WHEN Labour's General Secretary Ron Hayward summed up at the end of last October's annual conterence, he singled out opposition to nuclear weapons as one of the most significant decisions taken.
The editorial of the latest issue of CND's journal Michael Foot as Labour leader: "Foot 'Sanity' promised to go a long way to meeting CND's demands if he Minister.' On 8 December last year, Foot appointed Brynmor John, MP for Pontypridd, as spokesperson for defence.
But Brynmor John unilateral nuclear democracy of Guardian of 16 December, Mr. John's team to cover detence wrote: John's four-man team will now have to walk a tightrope between the unilateralists on the left the of has were to be elected Prime supports neither nor the The Collecte. commenting on 'Mr. absence. and the multilateralists on the right.
Brynmor John is not on a tightrope. He supports the main premise of the Tories' missile policy that Britain needs nuclear weapons. Foot has appointed a defender of the latest round of missile madness.
John has a long record of support for nuclear weapons. When the 1973 Labour conference passed a resolution calling tor the Labour leadership to act on the 1972 conference call for unilateral disarmament an appeal in support of this was issued by many members of the parliamentary party Brynmor John's name was conspicuous by its CND leaders said at the time, the resolution and appeal were acid tests of where tant issues.
- but Labour politicians stood on disarmament. They might have added that the appeal was a test or were Labour leaders stood on the question of democracy in the Labour Party. Brnymor John failed both tests.
Besides his record on disarmament, Brynmor John has a dismal record on other imporHe was a junior Home Office Minister in the last Labour government under Merlyn Rees. He had special responsibility for immigration and was rseponsible for applying the 1968 and 1971 Immigration Acts. During his period as the Minister responsible for immigration, both the scandal of the Heathrow virginity tets and the rejection of Anwar Ditta's request to be reunited with her children marked Labour's record of racism: Brynmor Foot didn't shadow cabinet Those who get rid of Brynmor John now.
Why did Foot appoint this man? John was fifteenth in the poll for the shadow cabinet -below both Tony Benn and Eric Heffer. But base his appointments to the on ever democracy of a poll conducted among the parliamentary section of the Labour Party.
His appointments were designed to paper over any outstanding rift between the left and right among Labour MPs. The basic method used to win this temporary and fragile unity was to give massive concessions to the right.
Despite Foot's previously long-standing commitment to the principle of unilateral nuclear disarmament, despite the resounding victory for this position at the last Labour Party conference, unity with the right wing comes before principles and party support unilateral nuclear disarmament must demand of Michael Foot:
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Tuesday 20 January US MILITARISM