No lesser evil for leadership election | Socialist Action 1983

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REVIEWS / Letters Where we other sections and incidently Peter Hain wasn't at any of the meetings where discussions took place.

Only backing four may not be entirely satisfactory, but until some political clarity is brought to the discussion of slates, muddied compromise is bound to be the order of the day.

Organising Secretary LCC. I WOULD like to make some criticisms of Socialist Action's orientation to the Labour Party leadership elections.

The issue cannot be approached from the point of view of which is the lesser of two evils, but are the tasks of the left over tue coming period.

The general election defeat is not simpis reducible to the sabotage of the right WILL leadership. The essential GRANT fact is that the concealsness dine working class, in the mass struggles, has lagged behind the reality of the polarisation of polities, and resulted in the fact that the only major party to increase their proportion of the vote was the Alliance.

The polarisation of - politics was most strikingly revealed inside the Labour Party, Techno BAoroont contradictory manifesto of left wing character being fought for by a half hearted right wing leadership This situation persists and is not reflected in the leadership battle.

Socialists should approach the coming Labour Party conference from the principled existing left wing policies. Neil Kinnock at the 1976 Labour conference In doing so, a balance sheet of the past experience of the strategy of the left must be made. Here two points stand electoral fetishism and tactical compromises have resulted in abject failure.

Second, that the election of Foot did nothing to prevent the launching of a witch hunt or the fudging of policies, but simply provided the leadership with a left cover to more effectively Carry liese out These points indicate the need for a bold new Socialist Action 8 July 1983 transigent defence of lefi wine bolty calls as ult basis of extraparliamentary mass action.

Support for Kinnock however renteen don• tinuation of past strategy those vacillating elements WIU policies for a leadership with a more acceptable political colouration.

It is exactly an adap tion to that which tends to lag behind.

M.WONGSAM, Manchester