Callaghan clearly panicked last week when he agreed to a Select Committee enquiry into corrupon. however, the whole exercise is designed to give a glossy cover to parliamentary democracy, which is itse simow one corrupt part of a totally corrupt capitalist system.
It is easy to understand why open representatives of capitalism are corrupt. They are simply behaving like any normal businessman, who cuts corners same on safety, occasionally kills a few workers in the process in order to get maximum DrOFItS. What is more difficult is to understand how many figures in the labour movement also indulge in the more seedy methods of capitalism.
Why was Labour Party National Executive member Andy Cunningham involved in all sorts of shady deals? Or Durham councillors Sidney Docking, Kobert Urwin, Maunch Aller Gerrard Herron, who dished out contracts to building contractors?
Why are there many cases - in Glasgow, Dundee, Pontefract, Northampton and of course the North East -where supposed representatives of the working class are found to be engaged in numerous fiddles?
The answer is simple. They are all reformists who accept that capitalism is here to stay. At best a few rough edges may be knocked off. But once you start by accepting the capitalist system, you soon end up accepting all its faces -including graft and corruption.
You end up wining and dining with "respectable' figures. You end up witn men such as Sir Julian Hodge, 'Usurer of the Valleys", as your friend. And you end up with utter contempt for the working There is not that much difference between the Dan Smiths, the Andy Cunninghams and the John Stonehouses, and those such as Jim Callaghan, who is quite at home dining with Brazilian torturers. They all systematically sell out ine interests of ine working class, wnom they claim to represent although they are responsible to no-one but themselves.
The Cabinet is not elected, Labour Prime Ministers are a law unto themselves, and Labour Mrs pay scant al tention to the wishes of their Constituency Labour Parties.
Which is why the fight against corruption must mean fighting for real democracy in the mass organisations of the working class. But that runs against the whole ideal of parliamentary sovereignty that dominates the politics of social сетостасу hence wien Are scare sugges that trade union-sponsored MPs should be bound by their trade union's policies, the Labour leadership are horrified. They rush to see whether Scargill can be prosecurce tor breamn or raniamentary rv. lege. When Ann Holmes, prospective Labour candidate for Kensington, announces that she will be bound by the decisions of her General Management Commitee. une cavour leaders are ar hast.
Where the right wing are correct is in their claim that Scargill's statement represents a breach of 'Parliamentary Privilege'. The extent of that privilege can be seen in the revelation this week that MPs cannot be prosecuted for corrupt practices in their work as MPs. That is a privilege which should be breached.
The fight against corruption means a fight against the hold of the right-wing bureaucracy in the labour movement. It means a fight to make all MPs bound by conference decisions. It means a fight for ine nant or reselection or al vrs. and Ine right to get rid of them as soon as they turn their backs on the working class, not in five years time.
Above all, it means a fight for a higher form of democracy - workers democracy. This means that in the trade unions, all representatives should oe ciecica, and in the Labour Party all tendencies should have the right to put forward their posiBOnS Labour's scant concern for democracy has already been clearly seen in the Newcastle Central by-election. The Socialist Worker campaign organised a picket of the meeting of the Northern Economic Development Council, chaired by Ted Short, former MP for Newcastle Central before he got his 19,000 plus per year job with Cables & Wireless Mr Short informed the meeting: •We are having an election in Newcastle. We heard of the demonstration by the yobs outside so we had to have strict security." Mr snort snows suca touching concern for the unemployed workers on that picket. ON I FOCUS