condensed from'Voice of the Unions" articles”
The combined votes for the left and centre candidates is nearly two-thirds of the total cast in opposition to Lord Sarron'# nominee, the favourite son of the establishment. On Scanlon's side, the election was fought entirely on issues of policy. In his election address he says that members must decide "whether they desire a complete and absolute reversal of what I consider to be a most disasterous record", In supporting the July 20th measures we not only accepted a total “wage freeze" without any effective control over prices and dividends, but we did it in the full knowledge that agreements solemnly entered into would not be honoured and anyone attempting to ensure their operation during the freeze periods would be guilty of a criminal offence", "The country undoubtedly faces serious economic difficulties but the greatest fallacy ever uttered is that these difficulties can be solved by wage freeze and unemployment". "We must have loyalty at all times to the principles of trade unionism and socialism". Scanlon's opponent in the second ballot hardly bothers to discuss policies in his election address, which is a hotch potch of innuendo and personal abuse: "Desperately anxious to capture our union; it is now an open secret that communists, ex-communists, ex-Trotskyists and those politically spineless characters known as fellow travellers - and not all are AEU members - have temporarily joined forces, held meetings in various towns under the cloak of propagating a newspaper (prize to the first reader to guess its name) decided to drop their support for a well-know communist, and to nominate and support an ex-communist who now holds Labour party membership". Bro Birch (11438 votes) and Bro Edmondson (7865 votes) will not be entering the second ballot. Len Edmondson says "I have always fought against unemploymentiby!os taking part in marches, demonstrations, meetings and deputations to Government representatives etc., in an effort to eliminate the evil of capitalism which imposes so much suffering on the working-class and their families", Reg Birch sees it the duty of the AKU - To defend the workers; to maintain and improve working conditions; to oppose and put down all injustice from the employer to our class.