1553 This year's Annual Conference, when an appraisal of the resolutions passed is made, appears as a contradictory affair, but in fact, this is not entirely so, It would, at this stage, be impossible to assess the significance of the conference and I will content myself with an attempt to convey my own impressions of what happened this year. I will, however, reveal what are, in my opinion, the implications of what happened at Scarboro',
The first debate, on the Party's program ‘Signpost for the Sixties’, was around a resolution of such ambiguity that it should either have been anended to give it form, or have been given a rubber—stamp passage. Unfortunately the debate developed into an unrepresentative Left—Right polemic, which resulted in the 'middle of the road' delegates voting for the resolution in accidental distritmtion, This was demonstrated by the fact that the resolution, which called for support of "Signpost", was first passed and then defeated by mimite majorities, It is significant that major issues so sadly lacking in "Signpost" were to receive massive support later in the conference. Issues which the YS have championed since its outset, unilateralism - workers' control nationalisation of land, banks and insurance companies — full maintenance for the unemployed -— the abolition of private education were all passed by large majorities.
The standard of debate was often abysmal and the effectiveness of the poligg ; Wwors often mj] lified by the inability of many delegates to artic— ulate their demands, This was clearly demonstrated when, during the defence debate, a resolution was moved deleting from the main resolution the section which called for opposition to both the Warsaw Pact and NATO, This amendment was thrown out, defeated, in fact, by a hundred yotes, But it mist be said that in this debate, as in other debates, issues were never really put and 'sloganisation' was substituted for reasoned argu ment, However, well over 200 of the 350 delegates voted for a resolution which called for the unilateral romincliation of miclear weapons linked to policies for the advancement of the working-class and which recognized the 'Bomb' as & product of capitalist society.
Conference had met under the suspicion that this might be the last time —- a suspicion heightened by the presence on the platform of an umisually large number of Party officials, These included the General Secretary, the National Agent, the Chairman of the Youth sub-committee, and the assistant National Agent. The presence of Tony Greenwood on the platform did little to allay the delegates fears. By Sunday's secret session, the question of YS amitonomy and a'NALSO type! constitution had been fully discussed by delegates outside the conference and attitude were fixed. There remained little time for the debate and both these resolutions were heavily defeated,
Many resolutions had been declared sub-judice due to the pending 'Prots litigation', those which remained deplored the expulsion of the YS NC members, The section of the Chief Officer's report dealing with unofficial pepers were referred back (In fact, most of the report was referred back), Conference clearly supported those who had been expelled, and yet, paradox -ically, conference did not see the call for a new constitution was timely; in.fact, many delegat.: thought that the Party officers present would not countenance the pasg_: of such resolutions and would react along lines which many feared was the reason for their presence. Rejection of the 'autonomy' resolutions is a reaffirmation of the idea that the YS must be within the Party, but this is not to say that a 'NALSO' type' formla is thought to be incompati ble with this attitude.(We will carry additional material in
the next issue — Ea. )