Backing for Tatchell stand

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THE DECISION OF THE NEC not to endorse Pat Wall as prospective parliamentary candídate for Bradford North probably has as much to do with the right's desire no undermine mandatory reselection as with their witchbunting of Militant.

Endorsement was refused on the 'technical irregularities that the selection conference had taken place in a room close to a noisy

*Extra-Parliamentary

action must play a major role in the efforts of the Labour Movement to establish a democratic socialist society in Britain;

*The election of a government does not give that government an absolute right to pursue whatever policies it chooses, irrespective of the wishes or interests of the mass of

British people. It is an

essential democratic right of individuals and groups tu campaign for or against the policies or strategies of elected governments;

*Support for extraparliamentary activity does not contradict our individual and collective support for parliamentary democracy;

*The election of socialist In Darlington, where the accusation was made at the shortlisting meeting that one of the candidates had not communist but SDP leanings, the National Agent immediately invalidated the meeting. Yet he had previously recommended that no action be taken over the communist smear in the Pontefract case!

A further interesting case occurred in Nottingham East, where a right-wing candidate, Martin Sloman, Labour governments will not be achieved unless the Labour Party is seen to be not just in Parliament but in every sphere of their lives. For this reason extraparliamentary action must form an essential part of Labour Party strategy in and out of government. defeated left-winger Ken Coates by four votes.

Despite an allegation that the Manvers Branch, which sent four delegates to the selection, had 55 persons on its books who were not members of the Labour Party, and a further allegation that the electoral register had been falsified to enable one delegate to take part in the selection, the officers and the Organisation Committee recommended endorsement of the candidate without an inquiry:

What all this shows very clearly is that different criteria are being applied firstly to the endorsement of sitting MPs and to those who replace sitting MPs, and secondly to candidates from the right and to candidates from the left of the Party.

In other words, the farcical reasons for not endorsing Pat Wall illustrate that any MP who is not re-selected by his local party is now guaranteed a second chance if he can invent even the flimsiest reasons why he should be allowed a re-run.

NIGEL WILLIAMSON, CLPD Executive. THESE are the key points of a statement signed, to date, by 32 Labour prospective candidates, solidarising with Peter Tatchell.

The 32 are:

Les Allen, S.R. Allsopp, A. Bore, Charles Clark, Martin Coleman, Mike Craven, John Denham, Janet Dyson, Brian Fish, Peter Hain, Harriet Harman, Mike Hodkinson, ington Labour Party joins NAL( )P council Kate Hoey, J. Mc illister, Jean McCrindle, Bob Middleton, Brian Moore, David : Morris, Hugh Pincott, Susan Price, Chris Robinson, lain Roxburgh, R.H. Sedler, Harry Spillman, Peter Tatchell, David Williams, Alan Whitehead, Cathy Wilson, Audrey Wise, Kelvin Hopkins, Chris Bromley, David Offenbach. AT a meeting of the North Islington CLP General Committee attended by seventy four delegates last Wednes day, Jeremy Corbyn was chosen to fight the constitlency at the next election.

Jeremy Corbyn is aged 32 and employed as an organiser by the National Union of Public Employees. He has been a Party member since the age of sixteen and for the last ten years has been the Organiser of the neighbouring Hornsey Party.

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