terview on Irish radio, unreported in the British press. that it would not represent a moye towards a solution.' TONY BENN said last week that the North of Ireland was the single biggest domestic issue in the United Kingdom', and that 'what is needed now in Britain is a real debate about the situation in Northern Ireland'. Benn made the remarks during an inalthough his comments have As to his own views, Benn was suitably contradictory. He said that he believed the partition of Ireland in 1921 was 'wrong ... I think you cannot look at this without a very broad historical sweep and recognise that attempts 1o solve the problem in London have never been successful'. But then he added: •On the other hand there is the anxiety, which I do feel myself, that it you move precipitately to solve it by a withdrawal of troops, which is the argumen. put forward by some people, that this might lead into a situation so terrible So for the moment Benn has adopted the position on Ireland most favoured by the Labour left — in favour of British withdrawal and reunification in principle, but against it in practice. Nevertheless, his call for a 'real debate' can only be welcomed; especially as Benn himself has shown some reluctance in the past to be drawn on the issue. For example, in his book Arguments for Socialism, Benn mentions Ireland ... not once. attend Westminster members Labour right-wing position gone attempt show Cabiner
IN THE slums of Port Louis, the capital