THE AGENDA for this year's AGM of the Labour Coordinating Committee (LCC), to be held in Sheffield on 15 November, shows a further development in the crisis facing that organisation.
out around relations with (LLL) which brings together the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD), the Labour Women's Action Committee (WAC), the Labour Party Black Section, Labour CND and other campaigns in the A resolution moved to the AGM by Mike Hobday Stales. "The LCC would we cone closer operation the "soft-left" and the "hard-left" neciore. resolves write the Labour Left Liaison askwhat terms such possible. LCC resolves to report the results of such negotiations to its members within six months.
Hard A directly counterposed resolution by Rachel Brooks and 'This AGM argues inal: believes that Labour Left Liaison sectarian political project whose aim is to reverse the decline of the so-called hard left by hijacking ine legitimate sectional demands of pressure groups and campaigns under an antileadership banner.
'Any participation by LCC would, therefore, give credibility to this project depart from our view that the demands of WAC, Black Sections and other groups should be independent all y particular political formation.
'AGM therefore Accepts that LCC should not be involved in Labour Left Liaison its associated structures.' In a related resolution Nigel Stanley, the Clause 4 grouping, states: "This AGM notes Tne resolution on NEC strategy passed at the 1984 AGM' this was the resolution adopted by the which practice called for that organisation tø try to remove Tony Benn, Dennis Skinner and other left figures from the NEC.
These resolutions alre crystal clear - and reflect the sharp divisions in the LCC which emerged prior to, and at, Labour Party Rachel Brooks and Owen Tudor's allelpts argue that campaigns the party should not be involved with the LLL. But both Labour Left Liaison the different campaigns in the party — 1ncluding WAC, CLPD, and the Black Section - have always worked with all currents in the party that fight for their objectives.
Liaison's position is that it will work with the LCC for commonly agreed objectives.
But what is not acceptable is the purely token support which the LCC gives to campaiens in the party. The resolutions and amendments for last party The most sharply counterposed resolutions come Labour Left Liaison umbrella organisation conference showed almost no resolutions or amendments in support of the campaigns formally claims to support coming constituencies. The LCC refused support the slate adopted by the shadow elections Collecte despite its verbal support for WAC. Only two constituencies decisively influenced by the LCC voted for Black Section Caldidate Russell Proffit despite the fact he was formally on the LCC slate -and that compared to 42 'hard left' connienCes Only 25 heavily LCC influenced constituencies voted for two women candidates for the NEC comparca lo 'hard left' constituencies. This, again, was despite the fact that Jo Richardson b and Audrey Wise were both nominally on the LCC's slate.
In every case, therefore, the LCC gives cosmetic. tokenistic Suu port but in reality does nothing to promote the campaign. The orientation proposed by Nigel Stanley and the Clause 4 grouping, which involved in practice a deepening alliance with the racist and sexist right wing, would strengthen that tokenistic course still further.
within the 1534C of WAC, the for came out clearly clearly completely contradictory with the The most explosive policy which will affect the position of the LCC in the party, is or Here there are policy resolutions for adoption with every position ranging from British withdrawa from ireland — moved by Conor Foley, to a series of positions which explicitly supports the Unionist veto on British withdrawal.
Faced with completely contradictory positions on relations with left currents in the party, and completely counterposed lines on this LCC AGM represents further deepening in the crisis of that organisation. next election the ference for withdrawal from NATO was 68,000 up on the previous year.
increase, about Labour's 'firm commitment' membership which has Ben Lowe's new pam phlet, Peace Through Non-Alignment, sponsored by Campaign MPs, provides a short history of 1956 through to the US raid on Libya earlier this year - which substantially confirms those concerns. Lowe traces thoreal pupilantic North Atlantic as an Instrumell of US foreign policy and a means ot keeping uropean allies in lin walllelu came close to using weapons on a number of in Guatemala VietChina, Jordan 1959, 1900, in Berlin and in Laos in 1960.' The change of NATO concept in 1967, 'massive retaliation' *flexible response', hasn't altered the fundamentals.
'NATO's walplanning, weapons in being that much NATO's Lacoca borders. the fear that the might one's the has which saw Pact.' policy the dangers of East-West confrontation and sets as its long-term goal the dissolution of the blocs', Lowe argues that the party will only be able to pursue that goal effectively if it tackles task thology of the official mythology that Ene usel has sustained the cold wal for 40 years and offers more persuasive realistic assessment of the dangers today'. This is undoubtedly the heart of the matter.
unilatera nuclear disarmament policies JI -1986 vote atLabour Party conIn Blackpool this month 1,033,000 votes were cast to get out of NATO compared to 965,000 in 1985. Hardly an earth-shattering but a further indication of the disquiet to been working its way through the constituency parties since the Defence and Security for Britain policy was adopted in 1984.
content be Remitment' Recent statements by Labour Party leaders, Lowe points out, lead to the view that have 'only rhetorical commitment to "breaking up the military blocs"
There are four main arguments in favour of re taining membership, NATO deters Lowe: 'that the threat from the East; that it is an a1ace a1ace of friends the world; that it costs less than a self-reliant national defence system; and that it helped to form NATO, a Labour government which had enjoyed widespread popular was years.
MISK still National campaigners ship on of the North alliterests.
that _lo the ing ine But it is change 'public opinion' on the question. Rather it is a matter of understanding that cold war ideology 1s : device whereby the United States and allies, the big gest imperialist powers in the world today, maintain attempt to expand their economic political influence in the world. All British governments - - including all past Labour governments, and including the leadership Willingly with this.
They know that allegiance to the United States and to the NATO alliance is far less of threat to Britain's imperialist interests than anv socialis foreign policy would be Labour and lorv govern ment alike choose to support the United States and NATO, they do not have this foisted on them against their will.
Understanding this Peace Through Non-Alignment, by Ben Lowe, means understanding that any struggle to withdraw is a lun damental capitalism. successful and st understood posed within the move ment, not as a matter of ti dying up the lose ends of an anti-nuclear policy, but as a threat to the very corof British imperialism.
Bipartisanship on NATO is undoubtedly suffering a few cracks in the 1980s. . But it will be a long hard fight before the majority of the labour movement socialist foreign policy and willbe won to withdraw that such a policy must entail. Lowe's pamphlet is a contribution building that support for withdrawal from NATO. But the arguments it puts for NATO withdrawal flawed.
The case for
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is in DESPITE A Labour Party conference dominated by the leadership's concentration on unity for the