OFFICIAL AMNESIA? by Dave Ablitt (West Nottm. Y.S.)
The Labour Party's Chief Youth Officer seems to bo suffering from loss of momory. A letter ix the correspondence columns of New Advance (Jan. '64) 4, looks like opening the debate on the relationship between the Labour Party Annual Conference and the Party's Parliamontary Group. The Week No. 5 carried extracts from the lotter, but failed to comment on Reg. Underhill's reply. The basis of Mr. Underhill's answor was the General Secrotary's statement to the 1960 Party Conference. He quoted it at great length to prove that Conference decisions should be taken "as expressions of opinion." But he conveniontly forgot the resolution which was passed following the debate from which he enjoyed quoting suitable extracts.
The resolution clearly stated that Conference was the final authority concerning policy and that on matters involving principle, the P.L.P. should follow the line decided by Conference. It does, however, concede the right of the Party's M.P.s to plan the day-to-day tactics employed by them in ‘ Parliament. Of course, some I!.P.s soem to place such issues as nationalisation, conscription, foroign policy, etc., in the category of “day-to-day tactics", The task facing socialists is that of swelling the ranks of those mombers in the House who are able to differentiate between a socialist . principle and a “day-to-day tactic."