Disaffiliation & Desmond Donnelly's Image of the Labour Party

The scan: The Week v7 no23.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

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Desmond Donnelly, writing in the New Statesman, says-that Wilson's strategy is clear enough... “even if half the Parliamentary Labour Party has not yet grasped it. Mrs Wilson is bent upon transforming the Labour Party totally. He wants a British version of the American Democrats. He is no longer concerned with public ownership as an end in itself, or any similar nonsense, He is right. He wants to keep the traditional Labour vote naturally, but in the last analysis he is prepared to risk losing some of it, provided he carries the modern, middle-of-the-road voter." The rate at which he is, in fact, already losing the Party its traditional support was emphasised by Frank Cousins last week, when he spoke of: "the grave feelings about the Government within the Transport & General Workers! Union and in other unions." He warned that there were a number of motions this year at the T&GWU's Annual Conference calling for disaffiliation from the Labour Party, He would oppose them, but there was no doubt that many of his branches felt that they would be better fighting as lone wolves, Added Cousins: "Any Government can resolve its economic problems if it is prepared to create unemployment, When the Tories did it we denied their right to do so, I deny the right of the Labour Government to do it," The disillusionment with the Labour Government is understandable, but those who advocate disaffiliation should consider whether they really wish to see the Party transformed to fit Desmond Donnelly's image of a British version of the American Democrats, That would be the inevitable result of giving Donnelly and his "modern, middle-of-the-road" friends a clear run inside the Party, That the Party is already a more natural and comfortable haven for such thinking than for socialist, trade union militants, is no argument for moving cut. It is a further argument for meeting Domelly's persistent militancy with equal persistence from within _ the Party, and it is good to see that Cousins intends to oppose any noves to disaffiliate,