supporters picketed the Royal Institute for International Affairs where contra leader Adolfo Calero was meeting with his British supporters.
Calero had been
invited to Britain by an with some Tory MPs.
Expressing his Nicaraua opposition to the visit on tne Dickel, Laboul MP Jeremy Corbyn said 'Calero is a representative of a terrorisi ulcallisaliuli financed by Reagan. He is here to drum up THE Socialist Conference held in Chesterfield on 24-25 October was a huge organisational success. Over 2000 people attended. It was a tremendous opportunity to discuss socialist policies.
Since the conterence the Labour right has gone out to attack it. in particular Sarah Benton in the New statesman. WilU has previously spent her time attacking the Labour Women's Action Committee and the Labour Party black sechon, was turned loose with a remit to attack Concreict Contrasting it adversely with a Marxism Today event held the night before in which: a Lenin look alike popped oul ol a caraboara cake lo deliver a speech in paraRussian on the problems of Ulall Soviet Union; witty and ur- production in the bane speeches were made; the port was passed According to Benton the Chesterfield conference, unlike the Marxism Today gathering, ideas'.
In fact many of the peeches made by leaders o Men were cellent. Particularly notable Scargispeees were by Allllui Peter Heathfield on 'new realism' in the unions and by Ken Livingstone on the likely political effects of the Wall Street crash. But unfortunately they coexisted with key policies, promoted by the Socialist society ana for Socialist Economists, aimed to take the Labour left far to the right of its previous posiThe Socialist Society, in particular, promoted three positions - - all of which are interconnected. These were for the EEC couched in terms of rejecting withdrawal, support for proportional representation, and an attack on tionalisation'® economics workshops at least these ideas were taken far further.
debate on the economay outlnea a view tor acalln: wịth the present economic ›ublic ownershit Evans, at the workshop ol the economy stated that a part •la sulaoe soluton lo tie present crisis would be for Britain to join the EuroUndoubteney rese viens Monetary System.
to the right of were war anything which most of the LavOul ralL HiCHUCiS DIC sent had ever considered adopting. At least in the workshop the present author attended such views were taken to task Aims Unfortunately if there is a printed record of the conterence which is likely. 1l will give a greatly distortec version of what really took place. Benton was in fact full of praise for the papers prepared TIOI ference: 'This (the absence ot new ideas ) 1s not wna the conference papers pro duced to set the tone of th conference, had promised. Here, thoughts on reality peep above Ironically, had those who wrote, for instance, the section on public ownership, peppered passages such as: "The public sector has, by and large, stifled initiative, . eg. in nealth care The major innovations have largely come the privale ana voluntary col tage economy put these thoughts to the conference they would have been how! ed down as New Realists.
In reality most of those outside the Labour Party at the were politically far to the right of those Arthur Scargill rightly took them up very sharply in his contribution Saturday A recall conterence ! promised for May. That is welcome socialists vanae en sur some these issues must oe tronca out or lut conference will take on a ditterent dvnamic to the ene its organisers intend
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HOY Nicaragua protest