pensation, from the Shadow cabinet.
side the Labour Party.
Tony Benn's speech has been presented by the tion. was it party policy? was he asked to do the speech? Was he set up by Michael Foot right wing? Is this declaration of war by the right wing PLP?
I don't think that there was an attempt by Michael Foot to deliberately set up Tony Benn. But I do think we have to be clear what party policy is. The document 'Peace, Jobs and Freedom agreed by the Wemblev Conterence LWO year amo, and carried by over votes to 6.000 said in any or were favour reassets taken into the private sector the public without compensation. There has been no change in conference policy since that time.
This is a dispute which would have eventually occurred no matter what the issue. There are those in the PLP leadership who have taken issue with Tony Benn no matter Wildl it they were looking for an issue to my lo isolate nim in tne parliamentary party. Following Tony Benn's front bench speech last week in which he advocated re-nationalisation of hived off North Sea oil assets without comThe seems certain to be excluded Phil Hearse talked to left Labour MP REG RACE about the row that has resulted and the ongoing struggle inThe right wing are trying to use resolutions to the shadow cabinet counter the weight of the left in the party.
It looks as if Tony Benn won't be elected to the shadow cabinet just a couple ot months he got almost per cent of the votes in the deputy leadership contest. Doesn't this mean Ine rigat nave declared Shouldn't the left go on. the left. the clear out all these people who refuse to respect party policy?
The established procedures reselection and the electoral college have got to be used. response of the left is very important. We have to set an organisation on the the left in the constituencies and inside the trade unions We have to do that as a delegate body with delegations vi callsallulls inside the Labour Party to construct an or carsallull a number of aims in view.
The first of these objectives must be to reverse the right wing gains on the and win back control TOI the letitimate left, the Second we have to run a campaign to defend the Party's policies against those in the shadow cabinet and the PLP who seek to undermine them. We can only do that by building up a campaign in the working class as a whole.
That's very important because just ask yourself the question: who is going to attack the SDP and the great threat it poses to the unity of the labour movethe shadow cati *? It's obvious that those the LUCC shadow cabinet who agree the SDP's even if they disagree with the formation of the SDP. They are therefore unwillinvolved of the What we have to do in this new left organisation s to go all out and attack he SDP as the capitalist party that it is One one uor or a con test for the leadership or deputy icaaersnip next year is a question which still has to be discussed we have to see if it is tacucauv correct when we're coming up to a general election What you propose, the setting up of a Labour Party organisation uniting constituencies and unions, But didn't the ference show the decisive strength of the certain important unions.for example. Doesn't Reg Race any organisation of the which involves trade union activists have to fight to solve that problem?
That's true. At the moment the block vote tends to be split down the middle between left and right - a big advance from the fif ties and sixties. We have to defend and extend the gains which we have made in the trade union movement for left wing policies and show the trade union that the implementation of those policies is in the interests of their members.
The answer to the right wing domination unions like the AUEW APEX and EEPTU is the left organisations and the bringing together of those organisations into a more But the prerequisite is that the members of those unions have to change those unions themselves. We can support them from the outside, but they must do it themselves.
Coming back to the question of the leadership, isn't it clear that Michael Foot is a willing ally of the right wing not just its prisoner?
This is a very important There are those in the Tribune group who the romantic starryeyed visionary left wing figure that he was in the fifties and sixties Shere ne others who say that Michael Foot is now the Michael Foot in the last Labour government who did several imjobs for Callaghan, and protected the Callaghan-Healey leadership very effectively from criticism from the left.
I found Michael Foot's statement issued on Friday very interesting that regard, because the crucial phrase was that members of the shadow cabinet who disagreed with party policy had an effective veto.
That must be seen as a total by Michael Foot to the right inside the shadow cabinet. It means in practice Denis Healey and others being able to veto the defence policy of the Labour Partv. market and crucial areas of the alternative policy, like a big extension of public ownership.
It means that Labour Party policy won't be implemented by the next Labour government Michael Foot has come off the fence and thrown in his lot with the right wing inside the shadow cabinet.
Should there therefore be an ultimate objective replace Michael Foot as leader? Yes, quite right. At an appropriate time there She left for leader and left for leader denutv leader. • There is a great desire in the party for unity.
Our line is to say, 'We are willing unite on the basis of accep-