WRP witch hunter
Socialist Organiser1983 1983-05-05Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 6 →
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Black trade unionists THE Newsline of Wednesday April 27 quoted Glasgow District Labour Party chairperson Chic McCafferty as saying: "Whilst having many disagreements with the WRP and the Newsline, I found the Money Programme attack to be typical of the witch-hunting attacks on many sections of the labour movement in the past few years. That such attacks should come at this stage is not surprising, but that Socialist Organiser, which claims to be on the left, should join in is absolutely despicable. The left and the labour movement as a whole should be wary of the divisive activities of this organisation"
Judge
MeCafferty is in a good position to judge witch-hunts. After all, he himself took the lead in OFFICIAL Contact:
Neville Adams 115 Neville Rd, London N16. witch-hunting Socialist Organiser supporter Stan Crooke out of the Labour Party and then blocking his readmission.
McCafferty whipped up support for the expulsion by claiming that Stan Crooke wanted to bring the Labour Party into disrepute so as to drive a wedge between the 'Stop the Sale Campaign' (opposing the privatisation of the Hutchesontown 'e' scheme) and the local CLP Queen's Park). In fact, Stan Crooke had repeatedly argued for joint work between the campaign and the CLP, whilst the obstructions had come from McCafferty and others.
In March of this year Stan Crooke applied to rejoin the Party, having been given to understand that his application would be accepted. But when the application was finally discussed, two months after its submission, it was again MeCafferty who took the lead in opposing it.
Thüs it is McCafferty who joins in a witch-hunt — of Socialist Organiser by the WRP and the Labour Party Right.
McCafferty received his poli-. tical education in the school of Gerry Healy, leading figure in the WRP, formerly SLL, to which McCafferty lent his support. Some people went through that school and left it with their integrity and powers of rational judgment still intact. Others remain scarred for life. McCafferty's outlandish attachs on Socialist Organiser prove him to be one of the latter.