Benn. making myths not policies ABOUR Party Conference opened on y with talk of revolution in the air. At a ference meeting on Sunday evening left MP Heffer Jeader George Lansbury: cialism is inscribed on our banners. We government not for reformist but for revolution.' fer interrupted this quotation to add his Mation: 'That wasn't on, maybe he did go a bit too far, but he "Trimmers, compromisers oks or we must quit them"? Later on citerated his point: 'We have a hell of a ¿ support for the socialist revolution.' ore mundane aim of getting support lerence resolutions on Labour Party what many delegates had in mind as rence assembled. Che first steps to the revolution were the three big issues mainated the run-up to the conference tion of MPs, new methods of electing , and national executive control of the nanifesto.
ty chairperson Frank Allaun, these to the very heart of the failure of the bour government. Opening ce.he declared: the time last winter was upon us the government had rejected our pleas and VI tae rade union movement restore full employment and to reverse i public spending. This is the real issue reforms How do we see that this does not insisting on greater respect for decisions by the Parliamentary such constitutional changes Individual Members Votes (as % of electorate)
40%7 35%30% -27% -1945. 1950 1951 or Labour Party members — the step'. quoted old-time they were arter significance of bloody agall beal year must quit In the meantime by Party left The latter, fashion, would 'there no aspirations and the for saciety explained.
Full-time Agents Votes 1955 1959 leader elected by a more representative body was, stressed Allaun, 'not such a revolutionary That in a nutshell was the problem the Labour left faced as the conference proceeded. By Monday it seemed likely that the reforms would be WOn.' But the such victory is largely symbolic. The changes will be up for discussion the union-sponsored enquiry into every aspect of Labour Party organisation will be submitted.
choosing to focus attention on the internal reforms the Labour leaves other things unsaid. subdued Tony Benn pre-conference question and answer session reiterated familiar themes — calls for increased democracy, long term economic planning and import controls.
said Benn, in good, British 'protect our workers from foreign competition'. It was all very general, unspecific and rhetorical. Benn made the point point having marvellous expecting down-beaten capitalist system to meet them.' Norman Atkinson, another left member of the NEC, when asked if he supported a mixed economy replied: 'No, there will have to be a fundamental change in society.' But how this would be achieved was When the Any Questions session: produced an inquiry as to how the NEC would fight the cuts and whetner it would bear the struggle of Clay Cross in mind, Labour general secretary Ron Hayward replied: 'We are not prepared to 1964 1966 when it means discussing Ireland or abortion.
Individual Members 1970 Feb 74 740ct Benn put it Labour governments Benn.
introduced vast reforms', Wilson-Callaghan years, conference falling disassociated from.
Stones during.
the alternative was to resign.' generations ago participation in recent vintage.
their fight against this government claimed Allaun.
Full 1,000,000 time Agents г 300 800,000-250 600,000- - 200 -150 400,000 -300,000- -100 1979 encourage our people to break or defy the law?
In most instances those who called for, as radical transformation of society' were left to bistory. They offered pasi • 825 mytin of great socialist achievement. 'We are only relearning what our forefathers in 1918 learned', said 'Tam thinking of the 1945 manifesto which said Allaun, and referring to the 1945-51 Labour government he emphasised, 'I am not looking so much for new policies, I want the old ones to be carried out'.
How such limited aspirations were related to the issues of constitutional change within the Labour Party was not explained. Äfter all, the the same methods of electing the leader applied in 1945 as applied in which Labour But as Shirley Williams put it in somewhat her Any Questions pre-conference session: 'I was a member of the Cabinet, as was Tony Benn, which accepted the Bill. public spending cuts. Let us be quite clear, if one did not accept the policies of the Cabinet Tony Benn and the rest of the Labour left stayed silent on that one. It is much easier to create myths concerning Labour governments than is defend such governments of more • Still the victories which Benn and the left seem likely to win in Brighton should at least allow attention to be focused on issues that MPs. have greater relevance for working people in The conference is 'not a debating society", We shall see.
LABOUR'S national ive, at "pre-conference meeting last Sunday, decided that delegates would not be allowed to debate either Ireland Or aDordon Instead featured debates include 'animal welfare' and 'vagrancy' The veto on Ireland WAS imposed despite four motions and (wo composite motions on the subject. Eric Heffer MP described the veto as 'outragcous'.
revealed how the censorship occurred:
'We did have a discussion en the national executive and one or two of us felt there should be time to have a debate on Ireland, for we haven't got a clear cut policy on it. But the overwhelming feeling executive was that we should let Jim deal with it in his speech on Tuesday.' Disaster Even the star of the Labour right, Shirley Williams, admitted: 'It's true we haven't got a policy on and Left MP Norman Atkinson described the decision not to debate the subject as 'disgrace ful'. He also said that what needed was fa clear understanding of the need for the reunification of Ireland'.
A similar remark was made by another MP, Alex Lyon. Al . fringe meeting on humen. rights Lyon said that he'd kept silent on Ireland for ten years, but that now he too felt Labour should adopt a policy for a reunification.
Thanks to the NEC's decision such views will not be heard at the conference proper. Two delegates interyened at the conference on Monday to demand that a debate take place Fringe No vote even on whether Ireland should be debated was allowed. There was considerable opposition on the CONCeNCE floor this Conference delegates will also have to fringe meetings to hear their leaders' views on abortion.
Tony Benn stated this on Sunday evening. • He explained that he had missed the vote against the Corrie Bill because of 'a technicality', but that he was resolutely opposed to the However, he dissented from the view that MPs should abide by conference decisions on it.
Accepting the principle of a free vote Benn said: 'we have t accept there is a conscientious problem'. So despite his much heralded demands for democracy in the Labour Party, as far that party's policy abortion is concerned Benn has said that it shouldn't matter to And as far as the national executive demands for 'accoundemocratic discussion' go Ireland need not Socialist Challenge 4 October 1979 Page 9
FOR THREE DAYS ballet was the capitalism will only pay when you're
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d its election failure, and about aley are the leaders who are needed.
nd Healey exist in the trade union 7 Chapple and Duffy, as well as at
On these pages JUDE WOODWARD looks at the constitutional proposals to see just how democratic they really are, while GEOFF BELL, at the conference in Brighton, discovers that Tony Benn may be hot on démocracy but not
there's no debate on Ireland and abortion execut-