Don't drop the demand for Political Status!

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ISLINGTON Central Labour Party has just submitted a motion to the Annual Labour Party conference which calls on the next Labour government to immediately begin a process of full political and military withdrawal from Ireland.

The motion also sets out what would have to be part of any socialist strategy of withdrawal, i.e. the abolition of the Diplock courts, the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and the reversal of previous British governments' legitimation of the Ulster Defence Association.

There is one glaring omission from this motion - the reintroduction of political status for political prisoners in Armagh and H-Block.

The story behind this omission contains important lessons for the left in the Labour Party.

On the day that Bobby Sands died, the Labour Committee on Ireland la body set up to campaign for a Labour Party policy of withdrawal from Ireland, whose aims include political status) issued its model resolution for Labour Party conference.

There are two major criticisms to be made of this resolution: the first being that its unfortunate wording means that, if passed, it would still fail to give the Labour Party a positive policy on Ireland; the second that there is no commitment to the reintroduction of political lor special category) status.

At the June meeting of Highbury Ward Labour Party, a member of the LCI put this resolution. Amendments were put to add repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and reintroduction of political status.

The ICI member accepted the first amendment and argued against the second. In doing this, he implied that the important thing was to get a motion on Ireland to Conference, and that the demand for political status would jeopardise this.

Many members of the Ward considered him to be an 'expert' on Ireland and in the subsequent confused voting either abstained or voted against. Ironically, he, to preserve his political purity, voted in favour of political status, but the vote was lost by 19 to 15.

Meanwhile, another Ward which did not suffer the handicap of having an LCI member present successfully amended the model LCI motion to include political status and a demand for the Labour Party to affiliate to the National H-Blocks Campaign. A further Ward (Mildmay) rejected the format of the LCI motion and passed a motion including political status.

At the General Management Committee meeting, because of pressure of time, the Wards putting the LCI-type motion withdrew theirs in favour of the Mildmay Ward motion. However, the majority of Highbury Ward delegates are firm believers accountability, and felt obliged to put an amendment deleting the demand for political status. This amendment was passed by 25 votes to 24, with the majority of Highbury Ward's seven delegates voting reluctantly for it. The amended motion was then passed by 34 votes to fourteen.

There are four lessons to be learnt from this experience.

1. The LCI has misjudged the strength of feeling about Ireland in the Labour Party and the extent to which the argument that the ICI has been waging has been won.

2. The LCI's assumption that there is a need to water down politics to make them acceptable is indefensible on both political and pragmatic grounds.

3. The LCI's reluctance to even engage in the political argument about political status - at a time when the hunger strikers are dying - is the height of political cowardice.

4. Political status is not an isolated 'extremist' demand in the way that the LCI is treating it (nor is it Write back to Socia London N8.

just a civil rights issue). It is an integral part of the socialist attitude that the British labour movement must develop on Ireland. To see political status in isolation distorts an understanding of the fact that it is an imperialist war which is going on in the North of Ireland.

We are worried that our local experience is being repeated in Wards and General Management Committees throughout the country, with the result that the Labour Party leadership will not be forced to adopt a demand which is vital not only in its urgency but also in its immediate relevance to the republican movement in Ireland.

JANE ANDREWS JENNY MORRIS P.S. We're now trying to put an amendment to our own Conference motion, calling for political status.

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PROVISION ADUN

ist Organiser, c/o 28 Middle Lane,