Defeat Labour's witch hunters

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Published by Folrose Ltd for the Workers Socialist League, BM Box Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Signed articles do not the press conference given by Labour's former National Agent was the news that he does not favour the expulsion of Militant supporters from the Labour Party.

Underhill's wish to see 'the PHOTO: John Sturrock, Report Heffer tee to all groups within the party asking them to account for where they stand on the constitution, the aims and objectives of the Labour Party.

The objective of the right wing is not to press for the expulsion of the Militant but to release political tensions inside the party at a time when the collaboration of the Callaghan leadership with the Tories has been coming increasingly under fire from militant sections of the working class.

The struggle of the Callaghan -Healey leadership to preserve their stranglehold on the. Party runs hand in hand with their opposition to working class action designed to bring down the Tory government.

No challenge While they are not opposed to taking electoral advantage out of growing opposition to Thatcher they in no way wish to see a challenge to Parliamentary rule.

It is important therefore that the Labour Party remains able to attract certain leftward moving sections of workers seeking a means of defeating Thatcher and suck them into the dead-end politics of reformism.

To proceed now to the lengths of expelling the Militant would hamper the right wing and the 'lefts' in achieving this task.

It would therefore stretch the loyalty of the Tribunite left, and spell out unmistakeably to all and sundry the leadership's undying opposition to even verbal socialist policies.

Meanwhile the Parliamentary 'lefts' fear that any move to purge Militant would force Tribunites-through self-preservation-to draw a clear political dividing line between Tribune and Militant-at a time when many a Tribunite, with Militant support, is playing the 'left' card to the full.

This is why the purpose of the organisation committee letter is not to expel the Militant, but to draw a left line beyond which they are not allowed to go.

It will be made clear that Militant supporters will remain welcome-so long as they do not provide a sharp focus of struggle against the Callaghan-Healey leadership or a serious alterna17, London WCIV 6XX. Printed: essarily represent the views of the tive to the Tribunites.

In attacking Militant the press are attacking Trotskyism in any guise.

The press owners know that the emergence of a genuine revolutionary current inside the Labour Party would endanger the party as a reliable alternative means for the ruling class to hold on to power.

As the Times pointed out:

"If such activities are allowed to proceed unchecked then the Militant Tendency may indeed infiltrate the party to the extent that it is seeking to do. In which case the Labour Party would cease to be an acceptable instrument of Government. "

Yet the Militant which perverts Trotskyism, and has not even attempted to mobilise Labour Party members in the struggle for its own defence (confining its "struggle" to manoeuvres with Tribunites) is. no revolutionary current.

• It is a classic centrist grouping which is agnostic on the question of whether a revolution carried out by the working class outside of Parliament is an unavoidable prerequisite for socialism.

It would be absurd Invil Printers, London irkers Socialst League. many Labour left wingers would be happy to define the "legitimate left' of the Labour Party as "Militant-but no further" and to draw a line between Militant supporters and those actively fighting for socialist principles against both the right wing and the Tribunite fakers.

Militant supporters are strong enough in the Party to defend themselves against the witch-hunt.

Mobilising If they were at all serious about fighting the right wing they would go further, and mobilise Labour Party members in. lobbies and demonstrations demanding an end to all witch-hunts, and the abolition of all bans and proscriptions against socialists.

But it seems certain that Militant will continue to conduct their defence by a bankrupt combination of exploiting the publicity value of the press witch-hunt, and backroom deals with their Tribunite colleagues on the Party's leading bodies.

With 'enemies' as tame as this, Callaghan scarcely needs friends! imperialism in Zimbabwe.

The conflict which has already developed between the working class and the new government is the taste of things to come.

In Britain, the movement for solidarity must be directed decisively towards aiding such struggles of the masses as they emerge. Ways must be found to draw the link between the struggle of workers here and that of their class brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe.

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