THE PUBLICATION of the new draft of The British Road Socialism this month was heralded with a tantare ol articles and statements in the Party's press.
The draft's own introduction explains that:
'Since the last edition published in 1968 there have been big cnanges in Britain and the world. To take account of these changes, from them, this new edition of The brush Koaq to sociansm nas been prepared."
However. one thing that has not changed since 1968 is the continParty of Great Britain in influence ana membersus According to the CP's own figures. Ls memocrsno nas creased from 32,916 in 1967 to 28,543 in 1975. Over the same period, as young people were to forin the backbone of the organisations of the far left, the membership of the Young 2,3 O'and by September 1976 had sue declined from 5,642 collapsed to under 2,000.
DOWN Circulation of the Morning Star is going down, and Dero marce CGB's strategy and tactics is on the agenda. Lenin made the point:
'A political party's towards its own mistakes is one of the most important and surest ways of judging how earnest the party is and how it fulfils in practice its obligations towards its class and the working people. Frankly acknowledging a mistake, ascertaining the reasons for it, analysing the conditions that have led up to it, and thrashing out the means of its rectification - that is ine nanmark or a serious party that is how it should educate and ITS LEADERSHIP de- But from the outset leadership have announced that discussion production of a revised edition of The British Road will not correspond to Lenin's dictum.
The fourth line of the draft states that:
*All that has happened in the years since 1951 Tine date publication of the first edition] has confirmed the need for Britain to take the new path outlined in our programme...
ine icadersnip nas spoken. Ine CP's central strategy outlined in 1951 Was Conce ane us neces to oc traditions of a Stalinist party, the CPB will suppress this Leninist attitude democratic right to organise tenachoics and lacuons party to fight for alternative pomacal courses.
The CPB has criticised the witch-hunt launched Labour maintain an inner which will make the Labourites - then une appear democratic in comparison.
Gone is Lenin's internal democracy, ol a serious party. Cone is what Lenin considered to be an essen tial condition of the Bolsheviks CP success', 'a fundamental feature of our revolution (that has) a significance that is not local, or Russian alone, but international' — namely *absolute centralisation rigorous-discipline in the proletariat' produced by, amongst other factors, truly iron discipline in our party. of The Stalinists have obliterated this notion of democratic centralism. In its place they have substituted imited themselves in the pages of poes certain individuals to ment, their fortnightly journal. Lenin understood the centrality