White's Deal with Right Wing

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The election of Tom White, leading member of the WRP, i a position of deputy senior awley Assembly Plant was scribed by Stephen Johns in forkers Press of January 24th I a "convincing victory" for le WRP and a "vindication of ie Party's firm stand for ade union principles and cialist policies to meet the of the car industry" It was nothing of the sort. In it the vote took place as further idence came to light of White's tive collaboration with extreme ti-communist witchhunter Reg sons. ;In the elections Parsons thusiastically backed White from start, including him on his pommended list of candidates, a ! which was carried continuously r the national press and Television #works.

Despite White's belated stateent aajecting to bis inclusion on • it be received the right-wing de. i a callor papers were are: i am dear that where mies see romes ior Parsons recE ta in most the election with a completely incredible assertion ~ that the unprecedented six-day witchhunt carried out by the mass media against Alan Thornett had in fact been directed against the WRP! To quote Johns:

"The WRP and' White were facing nothing less than a conspiracy at Cowley. The extreme right wing and their allies of the Tory press launched their witchhunt aimed principally against the party (our emphasis) six days before the elections. It continued right up to and during the voting.

NO HOSTILITY In fact in the whole deluge of lies and slander pumped out by the media there was not a single hostile word about White, as a glance at the capitalist press of that week will show.

Johns goes on to claim that the 526 votes cast for Alan Thornett show that Thornett has no basic vote of Thornett" says Johns. But not only was Thornett witchhunted - Leyland announced that they would not recognise him if elected and every national newspaper implied that a vote for Thornett White In defending White, Johns proceeds to denigrate the meeting at which Thornett was elected as chairman of the 5/293 branch as a minority. "The party", he says, nad lot been diverted by "the results of small (in terms of participation) elections". (There were 142 workers at the meeting).

Every employer would agree with Johns. Every right-winger is opposed to votes at branch meetings because they know the branch is the arena in which the most class-conscious laver of workers fights.

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SOCIALIS sday Jant British Leyland and from Chrysler.

The union leaders seem very likely to accept the scheme, thus the cuts would be pure coincideno Yet he is ready to trot off 1 management with the leaders ‹

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op steward in the recent ections in British Leyland's

support in the plant. White's vote of 1,117 is "more than double the