Anti-NATO vote

Scan page 8

In a major victory for the left, the Labour Party Scottish Conference, on a card vote, adopted a resolution calling for British withdrawal from NATO.

The resolution, from Lothian Regional Labour Party, is an important step in the campaign to reverse Labour Party national conference decision, taken last year at Blackpool, to stay in NATO.

However the left were narrowly defeated, again on a caro: vote, in an attempt to nake local councillors accountable to their local parties.

In this vote the TGWU delegation abstained.

Had they voted for the resolution, which was defeated by 362,000 to 294,800, it would have been carried.

It was widely rumoured at the Conference that Alex Kitson had argued strongly inside the TGWU delegation meeting that the union should oppose the resolution on accountability.

This position is very different from Moss Evans' speech to the Wembley Conference- in which accountability was the keynote to his support for the NEC proposals on the electoral college. He strongly advocated accountability for everyoneexcept himself!

Kitson's right wing stance on accountability also stands in marked contrast to his more public statements on the conference 1 floor regarding using TGWU strength to fight for the saving of the Talbot Linwood car factory.

Talbot workers should take warning of the difference between the public face and the private.

Tony Benn, in addressing the conference as a fraternal delegate, warned of moves within the British establishment to set up a national government.

They now want to get rid of Thatcher but stop the Labour Party coming to power he said.

He argued that such a national government would have as its priorities a maintenance of missile systems and defence expenditure, and keeping Britain within the BEC.

The media can be relied upon to build up support for such a coalition government, he claimed, in the way they built the pro Common Market campaign.