LAST THURSDAY the launch of the new Black and Asian Advisory Committee at a press conference in the House of Commons ended up being a distressing spectacle for Labour. Jo Richardson, undoubtedly one of the most left-wing MPs in the PLP, even portrayed in the Guardian as accused of being a 'racist' for agreeing to chair the The Labour Party Black Section in a letter to the Guardian taking up this allegation, clearly re 'racist'. There is no doubt that Jo Richardson involved herself in the Black and Asian Advisory Committee with the best of intentions, and accusations of racism However, anyone agreeing to chair this committee, places themselves in an impossible position.
Any black committee in the party must be chaired, and composed of, black thermore this committee is itself appointed not elected. A black person chairing the committee would have been selected by whites. This is also unacceptable. The only way a black committee in the party can be accepted is if it is elected the he present committee, selected by whites, is correctly described by the Black Section as "colonialism', classic white paternalism.
The same issue is posed by the struggles of women. Women do not need men to 'look after their interests, they need the labour movement to start listening to what women themselves are Richardson understand this perfectly well, and therefore will find herself in an impossible contradiction if she continues to chair this know to be Jo's views on this issue, and the fact that she is chairing a committee established on the basis of a completely counterposed princishows just how wrong this committee is, ano why It must go. democratic organisation of black people in the party electing their own representatives.
In fact the whole issue of Black and Asian Advisory Committee raises a general problem that confronted in the Labour Party.
take on board the most elementary questions of democracy inside the Labour Party itself.
Democracy has to be based upon the fundamental right of people to control their own organisations and democratic party has found expression in the atblack section of the party, accountable to black people, with real say over the anti-racist policy repeated year after year at the women's conwas elected, black self organisation in The fact that a contradiction has It must be replaced their own lives.
people to build a democratic ship campaign in 1981, THE reasons for the ineffective coordination of the Labour left since the early 1980s have been chiefly not organisauonal. It is pontics which finally produces organisation, and not the other way round.
The left came together in the late 1970s around the demand for consulutional change in the party.
united fashion around the in order support the miners. But aside these occassions the left has not had a clear agenda which would allow it to coordinate etfectively. Crisis The LLC was a body established prior to the last Labour Party strike: However miners had been undergoing organisational crisis for the last months.
The apparent reason for this crisis was organisasupporters had been attemoting to dominate the organisation by organisament with it claiming three places on the LLC's steering committee as opposed every other UniC 1101 organisation. Politics But the organisational lay politics. The LLC had à potentially clear political basis. It had the affiliation of WAC, the Labour Parthere has been no ty Black Section, CLPD, the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights, a socialist newspapers, and observers from the Labour Committee on Ireland and Labour The basis for overlap and cooperation between these campaigns was obvious. CLPD, fighting for democracy in Ine has supported the demands of WAC and the Black Section as well as advancing Will demands.
Black Section, both standing for self-organisation tally. supported each others demands. :Every organisation on the left has an interest in opposing the witch hunt - and all have opposed it. While each campaign maintains its own autonomy each gains by coordination. Survive But the basis of that campaigning has to be what the LLC positively stands for. No organisation can survive, or go forward, based on what it is against.
LLC's tasks were indicated by the fact it contained a number of the most important anti-imperialist Canoadus the party, the main camDalis for self-organisation of the oppressed, the main organisation fighting for in the party.
positive platform, made it obvious that the organisations supporting these demands should be the centre of the LLC The black delegation to support the miners — one of the key alliances the left has to build thereby ensuring that their demands would be at the core of its attention. CLD ensurive had pie Cusul c this however would not agree to A diVisiol therefore took place the LLC. the autonomy of the campaigns and established a democratic structure, Vladimir Derer of CLPD was unanimously elected secretary.
indication of the goals likely to be pursued Was shown which included model resolutions for party conference, the attitude to the Black and Asian Advisory Committee , and the question of US bases.
development represented a major forward for the left. A lef coordination has emerged which is not based on on positionalism' but on putting torward clear positive proposals for action by the brings together DalLy the most important campaigns and issues which have developer in the party in the last years. comes at the same time as the establishment of Cam paign Groups in a number of areas — another indication of an upturn of left organisation in the party. Tactics The long and difficult task of taking these campaigns and issues into the unions of course still has developcu deepened. Doubtless difof opinion and tactics will arise But above all last Saturday's events represent a major step forward Ior the leIl. for the first time for many an autnoritalive organisation of the left based on the rank and file
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SINCE THE end of the Rank and File Mobilising Committee, following Tony Benn's deputy leader-
authoritative organisation coordinating the left in the Labour Party. But developments at last Satur- day's Labour Left Coordination (LLC) opened up important possibilties. JAMES LARK reports.