PETER HAIN at the Tribune meeting at last year's Labour Party conference — hie tirest aince joining Labour from the Liberals. approach us, is: OK, you go and do it, it's your group, we'll belp print a professional kind of leaflet and provide some its supporters, but basically its up to you. We have no control What about democracy at a The steering committee was set up on a quite open and the We've this conprovide an What do opportunity to sorl out any problems that anti-fascist cally?
What i would resist! either that it is undemocratic operation, be cause I don't think it is; or the campaign like this by having a traditional model of organisThat model is provided more the way than adequately by the ARAF committees, which I bope we will strengtben. I bope that in the end this new constituency of people would be channelled into these organisations and movenent, so that it's not movement which comes an and leaves nothing solid The orber answer is that a10ur you have to admit that it could not have been done any other way ar before. There have been other Will the ANt dishand ufter the an emergenc operation. Tbe Front has beer paining ground clectorally, in be schools, in the workin emergency job af propaganda and of activity lo expose and *Te arget always has boa be General Election, Frankly I bad not, and nor had anyone else on the steering committee, envisaged the absolutely plosive growth of the thing We realised that there was a vacuum to be filled. We hadn't realised its full potential. After the League will have to decide what it does next.
Does it disband and say to go and feed in to your local ARAF committees, always assuming that the NF hasn't made an electora they advance? Or do we say that we have a responsibility to carry on our present activities?
All I'll say is that I see this a an emergency operation and | don't think that we will defeat racism and fascism by this kind of campaign at the end of the you think about committees lopeople. have voiced complaints.
1 understand that feeling. 1 think that many local ANL initiatives have been unsubtle in the way they sel them up. They haven't talked to people that they ought to. up and that these are just Stop Women Stop hese badges are all avallable trom The Other Bookshop, 3 Upper St, London N1, 20p each plus 10p pl natural hiccups in a thing that has taken everyone by surprise and grown explosively There has been justification for bad feeling, but also feeling that the ANL muscling in on their patch, We've been trying to bulld a body existing anti-racist and anti-fascist groups, Where that has happened we have tried from the centre to ensure that they are working in harness. But the local groups are independent.
are involving constituencies which, rightly or wrongly, would become involved in traditional labour movement bodies like the committess. which and man! others in the ANt have been WOLVERI over years These constituencie and their potential should be welcomed by tbe olde establisbed committees. hope in the long run to channel them into the older established committees.
SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 11 May 1978 page 3
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