Keeping people out in Islington
The New Stateman of 13/7/62 reports the following case(we have shortened their account for space reasons)
" .eeeeLast weck the executive committee of the Jiast Islington C.L.P. (which has a membership of under 500 although the Labour vote is well above 17,000) hed before it six applications for membership - apparently the sum total of its recent recruiting. One of them came from from Mr. James Young who runs the trade and subscription departments of The Stateman & Nation Publishing Co....lir. Young was not, in fact, a new apolicant for membership of the Labour Party - ho was merely seeking a transfer (after moving his residence) from tho Hornsey party of which he has been a memP°r for the past 5 years. And being a fully-paid membor of the Labour Party in good standing he had understandingly assumed - when he made his applications «+.s.6..elast February — that his transfer would be a matter of routine,
"Interviewed first of all by three local worthies in April.....Mr Young last week found himself summoned to appear at a full meeting of the constituency executive. There nine members of the Bast Islington party croess-—questioned.hin for almost an hour. ‘he main burden of their inquiries centred on four issues -was he a member of the Committee of 100, was he a member of C.N.D., did he read Tribune, did he approve of Mr Michael Foot? As it happens Mr. Young has never boen a member of the Committe of 100, he has recently become highly critical of C.N.D. — and though he does read Tribune and is.....an admirer of Mr. Foot's radicalisn, these grounds of objection will probably turn out to be too fragile even for the wast Islington Labour Party"
2s The article then goes on to comment, quite correctly,that these questions are quite irrelevant to the rules and constitution of the Labour Party as they are offensive to democratic practice. Thero will no doubt be a big correspondence in the columns of New Statesman on the issue and we should participute in this. This case will give us the opportunity to raise the question of people being kept out by refusing to accept transfers. i least cno of our comrades was affected by this not so long age, and several other left-wingers have to our knowledge been eased out of the party in this way. Kent Miners stand firm on Harrington
Despite the refusal of the N.3.C. of the Labour Party to endorse the candidature of Illtyd Harrington as prospective Parliamentary candidate for Dover, The Kent N.U.M. have decided to sponsor him again for this post. In a statement on the question, made after meeting held on the 12th July, Lestor Magness, president of the Kent N.U.M. said that the decision to renominate him was to bring such pressure on the N.2.C. that it would be impossible to refuse to ondorse him. He also stated that no reason had been given for the N.u.C.'s action and that Harrington romnined on the 'B' list of people suitable for nomination. The GCONOMIST is pleased with George Brown
In an article entitled 'Labour Unity', the Economist, organ of big business, has this to say about the Labour Party:
"seeeeeeees In general the Labour Party appears to be in its healthiost internal state for years, Transport House is at last being revitalised with Ii. corge Brown firmly in control. His organisational ability is beyond question, and his trade union background is a valuable source of strength to Mr, Gaitskell. SO, paradoxically, is his elephantine tactlessness towards some of his colleagues; for lire Brown at present forms a useful lightning conductor, attracting away some of the hostility and vituperation that would otherwise be concentrated entirely . on the party leader." Lord Russell pays his subs.
Fenner Brockway has reported that Lord Russ fas paid his six bob Subscription for 1962, but that he made it conditional . the chairman of the liinffordd Labour Party (and the rest of the members) paid his aswell. Comrades will remember that several members of Lord Russell's C.L.P. threatened to resign in view of the N.1.C.'s attitude. In paying his money, Lord Russell said he felt "no enthusiasm" for the present official policies of the party.
The significance of Lord Russell's attitude. tow®rds the Labour Party should be impressed upon those members of the Committee of 100, etc., who are campaigning for people to pull out of the Labour Party.
aN BiLLA SPsaAks f The New Statesman of 13/7/62 carries an interview between Ben Bella and K.S. Karol which took place in Morocco a few days before the journal was published. We reproduce extracts here for the information of comrades:
"Certainly," he said, "I regard the Uvian agreement as a compromise, and it must be considered as the point of departure rather than as an end in itself But let me repeat that I am not opposed to it. ily disagreement with Ben Khedda has nothing to do with this subject."........."but of course there were all sorts of internal crises within the F.L.1]. while I was imprisoned. They were due to per sonal antagonisms. The fundamental question was what kind of revolution we were meking in Algeria. It was to break out of the vicious circle of these controver~— sies that I put forward a political programme for the future of Algeria to the necting of C.N.R.A. (the parliament-in-exile) in Tripoli."
"J.eeLl have always insisted that the party is the political leader of the nation and that it must control the army. This programme was adopted unanimougly 3 it was endorsed both by the leaders of the A.L.]’. and of the resistance units within the country. It is therefore wrong to speak of conflict between the political and military wings of our movement. But when it came to choosing the political leadership of the party, things were different. liost of our comrades who have been carrying on the fight in the interior are disatisfied with the way things have been run in the G.P.R.A. (the provisional government), and they did not wish to accept candidature of some of its members, When Ben Khedda and the others disagreed with majority, they walked out."
He said that the leading members of the G.P.R.A. were planning to set up a dictatorship directed against the F.L.N. militants. - 'a police apparatus which would be incompatible with the premises of the revolution. If I struyzle against the G.P.R.A. it is solely so that the revolution may be saved." .....He said he thought there was still a chance of reaching a peaceful settlement. The C.N.R.A. should be recalled so that the problem could be dealt with in a democratic LBRDLON. swiss vlecew 60
“.eeelly whole career, shows that I strongly oppose racialism. Some of my best friends are Jews; some the lawyers who defended me were Jews. I shall never forget what they have done for our revoluticn. I would never allow any racial discrimination in my country." When pressed to give more details of his revolutionary programme, he said: “It must, in my opinion, be inspired by socialisn, It must be based on the participation of tho musses and its most urgent task is land reform." ...... "I am most interested by what has boon done in Cuba, but conditions vary from cowmtry to ccuntry and I couldn't say that we should exactly follow Cuba." As he said goodbye, Ben Bella repoatod that he would like to see the army controlled by a disciplined revolutionary party. This would enable Algeria to steer a course towards some kind of socialism.