In a searcely disguised attack on Gaitskell and his 'anti-Common uspese? at Brighton, Ray Gunther spoke out for the pro-Marketeers in the Labour Party at a school run by his union — the Trensport Salaried Staffs' Association. He said it is "quite meaningless to talk of about a thousand ‘years of our history." and the "Labour Party dare not be negative or cowardly. With Uurope there is the great hope: to stay out will by the turn of the century possibly mean the end of a great history." Also speaking last Saturday,Brown, although not being so open in his opp= osition, spoke of "moments for sadness and concern" at Brighton. He evoked the memory of Bevin and other "great Socialist leaders of the past" who would have shared “our contempt for Machiillan, de Gaulle and Adeneuer" but who thought that the coming together of the nations of Jurops was essential. Some idea of how much socialism there was in the speech of Gunther can be gleaned from the fact that he gave as an example of the progress made the fact that there were Protestant observors at the Vatican Council in Rome}
There has been much speculation in tlio bourgeois press as to whether these speeches mean that there will now be a right wing revolt as in the past there have been those of the left. Just how things will develop in the immediate future depends upon factors which are not public knowledge, eog.,the intentions and moods of the pro-Marketecrs of the C.D.S. and right wing trade unions. It seems more likely that Gunther was making it clear that he would maintain his position rather than the start of an all out fight. However, from a longer-term we can be certain that some kind of right-wing revolt will take place. The extreme right wingers represent that section of the Labour Party which is an almost direct and undisguised representative of capital in the ranks of the Party. The Tories are to spend one million pounds in a campaign to popularise the idea of Britain joining the Common llarket, moreover, all the influential bourgeois journals are piling on the pressure and are making a direct appeal to the right wingers. From the point of view of British capitalism it cannot envisage a situation where if the Tories take Britain in the Labour Party on achieving power would take the country out. Therefore the whole fight will pivot on this question, with the almost certainty in the last analysis of Gaitskell climbing down. But we haven't reached this stage yet and the right wing will act as a pressure point against a policy of revocation of entry.
In this situation the marxists have the duty of (1) carrying out as big a campaign as possible of education from a strict class point of view on the real significance of the Common Market; and (2) of se.king to get as broad a front as possible on the issue or revocation of entry. In this way they will be helping to fan the embers of a right wing revolt, an event which can do nothing bu’ good from a socialist point of view.