T.U.C. Leader Attacks Gaitskell’s ‘Rebellion’

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29339, 19 October 1960, Page 7

T.U.C. Leader Attacks Gaitskell’s ‘Rebellion’

(4VX. rVesx Association—-Copyright) LONDON, Octdber 17. The Labour Party leader (Mr Hugh Gaitskell) was the target of a fresh attack today when the president of the British Trades Union Congress (Mr Ted Hill) called for the expulsion of Socialist members of Parliament who defy their recent party conference’s decision to renounce nuclear weapons.

Mr Gaitskell’s leadership of the Labour movement is now threatened because of his determined opposition to this conference edict. But about four-fifths of Parliament’s 256 Labour members of Parliament stand behind him in his “revolt.”

Mr Hill, who is general secretary of the Boilermakers’ Society, writing in his union’s official journal, said that some members of the Labour Party executive committee, and some Labour members of' Parliament, argued that they need not apply the decisions reached at the recent Labour delegate conference at Scarborough. “Let me remind these modern Canutes that if they want to represent our democratic Labour movement, they -must act like democrats. “It should be remembered that on many occasions when Leftwing members of Parliament have ignored party decisions they have been expelled from the party,” Mr Hill said.

Mr Gaitskell was today making preliminary arrangements for a Wednesday meeting of his Parliamentary “shadow cabinet,’ ’ which will discuss the threat facing its leader and the danger of a national split facing the Socialist movement. When, next month, Mr Gaitskell stands for re-election as leader, a largely Leftist minority in the Parliamentary Labour Party is expected to put up a challenger— Mr Anthony Greenwood, aged 49, who resigned last week from the “shadow cabinet.” He walked out in protest against Mr Gaitskell’s leadership under

which, he claims, the party cannot be united. Politicians consider it certain that if Mr Greenwood allows himself to be put forward now, he will be overwhelmingly defeated by Mr Gaitskell. Mr Gaitskell’s real rival in the Labour power struggle—Mr Frank Cousins, the trade union leader of the anti-bomb legions—also faced trouble today. The London Airport__branch of Mr Cousins’s Transport Workers’ Union passed a resolution expressing “grave concern" - over his anti-bomb speech at the party conference—which by a 405,000 majority in a total vote of about 6,000,000 endorsed a unilateralist resolution. The branch called on Mr Cousins to drop interference in politics and “give the whole of his time to the industrial interests” of the union.