from Ken Tarbuck
What Chris Arthur wrote last week about the recent events outside Transport House needs to be emphasised, but there are a few further points that I would like to make,
First, I feel his comments about Mrs. Braddock may be open to mizrepresentation. True, those of us on the left wing may not have a sympathy for ther poi.tical ideas, but we should protest as vigorously against the hoolige: ism directed at her as we would that against Tony Greenwond. Furthermore, we on the left must denounce any attempt to bring these methods into the labour movement, from which ever quarter they come. Such activities are 'mindless militancy' at its worst.
This brings me to my second points it is true that such 'tactics! (sic) do play into the hands of the right wing but our main objection must not be this, although it is necessary to make this very correct point. Certainly, I don't think thet we should go around advocating pacifism, in the sense of turning the other cheek, but neither do I think the left should in way seem to condone unnecessary violence.seeNor should we at any time seek to glorify violence,
This seems to me to be the fundamental issue, it is not one of tactics. One of the better traditions of the British labour movement is the lack of violence within it, it is one that we should seek to preserve. The sad thing is that, no doubt, the young people who demonstrated outside Transport House thought they were acting as militant socialists. We should try to point out to them the foolishness of this particular type of 'activity', and the discredit it brings on the whole labour movement. The struggle for socialist policies must not be confused with anti-social behaviour,