New Rebuff for the Witch-hunters
Socialist Press1980 1980-01-30Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 5 →
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Jim loses again as Labour's executive votes in favour of a militant Trotskyists:
By 14-12 the NEC rejected publication of the witch-hunting Underhill teport on the Militant tendency and by 15-8 rejected the expulsion of Ted Hesiin, a former member of the executive of the Oxford City Labour Party, and a supporter of the policies of this paper.
The votes were a bitter blow. to all erypto-Tories within the Labour Party and to the open Tories and the press. It has upset the gentleman's agreement by which the Labour Party limits its opposition to the capitalists. - !
In particular they have come as a bitter blow to Underhill and his cronies and to right wingers within the Oxford City Labour • Party who have devoted years of effort to fighting Trotskyism by every bureaucratic means at their disposal.
Wafer thin
Heslin was expelled by the wafer thin majority of 37 votes to 35 by the Oxford City GC for distributing "propaganda' of the WSL.
The attack was led by John Power (who once spent a tew misguided years in the Socialist Labour League) and the Rev. Tony Williamson It is outpletely tied in with repeated attacts on WSL members and supporters inside the TGWU, the many attempted stimisations of Alan Thorett marans i Corley, and the caucratic, Tanti-Trotskyist alliance of Power and the Stalinists on Oxford Trades The move against Heslin came after he had moved a resolution from his union branch calling for a political challenge to the Callaghan Healey leadership.
A defence campaign was established with the support of several wards. It was also committed to fight the ban on membership of two other Socialist Press supporters, Peter McIntyre (NUJ) and Ken Williamson (AŞTMS).
The defence cam paign mounted a lobby of the NEC meeting. Some supporters of the Socialist Campaign fot a Labour Victory (SCLV) also lobbied the meeting..
The leaflet supporting Heslin's rights to be In the Labour Party ended:
_"The lefts during the course of the last governmeni confined and laurehed no challenge ts m annener to Callaghan and Healey.
The lobby brought predictible: clashes with the more arrogant members of the NEC.
Callaghan was ushered through with his bodyguard FoUN Mail CHANCE VW GOLF THAT U 10p ДЕРШКІЙ • Lode A PLAN for the pusible reintroduction of military conscriplies is on President f'arter's desk, Walte HGANISER THE LEFTSE RIGHT TO ORIANISER Last week's lobby of the NEC REINSTATE TEN HESLIN!
KICKOUT
CALLACHAN • HEALEY
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Carter gets Pentagon