About 50 people attended a one-day school on Ireland and the Labour Party, organised by Battersea CLP on January 17. The turn-out showed the growing interest in Irelana developnig among party ranks.
The first session heard MP Jock Stannard and Socialist Challenge staff writer Geoff Bell. While Bell dealt with the history of the Irish struggle since partition, Stannard concentrated on Labour's abysmal record on Ireland.
He pointed out the leadership's bloc with the Tories in opposing the right of the Irish to determine their own future and ended by saying it was no accident that the N. Ireland secretary most popular among unionist bigots was Labour's Koy Mason.
The afternoon session saw workshops around such areas as unionism, republic. ipants agreed that the media treatment of Ireland was completely one sidea and designed to prop up British rule.
The work-shop on republicanism, however, saw differences arise. - such as those from the Militant current - seemed to be more concerned with the "Iights oi the Unionists than the strug. gle of the Irish people as a whole for justice and freedom.
As others explained, the national struggle is central to the whole classstrud le in Ireland. Supporting the "rights" of the Unionists means supporting a privileged layer in N. Ireland and their backers in the British ruling class.
Another disagreement that arose was over the question of British withdrawal withdrawal.
Some people COMMITTED needed.
be built on this basis. Challenge moved a resolution which included calling on the Labour Party NEC to campaign for military and politica.
When some supporters of the Irish struggle assumed this meant immediate withdrawal, the Socialist Challenge comrade who moved it said this was not the case: immediate withdrawal was purposly left out as a "broad campaign" was now.
An ammendment to insert the word "immediate" was moved by Socialist Action on the grounds that troops out now was the only position consistent with supporting Irish self-determination and a mass campaign could ard should Such a stance did struggle agree fully with this principled position.
As well as Socialist Action and Workers Action, a number of independent Labour supporters of the Irish struggle backed the amendment. Socialist Challenge, however, and local Labour members less committed to self-determination, opposed the amendment and it was lost 17 - 18. Because of the backsliding on the part of Socialist Challenge, a valuable opportunity was lost to win support for the position of troops out The meeting ended on a more positive note, however, with a telegram of solidarity being sent to Bernadette and Michael McAliskey, and Labour activists coming away were enthused and committed to organising support for the Irish
FEBRUARY 1981