REJECTED BY LABOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25239, 31 May 1943, Page 3

REJECTED BY LABOUR

COMMUNIST AFFILIATION (Rec. 7 p.m.) • LONDON, May 28. The dissolution of the Communist International might have released the Communist Party in Great Britain from its international obligations, but that did not imply that the British party was free from the political basis on which it was created and previously conducted. The National Executive of the Labour Party made this statement after reconsidering the Communist Party’s application for affiliation with the Labour Party, and reiterating its opposition because “ it believes that only disruption and disastrous consequences would result to the Labour Party.” The executive’s statement continued: “Even if the Communist Party formally professed loyalty to the Labour Party, there is no historical evidence to show that it wants to be loyal. On tjie contrary,. Communists have consistently decried Labour’s leadership and used their maximum endeavours to destroy the Labour Party’s authority and create disloyalty and disaffection among Labour Party members and trades unionists.” The statement suggested that if the Communist Party really believed in the unity of British Labour, its course was clear—it could follow the Comintern’s lead and dissolve itself, thereby contributing to the development of the Labour Party as the one ■ great political party of the Left. The executive’s rejection of the application was made after a three-hour meeting. The decision has yet to be endorsed by the annual conference of the Labour Party, which will be held in mid-June. The Daily Worker says: "The Labour Party executive’s basic argument against affiliation—the Communist international—no longer exists, but Labour Party diehards stand manfully m their last ditch, thinking up new reasons against the unity of the British working class.”