Let's have some socialist action !

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vith Denning "We have had one year of socialist rhetoric, now let us have some socialist action!" VIDYA ANAND, a newly elected member of the London Labour Party Executive, spoke to Socialist Organiser about the London Labour Party and the GLC over the last year.

I think 1 cannot be alone in regarding the Executive Committee of the Greater London Regional Committee as a remote body -operating in a way understood by very few at the rank and file level, least of all the very groups like -ethnic minorities, women, tenants associations, etc.who are in sympathy with most of the tenets of the Labour Party - i.e. disarmament, peace, equal opportunity, right to work, opposition to cuts in services, etc.

I am surprised about the way the EC appears to work. Its lack of clout makes it impotent to say the least -although it is supposed to be the custodian of conference decisions. It seldom appears to be able or willing to exert proper pressure on those elecied to Parliament, GLC or to the Local Borough Councils, to broadly abide by Labour expressed decisions.

Party views as as conference Lead GLC Labour Group has shown the way by making it possible for the representatives of the CLPs to come to its meetings. I am sure EC can give the lead by opening its meetings to the members of the Labour Party, so that the labour movement and its elected comrades can fuse its energies towards a common goal of building a socialist Britain.

I do not understand why no voting records at the EC are kept and the minutes containing both the voting and attendance records are not circulated to the very bodies - trade unions, CLPs and the other organisations which elected the comrades onto the EC.

At the moment the EC seems to me to be a mere paper tiger. The press speaks of the hard left having taken over the EC - but the hard left seems to me to be more like a marshmallow!

Reflect

I think the time has come for the EC - with its latent potential - to exercise its rightful influence on those whom the party got elected to Parliament, the GLC and the Borough Councils. It tion - which ironically was on behalf of the "Sunshine Buses" charity, at. £13 a head.

The Group decided 1o support the boycott recommendation put to it by the party, but in the event three Labour Councillors attended!

No doubt in the inevitable accountability fight which will follow, such hoary chestnuts as freedom of individual choice' and 'cocrcion by unrepresentalive cliques will be used to justify the deep rooted should see that the Labour front bench should broadly reflect the conference decisions and not the privately held views of certain individuals who get elected and then forget the conference decisions - on cuts, school meals, sale of council houses or cheap fares.

I have been criticised by the leading comrades on the GLC for writing in Tribune - in the way I did - posing the question of accountability of elected members and their adherence to the conference decisions and Manifesto commitments. I stand by what 1 have written.

Duke of I cannot see how in one breath comrades can give a clarion call to defy the law but when the GLC Labour Group was faced with the choice of accepting the Law Lords' decision - and in defiance of EC's resolution - then like the proverbial Grand Duke of York who led his troops up the hill only to lead them down again, the Labour Group voted en bloc to double the fares.

The subsequent propping up of the Tory newspapers with thousands of pounds of advertising could hardly help them to move the diehard Tory government to help them champion the overdesire to hob-nob upper crust which motivates such betrayals.

Votes

Socialist Organiser supporters will press for votes of no confidence in those who attended on three main counts.

1. That clear policy lines were laid down for the event by the local Labour Party, of which councillors are just as much a part as any other member. York with the probably shabby whelming wishes of the people of London as expressed in the May elections last year on the cheap fare issue.

On the school meal issue too the ILEA members who voted with the Tories to torpedo the Labour Manifesto are not oniy alive and well but are even flourishing on the front bench. Why has no action been taken by the EC or Labour Group or the CLPs?

Cults

The hysterical attacks by the Tory media on the London Labour Briefing is a tribute to the comrades who have supported and encouraged it during the last few difficult months. Contrary to the misrepresentations that: are currently circulating, London Labour Briefing concerned with politics and principles not personalities or personality cults.

The rank and file of the Labour Party is pleased that the Socialist Organiser has made a welcome contribution to the success of London Labour Briefing. Briefing has excellent relations with the comrades on the PLP, the comrades on the GLC and ILEA Labour Group and the Labour Groups.

We have had one year of socialist rhetoric, no v let us have some socialis action for a change!

2. That attendance amounted to sanctioning Denning's use of the law against the London labour movement and threfore constituted scabbing on the GLO's stand on fares.

3. Similarly, attendance amounted to tacit support for Denning's judicial moves to undermine the credibility of Labour Party policy decisions in general and manifesto committments in particular.