-PAN
soft left
MANY of us who went to Bournemouth for the first week in October did not go to hear a blistering attack Labour Party leader on the miners and Liverpool cillors. We went to work for and resolutions. many of which were passed; but the successes of which were overshadowed by "coming out"-
In Tuesday's keynote speech — under the guise of a Parliamentary Report - Kinnock attacked those who fought the Tories. He'd begun by rehearsingnearly every right wing argument socialism. He waved the nationlist flag, preached about an ing state' , talked of increasing production, and assisting small ousinesses. He threw in a tew "radical" references to the Third World, support for Nicaraguan government and opposition to apartheid. Then he rounded on the left, and in a scene rehearsed for the cameras, slammed into Liberpool Council:
Kinnock's speech had the effect of splitting the Conterence in two.
The Press loved it; and covered their front pages the next day with "The Courage of Kinnock" "Oh, Boy-o". . Come the next elec. tion, it will presumably be the business-as-usual "Vote Tory"; or at a pinch "Vote Alliance"
The Right loved it, and so did much of the trade union top brass on the delegations: for both, were secured
The "soft left" had a split second to choose which way to jump; and leapt into the quagmire. They applauded Kinnock Into i power: and by large have supported him there. They stood by the myth of Kinnock, the "leftie" , ignoring or supporting his manoeuvring of the last 2 years; comfortable in being able to distance from the like of Holy, " midte.
Hammond, etc.
The collapse of Labour's
By PETE FIRMIN and JENNY FISHER rough, they went for the easy option.
Indeed, Kinnock's main organised from the cheerleaders, the
Committee, ordinating colnweek with "critical support" in their
Bulletin:
into the hands of the media and the ultra left by blowing up the wrong
Kinnock
Issues, then the Party will continue to be diverted."
Wednesday Bulletin stated:
nock was absolutely right... He said in public what many had been saying
In private."
against and:
"enablresolution. But we also support the
Kinnock leadership.
Ken Livingstone, the LCC, said at the Tribune Rally on the Wednesday night that "we have to work with Neil Kinnock and build the structures counteract the pressures of the right on him.
it 1s impossible that Livingstone and the LCC would not have noticed that
Kinnock is leading the right offensive impossible to tupport both him an i impossible to support both him the NUM. They have made their choice.
; and
LCC's statement on the Thursday that
"the left is now more dominant in the
Party in a way that we never have been before"?
who they think the left are.
That then,
Is alliance aganst the miners, against their futures the inner city working class, against our class in general. But another there was shared total disgust for Kinnock's stand: an alliance of the hard left, the and oppressed, specially fighting at Conference for socialist policies.
public: he walked off the platform, unable to stomach such a divisive attack on those in struggle.
morning
010 out the
Liverpool
Neither
But again, never people to stick to class principles when the going gets.
Labour
Cobegan the
"If Neil Kinnock constantly plays
Once he'd done just that, the
.. our instincts say that Neil Kin-
*The ICC supports the NUM's new darling of that allow the to ing the
These statements appear naive, yet
As Eric Heffer commented on the ference it makes you wonde the new unholy
West.
and alliance, who
Labour in those and of course
Of these, Eric Heffer was the most
The NUM weathered Tuesday's be now?
Socialist Viewpoint, No 8, November 1986. Page 13 speech, and a renewed attack on them on Wednesday.
Liverpool councillors reacted angrily to Kinnock's insults; the next they challenged Kinnock, and the union leaders, to come up to
Liverpool, look at the books, and tes!
'dented shield" approach. The challenge was taken up.
The Lambeth Councillors reacted angrily: they saw that the attack on was an attack on all resolute local authority fightbacks, and realised their fight had been knif ed in the back by implication.
the Black Sections activists, fresh from the success of seeing their vote nearly treble over last year's support; nor the campaigners for Lesbian and Gay rights, who were later, through their hard work, ticularly in the unions, to see their Composite passed; had had any illusions in the leadership which was against both their struggles.
You had only to look at the position of black Lambeth councillors to see the links clearly: cast adrift by the leadership in their ficht to defend jobs and services and in their fight against racism in the Party.
One major aspect holding back black, lesbian and gay, and women campaigners from identifying with the left has been the Militant, who are so openly against positive discrimination of all kinds. Kinnock tried to link his insults with Militant: taint a left policy with being "Militant-inspired" and through anti-Militant hysteria, knock down the policy as well.
But the effect on many was the opposite: a realisation that Militant must be detended if Left policies are to be won; and a greater willingness to ally themselves with the left, despite the left's imperfect record
The hard left is still strong; and was able to win on policy many times durweek, overturning NEC recommendations to remit or oppose. As well as the NUM composite, the trebling of the vote for black sections, the pasing of the lesbian and gay rights composite; resolution on "Reproductive Rights" removed MP's used to get out of following Party policy on abortion, etc. At the very first session, Convoted for immediate dismantling of EEC food mountains as part of an answer to African famine, and for cancelling bank debts of the "Least Developed Countries" to the
There is a final category of Kinnock supporters: the polisters have produced fodder for the papers showing the lead and Kinnock soaring to the top of the stakes in the "Best future Prime Minister" competition. So far so good. What is lacking,
-is any effective comDeen out campaigning for the miners If the Party leadership, had throughout 1984, putting the very good arguments in favour of doing so, how high would Labour support