the future of the left. John Smith is about to become Labour leader. Is this a continuation of Kinnockism or a further shift to the right? UNLIKE Kinnock, John Smith doesn't come from the left of the arty, so there isn't the persona itterness against the left Kinnock hasn't spoken to Tony Benn since 1982 or me since 1986, but Smith has left the lines of communication open. As far as I remember John Smith is almost unique in never having attacked another Labour Party member. This is one of the things used against him by people like John Cunningham 'where were you during the fight against the Trots'?
But on the issues of olicy, such ar targeting benefits', which is a codewore for supporting means testing, and the danger of coalitionism, then there is a big danger of a further shift to the right. In 1981 Tony Benn got 49.5 per cent of the electoral college in the deputy leadership battle. This time you got only 13 nominations from the PLP. This obviously reflects a decline in the Labour left nationally. How do you explain this? YOU'RE comparing the absolute high point of the left in Britain since the war with a very different One loser nands ever to a-cine May = 992 The undemocratic rules of Labour's leadership election have excluded Ken Livingstone and Bernie Grant from being formal candidates. But a 'shadow' campaign continues with meetings all over the country. Socialist Outlook talked to KEN LIVINGSTONE about the campaign and situation today. This has to be the low point. But I'm not pessimistic. I think there are going to be a lot of industrial struggles against attacks on the welfare state. And is clear that Smith s coming up with an agenda which is going to galvanise the left against him. Instead of proposing big defence expenditure cuts Smith will propose cutting welfare benefits to a huge swathe of middle income families, which is what the 'Commission on Social Justice' is all This fits in with what is going to hap pen throughout Europe. The absence of a wellare state in japan means that Japanese capitalism has a distinct advantage; and the United States has the No. 21 same advantage. the most massive struggles. base to start with? case this smal vote with me this time. a third of the Pl can be won to the left. so the Cam paign group has got reaching people.
Equally we have sor to reach out t he trade union lefts because is on the left. Livingstone - campaign goes on despite stitch-up capital throughout Europe is going to move against the welfare state, giving rise to Equally we're moving into a decade in which environmental issues are going to come to the fore dramatically with the going to be a decade in which both economic and social struggles, and the ecological and economic crisen, are going to put left issues back on the agenda. Still 13 nominations is a small ACTUALLY it was fourteen, Ronnie Campbell's vote got lost. But in any block of votes represents a bigger parliamentary left, because there were numbers of people pressurised by their local parties, or disgusted with the whole process, who couldn't or wouldn't basis.
We have a left core from which we lave to expand. And that means reach ng out to the soft left. Obviously a lot o he people supporting Gould share con erns about the welfare state, the envi ronment, the trade union link, devaluing the pound, and of course shared our concerns about the Gulf war. About "We have a left core from which we have to expand. And that means reaching out to the soft those left.... about a third of the PLP can be won to the left " Rese people are going to be at the forefront. Socialist Forum, to see what kind of common ground and common agenda there it all'.
The 13 points we've put forward may not satisfy every left group, but they are a realistic basis for discussion. It's objec tivist, or voluntarist, to imagine that in this situation we could suddenly recre ate something like the old Bennite left. Over the past five years a lot of people have left the Labour Party. Surely left organisation has to reach out to trade union and campaign activists who refuse to be in the Labour Party? THAT'S fine. I don't have the slightest objection to the widest umbrella organisation of the left, want to be in the Labour Party.
Labour Party. Provided that doesn't exclude the essential task of actually organising in the Labour Party.
The Socialist Movement could have been the ideal framework for that. The problem was that there were a lot of people who quite openly saw it as the forerunner of a 'red-green' party, or new socialist party, for which there was no Once you start talking about that, no union broad left will touch it. It's a clear waste of time. In the end, should the left vote for Gould and Prescott?
I SPENT two 'years on the economic policy review group chaired y Gould. And for nearly all that time we were fighting against people like Gordon Brown and Patricia Hewitt, who were taking a classic neo-liberal line of 'let the market do Bryan Gould and myself both argued subsidies and planning, the differences being solely those
on? Despite the fact that you and Bernie Grant are not formal candidates, the campaign goes ocialisi