Labour's right wing prepare a
Socialist Press1981 1981-01-14Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 6 →
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• Foot: if right wing pull out who will he lean on?
LETTERS The election of former 'left' Michael Foot to the Labour leadership, the leftward shift in policy at the last conference, and the prospects .of democratic reforms within the Party have helped produce a resurgence of its popularityreflected in a 24% lead over the Tories in one recent opinion poll. Owen and William Rodgers-the rest of her "Gang of Three"-are hanging around to see what happens at the Party's Special Conference before weighing up whether or not to cut loose and drift off into the political limbo of a so-called "Centre Party"
And Roy Jenkins is still eating significant dinners with significant people while searching for the cash to float such a Meanwhile more mainstream right wing MPs have also shown
Cut and run
And Mike Thomas, the Manifesto Group Labour right winger from Newcastle has predicted that anything up to 50 Labour reactionaries might be ready to cut and run sooner than be contaminated by ' socialist. policies or called to account for their actions.
The running for a split is being made by the right wingwith rather ambiguous support from the Tory press. 'left'-at a time when the Thatcher government itself is clearly divided and totally despised by the electorate.
The Social Democratic Alliance predict a new "social democratic" party could be launched by the Spring. Socialists should urge Labour right wingers to join it-and press Home the fight in the Labour Party for the kind of socialist, internationalist policies that can resolve the problems of the working class. the republican leadership to turn to the mobilisation of the working class in Britain or in Ireland in the struggle against imperialism.
But these profound shortcomings must not be allowed to stand in the way of the fight for solidarity with the Irish struggle in the British labour movement.
A picket of Downing Street has heen called for Sundav 18 January by the Ad Hoe Hunger 1V Strike Committee to highlight the Tory refusal to implement their agreement with the republicans and endorse the blanket men's five demands.
We urge readers to support this picket and maintain the firh + far tha