It would be easy for socialists to noroly gloat over the revolt which took place at the Liberal Conference over housing, However, both the revolt and the subject of the revolt are of significance and hold lessons, The revolt itself is an expression of an aspect of the 'Liberal revival! which has received scant attention— that a considorable part of the new support for the Liberal Party comes from people who expect the party ta adopt a basically radical programs, For this reason there is bound to be a conflict within the party as these new , impatient types cdllide with the hidebound, almost one-family hierarchy, The people who led the revolt, mostly councillors in areas with bad housing, express the frustration of Liberals trying to maintain their cloctoral position, To do this they must convince their electorate that the Liberal Party has something of significance to say about the p.oblems which face them. The rebels are people who should be in the Labour Party, as many of them would be if the Labour Party had not become so ossified(and especially in these very areas). Lesson number one of the Liberal housing revolt is that the way to mast the Libsral revival is not by adopting the Liberal Party Policy, but by presenting a more radical image. z
it is not coincidonce that the subject of the Liberal revolt was the sama subject which attracted the largost number of resolutions for the Labour Party Anmual Conference, 1963. Because they have no socialist ideology, the would-be radical liberals will tend to react very directly’ ‘to issues which face their electorate, Lacking am overall prescription for the ills of socicty thoy have to give greater attontion to the symptoj,s. The attention which the rank and fila @f the Labour and Liberal Parties are giving to the housing question is an indication of the deep foeling by wide sections of the working class, The 'Rachman Scandal' may have far deeper consequencesthan merely ombarassing tho Tory Government. People will expoct some rasults from tho noxt Labour Covernnoent,
The chronic shortazgo of decent housing for psoople will not be solved whicly; ty tho rapocl of the Tory ient ActssTho number of houses built per yoar is the key question, We need enough housos to keep pace with the increase in population, to replace the houses going out of commission and a substantial surplus to make inreads into the number of people badly housed, I+ is very difficult to arrive at a figure which covars these things, tut it is certainly higher than the highest figure stated in any resolution before L.P. Anmial Conferance— that of 425,000 in the Hillsborough resolution,
In ono sense Callaghan is right when he talks about an 18 montha period of erace for the Labour Government. 4 Labour Government will be able to do little in the way of reforms unless it adopts an overall socialist oriantation— hence the fight for a housing/tmilding programe which fulfils the desperate needs of the people would also be a fight for a sacialist orientation of the Labour Governmont.
There is another aspect to this question— the campaigns which have occupied the attention of the left in recent years have mainly been on defence and foroign affairs. These campaims have not attracted workers many of whom have tanded to support the official leadership, A housing campaign would be different, It would be more likely to attract greater support from the worker activists in the Labour Party, and combined with the fight on foreign policy issues and against wage restraint it could beono-of the focal points for the emep-ance of a massive, doeply-rooted left-wing.