Labour witch-hunt through its Director of Gould. No — they are merely told to wait has drawn guidelines on how to expel people properly. Now every Party in the thus anyone with an axe to grind or a brought in score to settle will have the ability to now? its time and money. Like building recruitment (the Party lost 10,000 members last year), campaigning against unemployment, oI But no. According to Militant, the Party has spent up to £100,000 on the in Solidarity, bublication an circulation of reports, legal tees, etc. Vhen we get the appeals tor tund for mass conterenc in October, the question must be raised couldn't this money have been Viewpoint's opposition to the use of the courts to stop expulsions rather than building the witch-hunt. a mass labour movement campaign proved right in Party General Council states that the court intention appa on to ted ole pobbies of the NEC add Party to carry out a legal Conferences. course using the courts alienates many unconvinced Party support ming To yecause against pheir courts against The logical conclusion could attend Party meetings. This is surely stretching the "workers under threat. Kinnock's claim that the expulsions will of by the loony let in the Par in the Party next in danger. is also worth further consideration. The local election results show that wing where Councillors took a stand in Lie deranis Party Bernie ward in Haringey, and Liverpool, In Islington, the "hard left" North Socialist Viewpoint No. 13 July 1986 p18
Constituency did well - the "soft left" South lost seats to the SDP. In Tower Hamlets, the Party had been discredited by years of corrupt, right-wing rule: and the Borough was lost to the Liberals.
Obviously not all results can be interpreted in this way in the 1 implistic and banal way Militant do But Kinnock's attempts to win over
"popular" are clearly nisguided. Surely he must realise that while the Sun, Mail and Express will vilify the left wing, and support Kinnock in his attempts to expel them, they will never support Labour in a challenge to the Tories.
Even his pet paper, the Mirror, has
bigoted arch-Tory columnist George Gale.
So what are the tasks that face us
• Firstly, to ensure the unity of the left in defending Militant supporters, Black Sections, Briefing and other Party members under attack.
• Secondly, to defend the right of socialists to organise in the Party —
Othe same way that Labour the Fabians, and the Labour Co-ordinating Committee do.
• Thirdly, to work in the unions to reverse the appalling series of votes
expulsions at formerly sympathetic union conferences such as NUPE. The TGWU delegation to Labour Party Conference must be forced to defy the rightward lurch on the General Executive, and carry out its union's Conference policy against
• Fourthly, an ongoing campaign needs to be built up to co-ordinate the defence of threatened comrades,
No one wants to spend time on internal Labour Party disputes when there is so much to be done - in
Cof the printworkers; in combatting racism; in fighting hospital closures and many other immediate and long term campaigns.
But if we fail to halt the witch-hunt, / every serious socialist in the Party is potentially under threat. Many policy gains of the past few years are also
Organisational gains such as reselection of MPs could be
If the Party leadership and right
succeed in mass expulsions then the Labour Party really will be heading on the road to becoming an SDP Mark II. We must continue to build the base the Left has in many constituencies with recruitment on | socialist policies in areas where
"is not a victory people can judge the Labour Party on i its record as a organisation. In this way we can ensure that CLPs feel strong enough to refuse to expel anyone witchhunted by the NEC
Hattersley has shown us how the right wing are panicking the Deputy Leader of the Party feels so threatened that three members of his constituency
'parkbrook, should be expelled witl Hattersley casting the decisive vote. He cannot be allowed to get away with such attempts to stamp out opposition.
The lessons to be drawn must be made clear to Militant. A united, broad-based campaign is needed to oppose the witch hunt; one that relies on mobilising a mass base in the labour movement rather than appeals to the Tory courts. SICK of Tory cash limits? Longing for government restore the services cut, the jobs lost and the conditions destroyed in the public sector?
Roy Hattersley has other ideas. He has already announced upon "strict financial discipline insist Kinnock government would echo Nigel Lawson's commitments to borrowing limits by enforcing rationally calculated ceiling public borrowing"
Of course none of Hattersley's pronouncements, which are geared
modest Kinnock-Hattersley goal of (eventually) creating only million new jobs to share among the 4 million unemployed, democratic policy decisions. He has already adopted the arrogant, elitist attitude towards the determination of economic policies
campaigning - where Birmingham Felipe Gonzalez Hattersley's cash limits | distinguished Denis Healey in the Labour grim years under Wilson. hand-raiser for the witch-hunt, has felt obliged to protest at Hattersley's one-man policy-making methods. In return Kinnock and Hattersley have that agreed to give periodic reports on a heir latest policy decisions , and NEC's Home Policy committee! All this away from the schema for creating Million Jobs a Year" as advocated by to the recent Campaign Group of Labour MPs - which (among tactfully left out the question of how to discome to think oft tet, ey. happened to that pamphlet? And why represent leaving it up to Blunkett to make the running in calling Hattersley which order? Socialist Viewpoint No. 13 July 1986 p19
A blueprint for Kinnock? Behind vote for NATO 12 this year. severe NATO, Even David Blunkett, soft left NEC to the of course is light-years "A channels) pamphlet from the evasions) better. other think of it whatever is the Campaign Group apparently Local to
THE ruling