NO PROGRESS ON PARLIANUNTARY ROAD FOR Knlc steamer by Pat Jordan
Despite an impressive and expapive campaign, and despite the enthusiasm and heard work of hundreds of C.P. members, the 1964 general sélection took Kine street no further aleng the parliamentary road to socialism, The ,Comnunist Party put up 36 candidates who obtained 46,532 votes - an average of about 1,300 a piece, To see how they fared one hes to compare the votes obteined this year Witn those obtained in 1959 in the 17 constituencies which the C.P,. contested both years. The results reads Gonstituency '59 vote '64 vote change Constituency '59 vote '64 vote change Inmbarton EB. 2,200 1,171 -1,029 Dundee WV. 1,086 1,228 + 242 Fife We 5,826 Sect) - 555 Gorbdeis 1,932 153539 = 595 Govan 1,969 1,378 - AS] Hayes... 527 873 + 346 Hornsey 1,107 1,258 + 151 Weath 1,962 2,432 + ATO Nottingham BR, 1,337 1,579 + 242 Rhonnda BE. £,580 3,585 =1,195 St. Pancras N, 1,230 1,140 = 90 Shefficid Southwark 1,395 1,599 + 204 Erichtside 1,373 L356 = Lf Springburn 1,255 950 — 285 stepney 2,548 2,454 = FA Wigan 945 968 + 43 Willesden W. 1,324 1,130 — 194 Total 40,470 27,533 -2,937 or a lose of nearly 10%
The Loss has been most marked in Scotlend: the vote in the 6 constituencies contested dropping from 12,148 in 1959 to 9,339 in 1964 - 2 loss of about 2%, dnother festure has been the decline in those constituencies where there was = relatively high vote - of around 56 or more and where, therefore, there was an outside chance of saving the £150 deposit. - In Hhonnda the loss was 26%; in West Fife, 144; in Gorbals, 30%; and in Govan, 26. ‘The position in Weat Fife is actually worse than the figures suggest; in 1959 and ex-¢.P. member stood as a candidate of the Fife Socialist League and got 4,996 votes. Clearly, a goed proportion of these votes should have gone to the C.F. this year. The C.P. did better the greater London area. For instance, the figure for Stepney is better than it anpears: the area is being depopulated md the C.F. incressed its share of the vote.
These figures must be worrying for the King Street leaders. lll the more when they know what the ordinary readers of the Daily Worker don't know, that a candidate of the Committee to Defeat Revisionism end for Commmist Urity (yes, he actually stood with that label! - the Daily Worker described him as an independent) got nearly 900 votes in Huyton. Ordinary members cf the C.P. mast take a hard look at these figures. Their party ia committed to parliamentary road to socialism and yet has no parliamentary prospects thatsoever, The fact that the C.F. vote has fone down s¢ stectacularly in those areas where it has done well before indicates’ that the workers will just not take the risk of splittine the anti-Tory vote. WUhis meens that there is a point beyond which the C.P. vote is very unlikely to @o. it should also be noted that these results were obtained iné period of a swing to the left and the ¢.P. did worst in precisely those areas where the swing to the left wis ere=tust, e.f., Glasgow.
Five yesrs is a long time, mid the complete lack of prosress in this peried cannot be explained in terme” of capitulist propavands, The workers of West Fife and Rhonnda who voted Camminist in the past and now vote Inbour ere advanced workers, Pernaps their suspicion of the €.P..3s reinforesad by the fact that it put up candidetes against such well-knowm left wingers as Leo Ahse of Fontypool, John Rankin of Govan, and Laurie Pavitt of Willedsen West. The fact that the C.F, could have split the vote in Tamdee Yest and Luton, and let in Tories, will not have escaped the attention of big secticns of the left. Im the discussions which are now taking place, it is too much te expect or hope that many ¢.flers will ‘conclude that their real place is in the left wing of the Labour Party?