Ny
.
t
LL.
he Exhibition was first shown at “la
ored by over twenty trade unions. A
commence @ nationwide tour,
pool, where it was spons-
ck
fter “ricghton it will
Editorial ; THE LEFT AT BRIGHTON A mere year separates the Blackpool and Brighton Labour Party Conferences, but what fantastic differences there will be between the two events. Last year there was a genuine ovation when Wilson entered the hall: only the consistent left wing and the T&GWU delegates sat on their hands during almost orgastic scenes of hero worship. The response was genuine in the sense that it expressed the feeling of elation that at last Labour had come to power, The people who applauded Wilson were not all right wingers. Many did not want to see the repitition of the obvious faults and vacillations of Labourts first year in office, At Brighton the clapping will be far more restrained. Those who clung to their illusions last year will be more thoughtful. This year the platform will be defending not the policy of expansion but that of deliberately and openly creating unemployment, and this year's conference will be lobbied by the first victims of Labourts "Sack 'em't policies, Those who had doubts last year will, this year, be angry. But, alas, many of those who were angry last year will be nowhere to be seen, In working their tactics at Brighton the left wingers can fall into two traps which in essence amount to the same thing: accepting defeat in advance and 'recognising! Wilson's right to rule the roost in the Labour Party. Mistake number one is that of withdrawing from the fray under the smokescreen of radical phraseology. Those who talk of building a new movement based on industrial struggles should consult their history books: they should weigh up carefully the experience cf the pre~1914/18 war synicalist movement, which could call conferences on workers! control attended by hundreds of trade union delegates. The railwaymen and miners who had taken part in extremely militant strikes under revolutionary syndicalist influence, went away to the war completely captivated by jingoism. There are many examples to back up the thesis that it is absolutely necessary to combine industrial and political struggle, and that it is impossible to jump over historical stages. The workers will not break with their traditional party except under the influence of cataclysmic events; and when they do they go through many stages of development. To abandon the fight inside the Labour Party whilst the overwhelming majority of the working class still see it as the only vehicle for their political expression is to abandon the working class to Wilsen. Whilst ever the working class identify themselves with the Labour Party the task of left wingers is to fight to remain in this party; not at the expense of principles but in order to remain politically with our class. ‘hen Wilson claims to speak in the name of the Labour Party we need to be able to say: "Wilson lies: he speaks only for the right wing which is politically opposed to the entire raison d'etre of the party." How can we say that if we pull ourselves out and leave the field to hin? The second mistake has sometimes been called "left-footism" (no pun intended). It is based on the thesis that in order to fight effectively one must choose those issues where the maximum number of votes can be won against the platform and the most number of positions can be won by oppositionists. The theory falls down one one point: if one is faced by a determination to gallop as fast to the right as possible, the application of this method leads to one being dragged along to the right at exactly the same rate. If one confines oneself to being a single pace to the left of Wilson, one becomes in stages his left foot 3} Indeed the one he sometimes leans on { To abandon the fight on principle for fear of lack of votes means to hand over the party to the right. We need to generate an equal pressure to push it to the left. Tf the MPs are subject to the stifling and constricting pressures of Parliament, we need to subject them - in an intelligent way - to a pressure from the left,
Cver /
The Left at Brighton / continued
At Brighton the left must fight intelligently but firmly for the conscience
cf the party. To gain "victories" like the Vietnam decision at Blackpool is
a complete waste of time. Of course we want to get the maximum number of
votes, but not at the expense of capitulation. A victory gained at the
expense of pretending to stand for something other than we do is not victory:
it assists the rightward evolution of the party. The lesson of the two
years is clear: all the manoeuvres, all the "careful" tactics and vote-
catching gimmicks have not stopped this Government from evolving to the right
faster than any other Government in history. To try to halt that evolution
we need to stand firm, That is what the left should do at Brighton.