crisis IN any organisation which devoted any attention at all to the struggle against women's oppression it would have been impossible. But the sensational expulsion of the Workers Revolutionary Party's former General Secretary Gerry Healy for the systematic rape and sexual abuse of dozens of women comrades lifted the lid on a Pandora's box of corruption, intimidation and political bankruptcy. Healy's expulsion accolytes - political disscussion and a chaos of inquiries into the party's organisational regime. Few, If any, of the old leadership come out with clean hands after two decades of Healy's dictatorial rule, buttressed by rhetoric and "theoretical" arguments put forward by such figures as Mike Banda and Cliff Slaughter. Drawing the lessons of this eleven year period, and of the current split. Socialist Viewpoint is printing an open letter, written to WRP members by some of those comrades bureaucratically expelled from the WRP in 1974, for raising political differences on the very questions which must now be confronted if that Party is to complete its break from Healyism and move in the direction of Marxism. We also reprint here an abridged version of the Introduction to the second edition of the Battle for Trotskyism, the book on the 1974 expulsions. The text offers an outline of WRP politics over the period up to 1979, which may not be familiar to many readers, and explains, for those currently re-examining their politics, how the main lines of Healy's more recent politics took shape. Dear Comrades, * As former WRP members ex- pelled by Gerry Healy in 1974. we are by no means surprised by the corruption and violence uncovered in the present crisis and split within the Party. We are only surprised that the crisis has taken so many years to break. We know that in the aftermath of Healy's expulsion, with so many political issues thrown into the melting pot, WRP members are forc ed to lace a bewildering array of pro-
- followed by 200 of his most servile has left the majority of the WRP in a ferment of blems. We recognise that the present split, like our opposition in 1973-74, has its roots in political differences. We could not accept Healy's cons- predictions tant of cataclysmic economic crisis, or dire forecasts of Imminent dictatorship: they proved ruinousiy disruptive to our work in the labour movement and we began to say so. Before we knew where we were, Healy had changed the con- stitution to remove the right to appeal to conference against expulsion - and we were being denounced as anti-party elements "Mensheviks" and " police agents". Sociatist Viewpoint No. 9 December 1985 p34
As we looked more into the politics of the WRP leadership and the" regime of the Group we found all the things which have emerged now violence, corruption and abuse of women comrades. Central Committee member Tony Richardson was beaten personally by Healy in the (now infamous) flat.
When Kate Blakeney complained against this on the Central Commitee, she was charged, suspended from membership and ejected from the meeting within 4 minutes!
When we asked for a control com mission into the violence, Healy
-WRP crisis changed the terms of reference to an Investigation into us. In the end the Control Commission recommendation was our expulsion from movement.
When we saw the charge sheets it turned out we were being expelled for raising precisely the things for which Healy was recently expelled from the Group: violence, intimidation and corruption. We were said to have been "slandering the General Secretary"! We had in fact been very reluctant to raise these matters but we regarded it as a matter of principle to do so once we knew about them. But Healy used them against us. He said we could not argue politically and were resorting to slander. He is saying the same things now - only then the majority backed Healy.
Then, after we were expelled, he organised a "reregistration" throughout the WRP Western Area (where we all were). All those refusing to accept our expulsion were themiseves expelled some who hardly knew us in London and Yorkshire. Some 200 were expelled all told.
Today's events completely vindicate the stand we took at that time. The violence, corruption and abuse of women comrades are politics. His opportunist politinal issues flow out of that.
In 1974 we took up his political line in some detail - as can be seen in our account of the split in the book The Battle for Trotskyism, which we published at the time, and in WRP leaders junk the old Trotskyism, published later on, as well as many other articles and statements.
Today. We welcome the which has been belatedly taken against Healy, although damage has been done to Trostkyist movement by his continued activities over the past 10 yers.
We welcome Healy's expulsion and the fact that his most disciples have gone with him. But we have to say to WRP members that this is only the start. There Is a terrible mess to be cleaned up. The grotesque practices of Healy are still doing damage to the Trotskyist movement, in the Fleet Street tabloids ever day.
The problem is compounded by the fact that WRP leaders like Mike Banda and Cliff Slaughter clearly knew what was going on, and condoned it over decades. They were enthusiastic supporters of Healy's political and organisational moves to expel us in 1974.
3956, London WCIN 3XX.
the including Healy's antics on Goddafi those who have theoretical mouthpiece stand much tion as small the Stalinism and material conditions to mindless bureaucracy in its own ranks. be the Boshevik party. tional, in which democracy was out in 1974 this means: • Rejecting dividual full-timers: Still available Copies of The Battle for Trotskyism and other literature on the WRP are available (E3 including post and packing) from Socialist Viewpoint's Bookstall. BCM Box
- suddenly selected for adulafory support in 1977 There must now be a full political tability accounting of the whole situation, and a full political self-criticism by acted as Healy's the over years. The workers's movement has a tion to small the or d argue documents. as the theoretically committed to fight information. and reformist bureaucracies could create political spawn such a vicious, brutal, utrammelled WRP members must revise almost every assumption and position that has been handed down to them, and International. turn to Trotskyism. Their model must the Left Op position and the early Fourth Interna- timidation central factor in preserving a healthy political leadership. As we pointed at the any cult of the in. • A exclusive leadership cli- ques and any privileged positions tor educated geared to available, Socialist Viewpoint No. 9 December 1985 p35
• As a guarantee of the accoun
Othe leadership and its scrutiny by membership at all levels, there must be full freedom of discussion within the Party, with the right to raise questions, and circulate and
minority points of View, resolutions and
• A necessary corollary from the right to argue minority points of view is the right to organise around these riews, to torm opposition tendencies and factions to develop and fight for these points of view - rights jealously defended in Lenin's Bolshevik Party and in the statutes of the Fourth
• This means a categoric and principled rejection of violence and in-
Cof any kind within the Marxist (and workers) movement. Violence if used should be directed
class enemy, not comrades with differences.
healthy internal regime depends also on the development of new layers of independently-minded,
cadre. This in turn demands that the activity of the move ment in the class struggle must be
Othe human resources and orientated in such a way as to train comrades to play a leading role in the actual