The conference erupts as the vote on extending the leadership franchise is announced 1980. Remember that date. day, exam were will be asked about Wednes day, 1 October at Blackpool's Winter Gardens.
CA- The session
emergency motions on public spending and housing cuts. It than was dominated by the com- and by Ted Knight, ambeth council, blockbusting earned him a near standing the Labour ovation.
muted Passed none of ine cannot declared, and went on to call for 'massive industria action on cuts to force the govern should not retreat, Even the NEC like so- restrain the ference. jected. The motion was re- motion jected. . terms of a ried.
left.
Only 35 minutes were alloted members of the Labour Party were to the lett of botn the parliamentary leadership and issue.
The motion, British withdrawal, subject began previous night a MPs had pleaded anger CLP summed up leader of val alliclilal speech which get ten votes' lost, wait,' he fighting.
The Common Market At to force it out'. Shirle could floor of conIts plea to remit the most part of it'.
was couraged Next, a debate on Ireland. ject of banter.
Whichever, rejected.
ty.
decide, • earlier the Proffitt, saying McCluskie the national executive on this behalf calling for shouted 25. of another remittal request from the NEC. The number of the delegates backing the motion to agree to remit and as one MP put it, trust the party if it mandatory Finally, goes to the floor you'll only The pressure was rejected and when the vote was taken between 150-200 CLPs voted in favour. The resolution was but the unexpected supPhe let eces on its feet had left was on its feet and resolutions on the followed. had been week Williams had said that if Labour were to stanc on a withdrawal ticket at the next election 'I shall have no the most Whether this state- the discouraged delegates to vote for withdrawal was the subbar-room of merit.' Williams' blackmail was contemptuouswas carried by a large majori- resolution leader Jim • in the week, 'Whether Labour Party will be dominated by the parliamen tary leadership or controlled by the rank and file' First came mandatory reselection of MPs. Russell black delegate Lewisham CLP, came to the rostrom to pour scorn 'the clique of the parliamentary party.
Led.
Russell Profitt clique is middle class, this clique is essentially male, this clique is completely white.
Right-wing MP Joe Ashton rose to the defence of his colleagues, but in a way which only condemned them in the eyes of the majority b!
that MPs would join Roy Jenkins' centre par y if the motion were passec The retort came when San summed NEC you to the anonymous then,' The next debate, on who should control the writing of the manifesto, got off to a start because resuryone was card vote on of the card vote re-seccuon chairperson Lena Jaeger put the delegates out of their misery 'For the motion, 3,609,000. motion. 3.5... ' the rest was drowned out by the cheers o the delegates.
Cheers Mandatory rese ecio won, and although that had been half-expected it was deserving of celebration.
ony benn wound up the debate on the manifesto with of conference He began by proclaiming: 'In my heart I'm a Chartist...the annual parliament idea has a lot He ended by saying: "The conference must be given the power that goes with responsibility.
The motion, which would have given the conference the right to decide the manifesto, out of the sole hands of the Tony Benn hurriedly pop ped another lozenger into his mouth to control his excitement. Ine constituency delegates rose to their feet like huge tidal wave sweeping all before it.
At that moment it was ob vious that the rest of the conference would be something of an anti-climax. So it provThe block vote prevented the details of how the leader would be elected being decided. That such a decision will now take place in three months time will oring nue comfort to cac right wing.
Wave On their behalf the CLV's final bulletin described the events at Blackpool as a disastrous week' AS DCH nis Skinner said at one of the fringe meetings: "That's what hurts the right wing. They don't like losing. They squeal.' The last words belong to Tony Benn. for it would be churlish to deny that if this conference was a triumph for hey on believe the laboas believe labour movement is on the eve of a step forward,' Benn sala al ine start or tue weck.
Despite the left victories Blackpool's Winter Gardens there is no guarantee of that, but it is the case that a path was cleared for such a step forward; a path that had Photo: Andrew Wiard (Report)
Sam McCluskey been blocked by, among others, the weeds and parasites of the labour right.
Those will grow and breed again, fertilised as are by the IMF, the millionaire and behind them the capitalist class. ¡ney will nave to me trampled underfoot if the Labour Party is to even approach the implementation of the type of socialism that was talked about at Blackpool.
But only spiteful would deny that Blackpoo! grand place to be last week
SINCE 1973, and particularly since the end the The collapse of Bevanism
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Photo: LAU