ERNIE ROBERTS MP Back to shop floor

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THE election of the new leadership shows that there is a great desire on the part of Party mèmbers to have a change of direction. They believe that Neil Kinnock and Roy Hattersley are going to lead the Party in a more working class and more socialist direction.

Whether this is in fact so will depend on whether the resolutions passed at this same conference as has elected them will be put into effect, campaigned and fought for by the new leaders and the new NEC, on which there has been a slight swing to the left.

Shadow

We are now going to go, as a Parliamentary Labour Party to the election of the shadow cabinet and here again there will be an indication of the kind of fight that is going to be put up in the House of Commons and in the country, as to the kinds of persons chosen to occupy those important positions on the opposition front bench.

It seems that the leader is gathering around him a number of young ex-students and others with a professional background. I would rather there had been more working class shop floor types in the Shadow Cabinet to take part in that fight.

The direction the party takes and the speed at which it takes it will depend in the end on what happens at the grass roots. I pin my faith on the establishment of workplace branches which will be vital to the stability, the direction and a strong base for a socialist fight within the Labour Party, because it is in the workplace that workers can come together in a Labour Party branch to make certain that the Party reflects the opinions, the desires and struggles of workers in their place of work and such branches can have a considerable effect on the leadership and direction of the trade If that is accomplished then there will be a serious struggle for Ernie Roberts socialism, both within the Party. and within government.

The left has had some successes at conference. The worst defeat has been on what is called the witch-hunt, the expulsion not just of five editorial members of Militant, not just the proscription of Militant itself, but rather the warning or threats given by certain people on the right in the Party that they intend to carry on that witch-hunt within the Party in order to root out opposition to themselves and their personal ambitions, in order to root out those who dare to put up a consistent daily fight on the decisions which have been carried by the annual conference.

So there has got to be a fightback within the Party on the issue of the right of members and of groups that are connected with the Party to fight for their views and their policies and to get these views and policies resolved at an annual party conference.

Leaders fear

Some of the right wing leaders also fear, and are tri subled in their jobs, by those peopl Be who are callec. militant, not necessarily supporters of the Militant newspaper, but militant trade unionists.

These leaders no doubt see in the attack on Militant the same attack that they would wish to conduct, and are conducting against militants inside their own trade unions.

We have to take the argument back to the shop floor and make sure those trade unionists in the right wing unions play an active part in their unions and make sure that the leaders that are elected are in accord with their demands.

Handful

We need to get it understood both in the Labour Party and the trade unions that this isn't an attack on just a handful of Militant supporters. This is really an attack on all those who would dare to fight fearlessly for socialist policies and for working class interests.

Workers will only have themselves to blame if they stand aside and allow right wing domination of their unions and CLPs.

The PLP is still very much to the right, it is the most right wing grouping within the Labour Party and they have considerable power so it is necessary for constituencies to examine very carefully whom it is that they choose as their candidates and to see that the Members of Parliament that they have elected are accountable to them continuously and correspond to their views and their needs.

The left need not go away demoralised from this conference. I think many of us were disappointed that there was no real contest for the leadership of the Party. I think the contest would have been much more realistic and meaningful if Tony Benn had been a candidate.

The leadership issue has not been settled for all time. The movement still has it within its power to change leaders if they do not correspond to the decisions of the Party and the needs of the membership.

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Socialist Organiser no.150 October 13 1983 Page