lead the movement others created.
And who will this gang elect? It is only too obvious. Five candidates standing four square for the continuation of Wilson's policies are in the running. Only one candidate, Benn, is even vaguely critical of the Government's policies - and he will have been knocked out by the time this paper comes out. After that the charmed circle of 315 will settle down to discuss who Call best sell the 'son of the limit', the cuts and 1½ million unemployed to the labour movement. AXE-MAN Put all this democratically to the labour movement and the result would be very different. Jenkins, one of the 'top contenders, would not even have the nerve to stand. It was Benn who topped the constituency poll for Labour's NEC while axe-man Healey was thrown off. Maybe Foot would win - we wouldn't support him, but if he did it would be through a real fight in the labour movement with hundreds of thousands voting to his No wonder the parliamentary clique won't take the election to democracy of a special Labour Party conference. Hiding behind the myth of parliamentary sovereignty, they display contempt for democracy and claim the right to dictate to the labour movement.
On policies the situation is even PRICE 10p £6 clearer. Only the 15-20 PLP votes which will be cast for Benn are in any sense at all a vote against the Government's policies. In a Labour conference the result would again be very different. Millions of votes were cast against the Government's policies last summer. voted against a recall conference because the parliamentary needs at all costs to real fight between the left and right breaking out which is not confined to their charmed circle.
RABBLE Even worse for the right, at an emergency labour conference policies put forward in opposition Government wouldn't be just those pathetically advanced by Benn. Policies of nationalisation workers control, cost of living increases to compensate for inflation, the implementation of the Labour conference decision in the health service could be fought for as a real alternative. How much the right needs to prevent the real alternatives aired!
And finally what a hopeless rabble are the parliamentary left. They are playing a game within the Parliamentary Labour Party in which the enemy has loaded dice. none of them have fought to have the leadership decided by a Labour conference rather than the parliamentary clique. rules which ensure they can't win. They can't even defend themselves, let alone the working class.
what a farce! Not one of the Trib unites, who correctly voted against the £6 limit or refused to vote for the cuts, had the courage to come forward openly and say: 'I am op posed to this Government's pol icies. Vote for me for opposition to Wilson's Tory line' The best they can summon up is to vote for Benn, whose idea of crucising me covernment Is to stand like a naughty boy in the The NEC corner making faces at the teacher but not daring to do anything.
While this farce is taking place, prevent any the real fight against the Government's policies is going on elsestrikes against the cuts and the general strike against the cuts in Dundee are leading that fight. who vote against wage controls in the summer union conferences will be leading that fight.
The need is to organise these fighting forces into a class struggle opposition in the labour movement - and only if the lefts begin to do this could they play a really major role in the fight against the Government's plans. go on against whoever succeeds Wilson.
being Yet They submit to Those who led the rail Those That real fight will
2 Engineering Red Weekly 25 March 1976
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