A MAJORITY of Labour voters think it is justified to break the law to stop the siting of missiles in Britain.
What is the best way to stop the missiles, and to commit the Labour Party to unilateral disarmament in practice?
HELEN JOHN from the Greenham Common Socialist Challenge 11 February 1983 Peace Camp Valerie cruise on the general election.
Next rowsmith views on against cruise unilateralism.
spoke to Coultas about their plans to stand candidates Women For Life Earth candidates in week Pat Arexplains her the fight and for Party Why are you standing as a candidate in the general election against the Labour Party?
I'm not standing as a candidate standing against right within it. That's not standing against the Labour Party. It's standing for the Labour Party.
This is the most important general election since the war and the prospect of Labour losing means the possibility of implementing unilateral disarmament is put further back.
If the peace movement and the women in the peace camps are standing against the Labour Party, or the right wing of the Labour Party, they will be accused of be. ing opposed to the return of a Labour Government Well, we've been misunderstood from the beginning. Nevertheless, the confusion will settle.
I see no advantage in returning a Labour Government that have the will to bring into effect the policies that have been put before it. I watched what happened at the conference, our policies getting more than a two-thirds majority.
There's our friend Hattersley say. ing "well, it doesn't automatically mean it will go into the manifesto' And our friend Denis Healey saying depends you mean by unilateralism' There isn't any confusion in my mind at all. The Conference made the decision that the Labour Party should pursue unilateral nuclear ment. The right wing elements in the leadership have got to be challenged and brought into line with the Party.
Absolutely. but it's a question of how you do it. There are large numbers of people in the Labour who want unilateralism in the Manifesto. Will those people support you standing against the right wing? Well I hope so. We would effectively be supporting Labour Party policy. The right wing are actively fighting against it. Anybody who votes for Denis Healey or Jim Callaghan is not going to get them working for the policies of the Party. They're going to be working 24 hours a day to defeat those policies.
'I'm asking for a whole lot of things from a whole of people' But the point is there's a way of taking these people up within the Party. You're in the Labour Party and there's been a process of attempting to make these people more accountable.
There are ways of fighting both in the unions and the Party to demand that policies are implemented.
Given the massive impact of Greenham Common women on the missiles movement, if you're seen as going with the people that are standing against the Labour Party you'll set back this process of democratisation, not take it forward. I'm wing doesn't disarmasee aga the our Party. ore against standing challenging Labour Party policy and we're saying to them if you change your policy, if you pursue unilateral withdraw from standing'.
But you're asking the leopard to change spots dividuals will not change position unless they're forced to.
I'm asking for a whole lot of things from a lot of people. Perhaps they can be, pursuing Party policy.
Do you think your standing against them is going to aid the people that want to fight in the Labour Party or hinder them?
Look, all I can say to you is -I'm a member of the Labour Party -do we want to see a Labour Government returned in its oresent form where there is no control over the leadership at all?
trade unions as well. Sid Weighell was a wonderful example of it - he was