[THE political temper of the conference was well…]

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THE political temper of the conference was well illustrated by the debates on alternative defence" and "armed forces"

A RESOLUTION calling on CND to develop "non-nuclear, nonaggressive defence" policies was carried about four to one. Those in favour varied from people whose main concern was to convince the world that CND is for "strong conventional defence", to Lynne Jones from Greenham Common arguing for "social resistance" based on the methods of "strikes, boycotts and pickets". • Those against ranged from the Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party to pure pacifists.

The same issues came up from a different angle in a JOHN HARRIS Bruce Kent debate on a London Region proposal moved by Pat Arrowsmith to set up CND groups in the armed forces.

CND general secretary Bruce Kent intervened in debate for the only time during conference to oppose it.

Taking up a clause in the resolution about the role that 'low morale" in the armed forces played in ending the Vietnam war, Kent said: "I don't want low morale among the armed forces, I want such a high morale that they know what their obligations under the law are."

Linda Walker of New Mills CND argued: 'We'll only make things worse if we're seen to be infiltrating he forces and lowering morale.. • We have to change the whole thinking of the services. That cannot be done by recruiting small numbers to CND.

By a majority of five to one or thereabouts, the conference rejected London Region's proposal and instead • voted to *acknowledge the valuable contribution made by 'Generals for Disarmament' " and for a perspective of convincing the whole armed forces, generals included, that nuclear weapons are against international law.

Warnings that attempts to organise within the armed forces would open both CND and the soldiers involved to witch-hunting seemed to sway the conference.

Nowhere in these short debates was a socialist perspective put, of a people's militia controlled by the labour movement and working class communities, which will not only be an alternative to nuclear weapons, but also a "defence" against the ruling claşses and governments: that wield those linked to class society.

Labour movement action was still seen as important. But the conference was responsive to edly "disrupting" CND's broad, single-issue movement.

Curiously, or perhaps not so curiously considering the mainly middle-class base of CND activists, feminist issues have not suffered the same suspicion as class issues, and have made a big impact in CND. A resolution supporting women-only action at Greenham Common was carried by a majority of at least ten to one.

CND national membership has increased 60% over the last 12 months and new recruits are coming in at about 3,000 to 4,000 a month. Local group membership - which is separate from national membership - is estimated at 300,000.

There was a 'right wing' at the conference, represented by the platform and by Christian CND, and a 'left wing' represented by Labour CND, Youth CND and some CND regional committees.

The 'left' rallied itself at a well-attended Tribune fringe meeting on the Saturday evening, where Tony Benn spoke.

But Benn's answer was a sort of new Popular Front. ''The world peace movement is the anti-imperialist movement of earlier years and the antifascist movement of before that ... We have got to bring the peace and labour movements in Western Europe, the USA, and Japan together with the Non-Aligned Movement in the Third World... defeat this hideous coalition of mass media, military men, monetarists multinationals."

Such a perspective is quite different from a steady focus on the working class as the force which can overthrow and disarm the bomb-wielding ruling classes. The left needs to sort itself out politically, as well as increasing our involvement in CND.

Perhaps the most hopeful thing to come out of the conference was a lunchtime meeting of Youth CND activists before the YCND debate. About 70 attended, all committed to continuing YCND's fight for unilateral nuclear disarmament and against NATO.

Many of them will come together again at a YCND activists' meeting on December 17.

Despite the defeats at this CND conference, the fight against the Bomb shows no signs of fading away

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arguments against "sectarian- ism" and socialist groups alleg-