Fascists in crisis

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From Socialist Press. 31 Dartmouth Park Hill • A major crisis within the leadership and the ranks of the National Front is exposed this week in documents leaked to Labour Weekly.

An opposition, headed by expelled vice-chariman Andrew Fountaine, calling itself the "Constitutional 1 Movement" has circulated the entire membership of the NF with a lettèr, a document listing internal wrangles within the party, a two-page manifesto signed by 28 NF members, and a questionnaire.

Collapse

The campaign is designed to force the iesignation of NF chairman John Tyndall and organiser Martin Webster.

Fountaine alleges that the NF has suffered "a collapse in morals, in finance, in adminis tration and in political credibiity in the last few years."

Its membership, he reveals, is 5,500-considerably less than many other estimates. And he draws attention to the NF's failure to win significant electoral support, with a vote that has dropped to a "meaningless percentage"

No doubt to the horror of many NF rank and file thugs. and fascists, for whom gays rate a close second to immigrants as targets for persecution and violent attack, Fountaine' ;, 18page document dwells exte: Isively on the homosexuality of leading. NF members.

"Supermole'

But it goes on to make allegations . of "corruption" ballot-rigging, "mismanagement" and even "incipient socialism" against the Tyndall/ Webster leadership.

There is even speculation that a highly placed former CP member in the Front's top echelon is a 'supermole' responsible for the continual leak of confidential documents to the anti-fascist journal Searchlight.

The NF's electoral fortunes plummeted, claims Fountaine, as soon as campaigns such as the Anti Nazi League began to publicise the openly fascist positions held by Tyndall and Webster, who played around "with a clique of cranky costumed clowns" in the 1960s.

Because this is true, Fountaine points out:

"They're stuck with it and we're stuck with them-unless the party is prepared to face reality and do something about it."

In another effort to prevent Fountaine and co. from doing anything about it, the NF Directorate has already disbanded oppositional branches in such key areas and Islington.

But as Labour Weekly correctly points' out, neither Fountaine's doubtless exaggerated account of the NF's problems, nor the clear evidence that the movement faces a damaging power struggle should lull workers into a false confidence that the fascist menace is at an end.

Nor should reliance be placed on the propaganda politics of the Anti-Nazi League to complete the crushing of the Violent attacks Indeed the faiture of their excursion into electoral politics now heightened by the Tories' racist immigration policies, stealing potential NF supporters has driven elements of the NF and the British Movement into renewed violent attack on immigrant workers, gays and the workers' movement-in particular against those fighting for solidarity with the Irish war of liberation.

Workers defence squads must be organised wherever such dangers arise, prepared to take the necessary action to drive every fascist off the streets and back into the sewers where they all belong.

SOCIALIST PRESS

CALENDAR Price £1.00 plus 20p p&p Socialist Press, 31 Dartmouth London NW5 1HR 'Fishall's Year

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