WITCH-HUNTS are ty tends to make evitable. This is because of the dual nature of the party.
On the one hand it is made up of tens of thousands or party activists and trade unionists, who are proud to call themse ves socialists on the other the party on a day-to-day basis, controlled by small and unrepresentative elites most notably parliamentary party It is when this control is challenged that the elites seek to drive out of the party or silence those who question their privileged position. evitably as well. such begin on a small basis, against the most identifiable targets. But eventually those who direct the purges cast an ever widening net Such trends are illustrated by the last time the party leadership attemp ted a major witch-hunt. The first vic 1951 were fry, the Socialist Fellowship This grouping was established in the summer of 1949 by MPs Ellis Smith and Fenner Brockway.
It sought to link up in the party activists, MPs and trade unionists. Trotskyists played an important part in the running of the Fellowship but it sought to unite all those, in the party who agreed with 'socialisation, workers control, ding the gross inequalities of incomes, a socialist Europe and freedom for the colonies As the Fellowship grew and the Labour government lo le rigal a clasn between ine two was inevitable. In April 1951 Fellowship was proscribed The same day Labour's executive had approved a budget from Hugh Gaitskell which imposed cuts in social spending and an increase in military spending The success Fellowship, especially its opposition to the Korean War, had made it necessary for the party leadership to try and silence the grouping But Fellowship was larger left wing in the Labour Party, nothing refused to The government them in- them.
party Bevanites alleged willill une Darly, The PLP agreed to membership against the government.
the Inwitch-hunts directed comparatively currently much in vogue: en- check the Bevanites press moved steadily Bevanites followed.
the Fleet Street rags joined in.
the offensive was the Bevanites' unions of the Bevanines gave to the biue annoyed TGWU only part of a Arthur Deakin And when the Bevanites and others support the Labour in a defence debate in March 1952 the knives went out for Fellowship ganised', A ame ine, teterania no are referring a special group organised, Tories' i spend rebels WRO voted Nye Bevan with young Harold Wilson One historian has recorded what happened next, in language which is to 'Held in Commons the expelled from concentrated extrasUllit into collision with big trade unions.' Bevan's rescu ollowed against Chronicle complained that the group was a 'party within a party', and othe But what By really made the Labour right go on Gaitskell, campaign in the constituencies and the tality The party leadership was especial- allegation support the 'dockers' union against the 'white' union of the spiracy, led by Labour right winger When Tribune attacked Deakin, censurca Dy lne Labour ICC Side by side with this, CLPs which had shown a willingness to defend the For other slogans of militancy were disaffiliated and 'reorThe climax of the purge came in March 1955 when Bevan and 61 other Labour MPs abstained on a Labour opposition amendment to the white The vicwcu the white unamendable and argued instead for outright opposition.
The Labour shadow cabinet voted withdraw party whip Bevan and hinted that he should be the party. A massive campaign in the constituencies and ir unions eventually came The NE decided not to expe him, but only by the narrowest of majorities. It was nine more years before Labour was returned to office then Bevan and Hugh demanding Bevan's head, were dead But Gaitskell's witch-hunting men can be summed up with the Richard . it has three essentials of a conSpranisation run by Mikardo, and a leader Bevan. newspaper run by Foot.
The Foot in question was Michael Socialist Chállenge 17 December 1981 page 9
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new in the Labour Party. • very nature of the Labour Par-