THE NEW HOPE for Britain, the Labour Party's campaign document, has been violently attacked in the establishment press.
This is predictable. The document contains many of the radical policies passed by Labour Party conference, albeit hedged around by qualifications. What is more interesting is the source of their ammunition.
In particular the Sun quoted a Shadow Cabinet minister as saying that the document was 'the longest suicide note ever penned.
By the Editor -So what is the attitude of the right-wing majority leadership of the Labour Party and the Parliamentary Labour Party to the document? This is a difficult matter to judge because they are silent on the issue.
At last week's press conference launching the document Dennis deputy leader of the Party, sat in stolid and unhappy silence as the virtues of the document were extolled. He knows that if the Labour Party does go into the next general election on a manifesto which resembles campaign document, will be further discredited in the eyes of the ruling class as a 'natural party of govern- in other words a party that can competently maintain capitalist order.
So what course is open to the right? And how should the left respond? has been much over-confidence on the par! of the left that the issuing of a manifesto in line with the campaigns document is a pure Speculation over weekend has shown this not to be so.
The right wing, under the cover of insisting that unemployment should be at the centre of Labour's campaign, are in reality insisting National Assessment the new Social Contract should be the beginning and end of the document. Fudging This is why it is wrong for the left to respond by defending this core of the document's approach. unambigious like disarmament and the EEC, bracing of the National Economic Assessment without a cast-iron excluded all forms of incomes polic! would leave the left disarmed in the face of LiTS such an offensive by the right.
The second string to the right's bow is It is highly unlikely that Thatcoalition.
cher retain leads in the opinion polls as the genera election approaches.
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Principles that the Party These three the exsllg right There past Economic 'he tudong on committments the emguarantee that her current spectacular On the other hand Denis Healey - Silent Send to Socialist Action, 328 Upper Street, London N1 2XP.
PO Box 50, London N1. the Labour Party, taking into account the Commission changes, would have to win a landslide vote on the scale of 1945 to achieve governmental office.
of coalitions and of reruns of the Lib-Lab pact being at the centre of parliamentary life in the next period is growing more likely. This again will provide the opportunity for the right wing to junk conference policies, on the basis that compromises must be made with partners.
In that context Michael Foot's speech against coalition last week is welcome. But again there must be a clear committment against coalitionism built into Labour's election campaign and hard questions askFinally the right wing have been assuring the press that even if neither of these two stratagems work that they would junk manifesto policies once in office.
say terak wecthn o. general election' No Labour leadership has ever respected the decisions of the movement when in office. This is why the labour movement has to rely on extra-parliamentary struggle to achieve its principles - for 0I• ference policies, against coalitionism and support for extra-parliamentary action are the way forward for the Labour left. They are also the best way of nipping the wing's plots in the bud now.
These principles are the ones on which the Socialists for Labour Victory campaign stands. The battle for the manifesto has been thrown open again by the right. The left should settle the argument. THE Tories plans to sell off British Telecom and to By P Coope (POEU London West Branch
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