Labour's NEC hive off powers to new committee

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•To join or affiliate, write to Chris Richardson, 21 [Devonshire Promenade, Lenton, Nottingham NG7 DS. £5 for individuals, or for affiliated organi ¡tions, per 1,000 members. £2 for low-waged indivi¡duals. El for unwaged. Add 50p if you want the they had said was never a member of the Party by 14 votes to 10.

The technician of the witchhunt so far, Jim Mortimer, baulked at this - it was alright to deal with 'organisations' but not an individual because of their ideas - but new leader Kinnock had no qualms.

The Labour Party is a Parliamentary Party and not a Revolutionary Party, and therefore Tariq Ali had to go.

In doing this Kinnock and his right wing friends exposed as hollow the view that this year's NEC represented some kind of 'left' shift. In the process some of this year's left slate' also special issue of Gay Socialist. showed which side they were o Renee Short for one voted cc sistently with the right.

Despite Kinnock's clE centre-right majority, howev the Party establishment is I content to leave Party issues si focussed on the NEC, which relatively open and still has solid core of left wingers, part ularly in the CLP section. T separate moves illustrated t way they want to take things.

Towards the end of the me ing Sam McCluskie propos the establishment of a n NEC committee to deal w disciplinary matters, whi would report back to the NI ›ar er, not till is icWO ihe etred ew ith ich EC The proposal originated in the composite moved at this year's Party Conference by David Basnett of the GMBATU, and seconded by Putney CLP (dominated by the Labour Coordinating Committee): but it also draws in the content of a composite from the UCW that was remitted.

But its origin goes further back. It resembles the closed off Committee which drafted Labour's Manifesto, with an organisational side grafted on.

It is obviously not going to be just a technical or administrative committee, but will have a major role in not only presenting but directly shaping policy. Its powers include "overseeing the detailed articulation of party pirected nationwide paignly directed nationwide campaigns and reviewing "the priorities, management and staffing of the party's press, publicity, education and campaigning organisations.

Answerable

The NEC rejected the proposal that the Campaign Committee should be a sub-committee, but instead should be answerable to both the NEC and the Shadow Cabinet.

The composition of the 23 person committee reflects' the approach. There aie only six representatives from the NEC, and two only (David Blunkett and Jo Richardson) from the It is likely that the four from the TULV will be Moss Evans, Clive Jenkins, David Basnett and Rodney Bickerstaffe, thus cementing a formal role for an entirely unaccountable cabal of trade union leaders.

Bickerstaffe's likely inclusion on the committee probably explains the vote for it by NUPE deputy leader Tom Sawyer on the NEC; its origins in the LCC could explain why Michael Meacher abstained rather than opposing it.

The Committee will be dominated by the bastions of the right wing in the Party - the PLP and the trade union leadership.

Away

Its similarity with Basnett's 1981 proposal for a Council of Labour is no accident, and the intentions are identical - to transfer the decision-making apparatus in the Party as much as possible away from the existing structures and place it formally in the hands of those who have done most of the stringpulling in the past.

It is part of the process of gutting the gains of the last three years in democratising the Party, and the aim is to smuggle these changes in - as with Kinnock's whole approach -under the facade of 'turning outwards' ', and on the backs of the real feeling in the rank and file to transform the Party into a genuine campaigning organisation. NATIONAL COUNCIL 12.00 Satuday Novembe at Camden Town Hall, Deadline for resolutions LAW Secretariat: Friday AFFILIATE NOW!

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and file NOWH SAYS conference ! arank A MEETING of the residential social workers national employing body was held on 27 October and a motion calling for negotiaAll we can see management doing is taking all the kids and putting them in one large establishment which can easily be manned by scab labour. I think this would be 2,00l work talks SAYD PAY UP!

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up of one residential worker and I know that the council leader has Socialist Organiser no. 153 November-3r1983 CONCEDE THE CLAIM IN FULL NOW! inl What sort of things would you

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