High Noon for Foot

Press, 11 December 1981, Page 6

High Noon for Foot

NZPA London The so-called “broad church” of the British Labour Party appears to be in ruins. The revolutionary Left are streaming in on one side and the Social Democrats running out the other. The party’s embattled leader, Michael Foot, has now forced a showdown with the ultra-Left, seen by. some as “infiltrators” in the party — a Trojan horse waiting to attack parliamentary democracy. Mr Foot’s first victory was the rejection of an Austra-lian-born Left-winger, Peter Tatchell, selected by the south London Labour constituency of Bermondsey as its candidate for a by-elec-tion expected early next year. . After an angry denunciation by... Mr Foot of Mr Tatchell in the Commons, Labour’s organisation committee rejected-his candidature by 12 votes to seven. He argued that a by-elec-tion with Mr Tatchell as the official candidate would prove a disaster for the party, leading inevitably to another massive triumph for the Social Democrats. The Labour leader now has extended his campaign with a proposed full-scale investigation into the activities of the Marxist Left organisation, ' the “Militant Tendency, the party.. 5 'The ■ national executive is expected to ratify the move next week after its approval, by 10 votes to nine; by the organisation committee after a stormy debate yesterday.

The committee has called on the Labour’ Party’s general secretary and the national agent to provide a report on the activities of the Militant Tendency and to see whether.' these conflict with constitution. --.lt has also asked them to obtain from the party’s -organisers details of their operation within the Labour Party, including funding, organisation, full-time staff, and -international connections. . ; - .

Political observers belive it will be a long and bloody campaign, but Mr Foot has made it clear that he does not intend to flinch from it.

The Militant Tendency seeks to bring about revolutionary change by working within the party, unlike other Left-wing organisations including the Communist Party, the Workers’ Revolutionary Party, and the International Marxist Group, which work outside it. The Militants, who base their political ideas on the writings of the Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky, are following his 1936 directive. Trotsky urged his British followers to join the Labour Party, adding that subsequent action would depend on progress within it.' “It is very important,” he wrote, “that we do not lay ourselves open at the beginning to attacks from the Labour Party bureaucracy which will result in our expulsion without having gained any appreciable strength.” Until about eight years ago, the Labour Party in Britain kept a list of pro scribed organisations which ran from the Communist Party to such exotica as the Bulgarian Friendship Society. In 1973 the list was abolished and from that time there were to be three simple, practical tests of allegiance. No Labour Party person should belong to a party which put up candidates at elections, which maintained a national organisation, or which had. its own distinctive programme. If the Militant Tendency were to be expelled it would probably be done under the clause which bans organisations with their own programme, principles and policy for distinctive and separate propaganda. The weekly paper, “Militant,” is the motive force of everything else, the dynamic of the Militant Tendency. Marches, demonstrations;

and political gatherings are targets of a heavy sell, and at 20p a time, “Militant” claims a weekly sale of 30,000 copies.

For some of those thousands, regular readership leads to the next stage — an invitation to become a fullyfledged supporter (they never say member). It now has a membership of’more than 5000, claims to have the support of up to 300 constituency Labour parties, and enjoys a strong power base in the Labour Party Young Socialists. It is strongest in London and other metropolitan centres such as Birmingham and Liverpool, where it has four or five offices.

At the top of the Militant structure is the paper’s poll-./ tical editor, Ted Grant,.aged'", 67, a shambling, bespectacled ideologue, given to thumping the table to make a point. . Under him is an editorial board of six members and about 60 full-time workers, a figure rivalling the number of Labour organisers in the field, all paid according to need.

The 5000 active supporters, who apart from selling the paper and contributing funds, attend special “Militant” meetings.

All that, says “Militant,” is no more than the structure of a newspaper. But others argue that the number of full-timers in particular seems excessive if all they are doing is working for a small-circulation newspaper rather than a separate political organisation. Through energy, dedication, and discipline, turning up to party meetings when others do not bother, the Militant Tendency has already had marked success in a number of local councils.

Its next target is the House of Commons, the possibility of Militant supporters being elected as Labour members of Parliament has made the inquiry proposed yesterday all the more urgent. Among Militant objectives

are the nationalisation of the top 200 monopolies and the media, restoring all cutbacks in public expenditure, and abolishing the monarchy. Even some Left-wing Labour supporters see the purpose of such a programme as a transitional stage towards Trotskyist revolution.

According to one Left-wing Labour member of Parliament, if Militants take over there would be a one-party State. A Militant-controlled Labour government would not accept being voted out of office, he said.

Mr Grant naturally scoffs at such suggestions, claiming they are “entirely untrue.” “There wouldn’t be any question of being voted out once we had taken over the economy,” he explained in a recent television interview.

Mr Grant envisages full employment where everyone would initially work a 35hour week and be paid a minimum wage of SNZ2IO a week.

But after about ten years of Militant government people would be working only four or five hours a week for about SNZ46S a week, he said.

“Who would vote against a government of that sort?” he asked.

Labour’s organisation committee also voted yesterday, by 11 votes .to six, not to admit Tariq Ali, a student revolutionary of the 19605, to Labour Party membership. Until only a few weeks ago Mr Ali was one of the most prominent members of the International Marxist Group. Yesterday's. moves were bitterly opposed by Tony Benn whose rise, along with the Social Democrats, has made Labour a much more attractive proposition to those who previously' dismissed it as a mere reformist machine.

“I will tight like a tiger to prevent expulsions. I am very much opposed to expulsions and proscriptions,” he said.