Right Wing Helps S.l.l. to Take Majority in N.a.l.s.0

The scan: The Week v7 no7.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

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from Geoffrey Crossick Mention has been made in The Week of the disaffiliation of N.A.L.S.0. by the Labour Party. What has not been referred toare the specific circumstances which gave the N.E.C. the pretext for getting rid of its embarrassing student organisation. These circumstances were provided by an extraordinary N.A.L.S.0. Conference at L.S.E. on 3rd and 4th January, where replacements were elected for six members of the N.A.L.S.0. E.C. who had resigned. Five of the six newly elected committee members are known S.L.L. supporters. As a result S.L.L. supporters now have a majority on the committee. There are two disturbing aspects to these developments. irstly, there is the manner in which the elections were held. Full censli Wonet notification of the conference was not given - indeed, a number of constituent clubs received no notification at all; there were no formal checks on who were delegates, or on their credentials. Only 25 of 96 member clubs were represented. Of the identifiable factions present, it is notable that the S.L.L. votes were turned into a majority by the addition of those of the Wilsonites and reformists, among them the Cambridge right. For only one post did a Wilsonite oppose an S.L.L. candidate, and then several votes were required to produce a clear cut result. This alliance was clearly a pure piece of opportunism on the part of the Wilsonites; they took advantage of the situation in order to discredit N.A.L.S.0. in the eyes of the Labour Party, and give Reg. Underhill and the N.E.C. the excuse to disaffiliate. Rarely has the cynicism of the Wilsonites been so blatantly exposed, The second aspect is the future of N.A.L.S.0. It has not recently been as active as many might have hoped, but it is a necessary organ. The danger now is that it will be destroyed as a potentially effective force by the sectarianism of the S.L.L. and the cynicism of the Wilsonites. This story is already familiar from the history of the Young Socialists. This process must be halted at the N.A.L.S,0,. conference at Manchester in April. A good attendance of delegates is essential,