Why the Five Textile Unions Left the Labour Party

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The decision of five small textile unions to leave the Labour Party is serious, The unions concerned, all members of the 86,000-strong United Textile Factory Workerst Association, are concentrated in the Blackburn area. In announcing the decision Mr. John Casson, secretary of Blackburn Textile Trades Federation said yesterday: "Our intention is to make the strongest possible protest at local level in the hope that the Government might be made aware of our dissatisfaction with their lack of interest and consideration". The five unions covering 8,000 workers are: The Weavers' Association, Power Loom Overlookers' Association, the Beamers, Twisters and Drawers' Union, and the Textile Warehousemen. Commenting on the decision, the Times said: ; "What has caused this strong outburst of feeling against the Government? It is partly fear of further mill closures, partly disillusionment because Government action on imports has fallen short of the promises made at the last election, and partly anger at being, in the words of one union leader, "fobbed off". The plain fact is that the total volume of permitted imports has been pitched so high that in a period of recession the burden become. too much for the industry to bear. In their present mood the unions will demand proof of the Government's good faith and will at least expect some check on imports from Portugal which, by their concencentration on a narrow range of house-hold textiles, have brought about the closures of some of the most efficient mills in the U.K. industry." It is quite clear that this situation is only a foreteate of what will come if Britain joins the Common Market. A decision to force through entry without any provision for the affects on big sections of the working class - in fact, one might say directed against the working class - is bound to have big repercus-= sions for the traditional structure of the Labour Party. We can only hope that a left appears quick enough to head off the acts of des~ pair like this and the decision of the Potteryworkers. Those who have argued against fighting the Wilson Government have a big share of the responsibility * for these acts: had a fight been put up it is unlikely that the disaffiliations would have taken place.