LABOUR PARTY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23044, 21 November 1936, Page 24

LABOUR PARTY

COMMUNIST AFFILIATION REPLY TO MR C. L. CARR The Communist Party of New Zealand makes the following reply to Mr Carr;— “ In a message from Christchurch the national president of the New Zealand Labour Party is reported to have stated that the National Executive of the New Zealand Labour Party has refused the application from the Communist Party of New Zealand. The reason given is the past actions of the Communist Party. Until such time as an official reply to the application is received we cannot make any comment on the reasons given. “ The report further states that the Communist Party s had in view the establishing of something in the nature of a popular front movement in the Dominion. The application for affiliation was not made for the purpose of establishing any new movement, but on the same basis as application is made by trade unions for affiliation to the Labour Party. “It is also stated that the Communist Party has lost a good deal of ground since the return of the Labour Government. The failure of the Christchurch branch of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement to fill its executive positions is brought as evidence of this. The Communist Party has not lost ground since the return of the Labour Government. There have been four new groups of the party established in entirely new districts. The membership of the groups in the large centres has steadily increased. The circulation of the official organ of the party, the Workers’ Weekly, has increased by 1000 during the present year The number of executive positions in the trade unions held by members of the Communist Party has considerably increased during the same neriod. “ The failure of the Christchurch branch of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement to fill its executive positions does not reflect upon the Communist Party. At the time when these positions were declared vacant Communists sufficient to fill them were nominated. Insisting that the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement was a movement not attached to any party, the Communists declined nomination in order to ensure the non-party character of the movement. While at the present time the National Executive of the Labour Party refuses to accept the application of the Communist Party for affiliation, the matter cannot be said to have ended. The Communists will continue to work towards a united working class movement, and consider affiliation to the Labour Party as a step towards that end.”