The left's victory created the excuse for the Gang of Three ' (later the Gang of Four Williams, Rogers and • LO sel up tel 'Council for Democracy' stage in splitting from the party. But it was excuse: the split had been with Roy Jenkins.
Tony Benn's decision to test our 1e 4 mechanism through the deputy leadership contest threw the right wing into that Benn had no chance. But as the campaign bro ceeded, taken into the unions and sweeping the constituency parties, the right panicked: The TGWU conference was only just prevented from mandating its delegates to vote for Benn.
But the deputy leadership canilvalu hastened the differentiation inside the Labour left itself. The emergence of John Stikin the third candidate backed by a goodly part of Tribune group led by Nel Kinnock. to the conflict Tribunites Ben— a division consummated at the Labour conterence itself when. some Silkin supporters voted for Healey the second round.
The defeat of Tony Benn in the deputy leadership fight — by half of one Lab our right's fight back. Celli started the Their defeat of number of left candidates in the NEC elections, their viciory in control and now their opening up of a full-scale WELCH hunt against the Left in the parWas based defeat of Benn the deputy leadership election.
The crisis in both the abour and lory was compounded by the successes art nestion.
successes SDP. Roy Jenkins' near miss in Warrington Lictory ey Williams' victory Crosby, and the generally high standing of the SDP in the opinion hastened Ine differentiation in both parties.
Unfortunately the SDP represents nothing new for ellnel une bureaucracy or the They have ransacked the last twenty ycais Dullical history for The few they have found are the policies capitalism in boom, capitalism in crisis.
the response to the SDP nas been to stiffen the determination of the 'wets' challenge oppose Thatcher.
Risking temporary unand calmou have tome out in open opposition. They are swimming against the stream today in the hope that ignominous defeat for Thatcher in the next election will sweep them back into power in the Conservative Parti At the end of 1981 _pollics greater state of flux than at any time for forty years. At the next general elec. tion it seems likely that there will be three major parties in parliament and not two. While the fight which is developing in the Tory party is just in an embryonic state, that in the Labour Party is reaching a crucial stage. posed is estion The being whether bureaucracy will re-assert its control through expul sions, the disbanding local parties and proscripSocialist Challenge tions, or whether the will consolidate its move to the lef: and become a differen: type of Labour Party.
The stakes in British politics today are extreme ly high the left today will affect the outcome of the strug gle for many years ahead 17 December 1981