King of the Left seen as by-election favourite

Press, 1 March 1984, Page 11

King of the Left seen as by-election favourite

By

RON WATSON,

Australian Associated Press

(through NZPA) London One of Britain’s most influential and colourful postwar politicians, Tony Benn, is on the threshhold of a triumphant come-back that could shake his Labour Party more than the Conservative Government.

According to all the polls and bookies Mr Benn should win the Chesterfield byelection comfortably today. And despite Mr Benn’s own prediction that Mrs Margaret Thatcher’s Government would fall if he gets a big majority, those with more immediate concern are Labour’s leaders. Mr Benn is the uncrowned king of the Left-wing, a faction that the party’s image-makers have been

trying to keep behind locked doors. His re-election could be the key to a new wave of Left-wing activity and influence, particularly in the House of Commons, where the faction has lacked leadership.

Mr Benn was one of the more noteworthy casualties in Mrs Thatcher’s landslide win last year. His seat in Bristol was virtually unrecognisable after boundaries were redrawn and his chances were always slim.

But Chesterfield is a safe Labour seat, as safe as any non-Government seat can be in a by-election.

For a man with Mr Benn’s background, the vote should be a mere formality. But he will have to decide, if he has not already, whether to serve quietly

under Neil Kinnock or stamp the Benn mark firmly on Labour. The latter is more his style. Whether by accident or design, Mr Benn has played an important role in some of the most dramatic events of Labour Party history. His succession to the Stansgate peerage and his battle to hold his House of Commons seat resulted in the Peerages Act, 1963. Instead of removing him from Parliament, the Act resulted in him disclaiming the title and it reinforced his standing.

In 1970, with Labour back in Opposition, Mr Benn, a former Cabinet Minister, made public his belief that Britain should stay in the European Economic Community. That was, and still

is, contrary to party policy. But he went further by calling for the 1974 election promises to include a referendum on the issue. Some saw the call as strange, even for Mr Benn. Even the most avowed Common Market supporter believed that a referendum would result in the electorate’s backing withdrawal. But the call split the party and resulted in Roy Jenkins — pro-E.E.C. — resigning from Labour’s deputy leadership. Finally, disillusioned with Labour, Mr Jenkins deserted and became one of the founders of the Social Democrats.

Mr Benn’s power-broking days continued with the mustering of support for Michael Foot in the leader-

ship vote. Clippings from the newspapers of the time show the Conservatives trying to portray Mr Foot

as, at best, a puppet for Mr Benn, or at worse just a temporary leader until the Left-wing chief was ready to take over the reins. But observers now agree that that was not the case. Most believe that that Mr Foot’s main job was trying to keep Mr Benn and Denis Healey (the deputy leader) at peace. Few people could achieve this task, and Mr Foot was not one of them. The two Labour stalwarts still have public differences bordering on open warfare. Mr Healey has been needled to the stage of accusing Mr Benn of inflicting serious wounds on the party. For his part, Mr Benn has mainly chosen to let the numbers do his talking ...

he has been able to block Mr Healey’s leadership aspi-

rations twice. The most recent was last year under the new, Benn-inspired system of choosing the leader with votes from party members, parliamentarians, and trade unions.

Mr Healey chose not to stand because he knew Mr Benn’s influence in the trade unions and party rank-and-file was too great. And this week Mr Healey found that his Parliamentary commitments would not allow him to campaign for his old foe in Chesterfield. It would have been the highlight of an otherwise drab campaign that will almost certainly end with Mr Benn’s winning. About the only interest left now is who will run second — the Conservatives or the Liberals.