litics? , to govern MICHAEL FOOT'S decision to step down as Party leader surprised nobody. Foot was elected as leader by the Parliamentary troduction of the electoral college, as the best candidate to 'unite' the party and keep out Benn.
His abysmal failure as leader was not due to his personal eccentricities sentences, general air of being somewhere else — but to his political positions.
HARRIS Trying to unite left and right he fudged every issue and pleas ed nobody. The electorate could see that his 'leadership' farce of indecision promise.
Without Benn in parliament, the left is in a difficult position to put forward a credible candidate.
During campaigh we backed Tony Benn not because we agreed out In practice leadership available.
before the intrying to impose its policies The opportunity the endless hollow rhetoric and ›ably forward his the Gerald Kaufman.
stage left was a cepted nomination port him.
But the Hattersley, Shore the deputy leadership Kinnock with him 'centre-left' around Foot. politically, but to advance and embolden the left generally, and to test his the most left wing A victory for Benn would have been a symbol of the political majority for the left in the party, would have stayed the hand of the right in witch-hunting the left and • for the left to put forward a candidate will pro.
be around the deputy leadership where Michael Meacher has put nomination This should be firmly backed against the 'centre' candidate, Denzil Williams candidate there is at this candidate for leadership. At one stage Eric Hef- vances. ter's name was roared. u ne ac sions we would supmajor candidates are Kinnock.
Hattersley alc ulan biguously on the right of the party associated with the As Ken Livingstone points out in article, long record of opportunism and betrayal anne lens abiddons The accompanying chart of re cent voting behaviour on the NEC prepared by CLPD shows that Kinnock has voted with the right on incomes policy, nationalisation of the banks and the witch hunt.
Nevertheless in the absence of a left candidate, the divide between left and right in the ranks of the movement will emerge around Kinnock's candidature.
that the maioritv of the part! swung to the right decisively.
It would be a green light for the witch hunt, for the abandonment of embracing the Common Market and incomes policy and constitutional Kinnock is a rotten opportunist, who at a later stage might prepare his own attack on the policy gains of the left. But to refuse to back him against Hattersley or Shore final analysis would be an ultra-left stupidity - handing the game to the right wing without a fight.
1982-8: 1901 - 04