An Open Letter to Tony Benn

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thrashing out policies which are also centres of organisation and support for strikers, youth, women, ethnic minorities, tenants, etc.

Focused on the concerns and struggles outside Parliament, such a Party would nonetheless be a tremendous power in elections.

Division This development could overcome the characteristic division of Britain's Left into sterile and impotent sects -usually outside the Labour Party - and a timid and permanently demoralised, time-serving, parliament-focused soft left.

It can be decisive in mobilising masses of workers.

Only the Left can create a mass Labour Party.

But the Left itself needs to be organised. To gain and keep the possibility of doing the great work of class orpanisation that cries out to be done, we need to organise to defeat and rout the Right.

We need to organise for Labour democracy in the trade unions, and for trade union democracy as well.

So far the Left's organisation is rudimentary and inadequate. The Labour Coordinating Committee exists. Less structured Lefts exist all over the country. Supporters of Socialist Organiser organise to do the work spelled out above: we will continue to do that, and we call on socialists to join us in doing it.

But no structured Left with a powerful national profile and high visibility exists. We need it.

Grou, comrade Benn, can play a decisive role in calling it into existence.

You have more authority with those who will organise a mass Labour Left - and a mass Labour Party - than anyone else. Your decision to fight for the deputy leadership has been a tremendous blow in stopping the soft Left joining with the Right to burk the movement for democratisation and selfrenewal in the labour movement.

All sorts of people who have only a hazy idea about your politics, or who dis•bennutes • We, supporters of Socialist Organiser - and we do not want to play down our serious political differences with you - consider ourselves in the latter category.

Responsibility

The tremendous responsibility your standing in the movement puts on you is matched only by the possibilities you now have to help the labour movement forward another step on the road to organisational and political renewal.

We urge you to make arrangements to call national conference which will set up a broad and democratic national left wing movement in the Labour Party and the trade John O'Mahony Socialist Organiser Editorial Board.

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Socialist Organiser, Thursday 10 September