THINGS are president of the National Union of Mineworkers, wing fix-it merchant.
Joe faces the prospect of having to hand over the NUM Arthur Scargill next March, admits that 'I do not think that there is anybody who can stop Mr Benn becoming the leader of the Labour Party eventually'.
Gormley's statement decision of the NUM executive to back down from choosing whom to support in the Labour deputy leadership contest. and instead to ballot branch meetings.
Doubtless the majority of the executive would have preterred a vote tor Healey: the branch ballot system favours a vote for Benn.
Despite this NUM decision, Healey camp are becoming increasingly optimistic - in public at least. Last Friday Healey boldly announced that he NEITHER Denis Healey nor John Silkin were at the launch party Labour Party magazine Socialist. Despite their absence, maybe because of it, the journal got off to a good start.
The initial orin run was Icall 10.000 and of tearing circulation Labour and Tribune the ex house journal of the Labour left, its prospects 1ook origil.
Socialist •Dvious v aimed at the mos dynamic and growing section of the Labour Partv the Bennite Left. wants to expand that constituency by taking in the controversies of women's liberation, the disarmament campaign and other radical movements.
It Is pernaps not surtherefore that the LISL edition has a bit of everything, the sociology of skinheads, to to the 'socialist republic' LUW LULL trolled by Sheffield City Council is fighting the CuLs.
magazine's issue nowever Is ine the three candidates ucouLy leadership. Their answers show, beyond doubt, why every working class person has so much interest in the present in the abour Party.
What is at stake is the political soul of the labour movement.
Healev makes no bones about the fact that he is the direct SULECSSUI Callaghan and Wilson. In response to the how to rebuild Britain's economy and restore full Healey replies with all the old formulas now enthusiastica ly.
was "certain' ever leadershin. while more mole' the and arch right pecting Healey to win.
presidency and now This is followed the in the first round.
greater proportion the be very close. 60p Stuart Hall-Policing America's new Vietnam a as town.
Lewis Minkin- Union blo Skinhead culture New Socialist: theory hits the Labour Party defended by the Democrats His models are Japan, Austria, Norway and the verner ands. policies he says have beer Dasce strategy for industry and national •consensus ... He of winning the deputy preposterously his camp announced that they had a Benn camp: who had revealed that benn's supporters were exThis story sounds a little KGBish for those who want to defend us from the Bennite East European conspiracy. And their celebrations are a little premature.
In fact the most pessimistic reading of the line up of trade union votes gives Benn a first round score of 1.2 million.
basea on the 1 ransport and General Workers supporting John Silkin If Benn picks up the TGWU vote in the second round it will give him 42½ per cent of the union section of the electoral college. With the overwhelming majority of MPs going Healey's way and an even of the constituenc parties supporting benn. the result wil ject of GMWU national official Warburton of 'trying to ensure a decisive maUse conten might have added incomes policy, and at least in the case of Japan a rate of exploitation of the workforce that means an average worker turns ir 3,000 effective work hours year compared with 1,733 hours in Britain.
Even this limp projority' for Healey. Behind the last minute flood statements and statements is the growing realisation that Healey and his right-wing backers can only lose.
Warburton has pointed out that 'in the interestst of the party and the future (read: 'the right wing') it has to be a fairly convincing win for Healey. But this is the least likely result.
Only a series of blatant bureaucratic stitch-ups have preventea Ine leaderships giving expression to the immense rank and file pressure in favour of Bendlive Jenkins of ASTMS and Alan Fisher of NUPE order by their national conferences when they tried to prevent any expression of support for Benn.
There was a near-riot at the biennial conference of the TGWU to get the decision in the hands of the conference. Whatever else happens, the Benn campaign has lit the fires of the fight for union democracy. counterunion were both called to 'I think I'm going to win' Denis has a proven track record in this department Loo.
• Silkin's left credentials (designed to let : uncomfortable union bureaucrats off the hook of the Benn/Healey choice) rest on his apparent commitment to planning agreements, import ant exchange controls.
But he is obviously uncomfortable in the policy realm. His appeal, rests on his accep. tability to everybody. His candidacy was certainly acceptable to Heale position to whom Silkin' was designed split.
Benn's response rethe struggle for democracy and accountability in the about movemen baces powerful weapon in the hands of the ranks to dea thei leaders the very same leaders on whom the sur vival of British capitalism depends. Reform Second, Benn presents a combined package, involving radical reform of the political system as wel as a programme for the economy The implication is not lost on hundreds and molares o workers the political system serves the ruling class whoever is in power.
Most important, and despite the tact that Benn's policies by means add up to a socialis programme, his fight has come to represent ine pro spects of radical change in the system. It encourages a favour ourselves the stranglehold that capita nar lifer Success against our Success against the right wing the Labour Party will remove a scare oosacco mak ing that freedom a realit
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