STOP THE WIC HUNT! Left - Campaign for Labour

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La National Executive Comm- file of their unions is the preferring to plough their ber 11 conference ought to ittee opposed to witch-hunts only way they can be forced own furrows. and committed to fight for to back off. The Rank and File Mob- pledged to work with others ilising Committee was a joint to form a new Rank and File The chief fault of the committee of all the Labour Mobilising Committee, and as stated in Clause IV part 4 Conference statement is £6000 fund This week: £41.77 from Birmingham (including proceeds from 'Garden Party against the witch-hunt'), £17.75 from Coventry (proceeds of raffles, etc.), £15 from Stoke, £15 from Hull, and Still a long way to go! Send contributions to Socialist Organiser, 28 Middle Lane, London N8 8PL. Cheques payable to SocialPublished by the Socialist Organiser Alliance, 28 Middle Lane, London N8 and printed by East End Offset (TU). Registered as a newspaper at the GPO. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the SOA. three national unions (ASLEF, Bakers, and FBU), the South Wales and Kent areas of the NUM, and many Constituency Labour Parties and union bodies.

The right wing has cause to be concerned, because such as aisplay of the strength and breadth of the opposition to the register, two weeks before Party conference, before the constituency mandating meetings and before the crucial unions have decided how they will vote, cannot fail to be an important boost to the Left.

• The Conference 'Organising Committee , apparentiy dominated by Militant, has presented a statement for discussion and voting at the end of conference.

The preamble argues that the witch hunt will not stop at Militant, but threatens all the 'serious left'. It is the right wing's counter-offensive against rank and file gains, and especially the democratic reforms. And it's a massive diversion from fighting the Tories.

The statement itself rightly focuses on opposition and defiance:

This Conference of the Labour Movement resolves to:

1. Fight for a united struggle against the Tories to secure the election of a Labour government committed to socialist policies 2. Campaign for a total opposition to the register at the forthcoming Labour Party conference and beyond, 3. Oppose any expulsion of Militant supporters or any socialists from the Labour Party for the ideas they hold, and the introduction of any bans, proscriptions or other witch-hunting activities, and defend the right of CLPs to select Parliamentary candidates of their choice, 4. Secure the election of a National Executive Committee opposed to witch-hunts and committed to fight for Conference decisions and Conference decisions and Labour's socialist aspirations Labour's socialist aspirations as stated in Clause IV part 4 of the Party Constitution. of the Party Constitution.

Without points 2 and 3 'opposition' to the witchhunt is at best waffle. Together with a boycott of the register and a commitment from CLPs to refuse to expel or discipline members, they are the basis for defeating the right-wing's intended civil war.

For those who want to know what the register is really about, and how 'fair' it is:

At an early stage in the campaign agairst the register the Labour Abortion Rights Campaign approached Labour Party headquarters with some questions about the criteria for finding groups unacceptable. The reported response from the new general secretary, Jim Mortimer, says it all.

The possibility of winning the vote at this year's Party conference depends not only on winning the argument' but also on persuading sections of the trade union leadership that the rank and file will bitterly resist the attempted counter revolution in the Party if the register goes through.

If the union leaders think that substantial sections of the left will sit by while Militant and others are attacked, then they will go ahead and support Foot.

A commitment to fight and win, together rith pressure from the rank and file of their unions is the only way they can be forced to back off.

The chief fault of the Conference statement is that it begs the question of that it begs the question of who is going to coordinate n.ha in minn en and organise the campaign.

The register is not going to be defeated by a one-off Conference, however large and militant, and it is not going to be defeated by people afterwards just going their own way.

The right wing is now well organised. To win, the LARC should register, he said, and they shouldn't worry too much about the requirements' the NEC had laid down (for example, the condition that all meetings should be open to all Labour Party members, which could destroy LARC by flooding all its meetings with anti-abortion bigots).

After all, purred Mortimer, LARC was not the target - the register was meant for others.

left is also going to have to be organised both in the Labour Party and in the trade unions, both nationally and locally.

Reforms

That is how the Left won the democratic reforms. The problem now is that though opposition to the register is very widespread, it is almost completely uncoordinated. The main effort so far at a united campaign - the Unregistered Alliance, which Socialist Organiser fully supports - is still weak, with both Militant and Trbune preferring to own furrows.

The Rank and File Mobilising Committee was a joint committee of all the Labour strength then. It would do the same now. The Septemelect an ad hoc committee £50 miscellaneous.

List Organiser.

Glasgow

Edinburgh Stirling Carlişle Durham York Bradford Leeds Hull Sheffield Merseysic Manchest Winsford Stoke call on delegates to go back to their delegating bodies with a proposal to support this Mobilising Committee.

It should also endorse the October 30 conference of CLPs and trade union bodies against the witch-hunt, and resolve to use that conference too to build a new Mobilising Committee against the witch-hunt.

The possibility of consid ering these points: _nends on whether or not Conference wil be _able to amend 37% *22% 110% 88% 25% 103% 38% 47% 117%