Despite this, the alternative is so distasteful that the British government is proceeding as if the election had produced the results. they wanted.
The British strutegy for the election was firstly lo get politics off the streets and back into a parliamentary talkingshop, In this they have succeeded for the time being. But the composition of the Assembly is far from what they had hoped.
Allance, Whitelaw's party, gained a miscrable eight out of 78 seats despite the support of the British mede, British finance and Brilish expertise Whitelaw's whole strategy for the Assembly was based on Alliance getting at least 15-20 scats; in other words, the crucial balance of power. Had Alliance obtained such a figure, Whitelaw would then have formed an executive around them, drawing in the Fitt ultra-collaborationist wing of the SDLP, and the Bradford wing of the Unionist Party.
With Faulkner and the old Unionist Party removed from the seal of power, and the Paisley/Craig Loyalists one hand and Republicans on the other pushed to the periphery of politics, Whitelaw would then have worked for a gradual dismantling of the Orange Ascendancy, and an intefundamental issue, the existence of the separate Northern state, the elections have produced no cheer for Whitelaw.
The Catholic unionist votes gained by Alliance in the local government elections have now all but vanished. Some middle class Catholics voted for Alliance because they believed the claims of the British opinion polls that a sizeable section of the Protestants would also vote this way. When did not happen, they swung back behind the SDLP. THE SDLP VOTE The vote for the SDLP represents to some extent a growing war-weariness in the Catholic population, but more important, as Bernadetle Devlin pointed out, Catholies voted for the SDLP mainly to keep our the Unionists, having seen the boycott allow the Ludicrous situation in the loci! government elections of the Unionists retaining 50/50 control of Fermanagh, and a Paisleyite councillor elected for the Bogside.
The vote for the SDLP represents 4 sizcable political deteat for the Provos. This is partly explained by the fact that it is difficult to run an 'election' campaign while simultaneously fighting a war.
But thir explanation in itself is not enough. The fact is that the Provos pitched almost their total propaganda campaign on a moralistic, don t-letthe-internees down appeal. There was no coherent agitation explaining in a systematie way what British were using the election for, and how the boycott filled into an overall plan for achieving their liberation. But If It would be wrong to grore the set-back, it would be criminal to exaggerate I. As Tim Pat Coogan, editor of the Fianna Fail Parly's newspaper, the frish Press, explained on British television last Sunday, tens of thousinds of those who voted for the SDLP would walk out of the polling stations and hide an IRA man with a rocket launcher if it were needed.
PATRONAGE Of the 19 SDLP members elected to the new Assembly, few support the purty leader, Gerry Fitt, and fewer still would support him if he openly supported Whitelaw's repressive policy. Whitelaw understands this, and understands the importance of building the status of this misFitt. As lan Aitken explained in the Gurdian (2 July): Government sources indicated yesterday that Mr. Whitelaw Brian Faulkner watching the vote count with his son and daughter would do his utmost to incrcase the standing and prestige of the purly Jeaders among their own supporters. He believes that this wouk make a settlement easier.
As Simon Hoggart pointed out in the Gierdian (27 June): 'About a month ago the question of a British disengagment from Ulster seemed a very minor one, as ludicrous as Whitehall disengaging Birmingham or Manchester. Bul it is now becoming the central election issue, What really frightens the Tories is thar it might become a central isue in Britain, forcing a withdrawal from Ire.
It was the recognition that this was now a serious posability which forced the Southern Premier Cosgrave to make a speech calling for the retention of British troops.
The Southern establishment have never wanted the troops out of the North. But while there was no serious danger of this happening they could play at demanding their with drawal Cosgrave's cri-de-coeur shows that that danger is now real. But for this threat to become actual an acceptable Executive for the Asmeans the building of a campaien which is capable of giving direction to the present incoherent, confused. sometimes racially-motivated but potentially objective revolutionary mood in Britain for the withdrawit of British troops.
Whitelaw (the former Patronage Secretary of British Conservative Party) will use the patronage available to him as the Gauleiter to NAME huild up Fitt's role: and Fitt, trapped by British money and the British barbed which surrounds his house following the mysterious but convenient for the British -death of his close party colleague, Paddy Wilson, will be like a Mexican President, a prisoner of his advisers. In Chat position, he will probably be made Deputy Prime Minister, The had showing of the Faulknerite Unionists possibly means the end of the last of the Mohicans. Faulkner now expendable, and it would not be surprising if Gauleiter Whitelaw does nol similarly use his patronage to promote English ex disc jockey Roy Bradford in his place.
MIDAS TOUCH But all that glitters is not gold, and despite Whitelaw's Midas touch the Assembly can only work if the Pro vos are beaten. It i recognition of this fact which drives the Brits to push on desperately to try and make the Whitelaw plan work.
If the Provo threat did not exist, British strategy would be to move slowly through the summer to find sembly (their original plan). But this would create a power vacuum, and intensify the mood in Britain for pulling the troops our, So Whitelew pushes on regardless, knowing that if he does not defeat the Provos, by at the very latest next March, the morale of the Army - figures show that only 652 adults were recruited in April compared with 1348 in April of last year may melt with the first snows of 1974. Attempts to victimise those responsible for mobilising at Sussex University against American military sarvicing social scientist Samuel P. Huntington, thus effectively preventing him from spooking, have been suc At an English and American Studies faculty mosting, motions of against staff involved were Drawn or defeated, and at the Vice-Chancellor As Briggs made it clear that it was not worth while taking action against those involved The thinking behind this was best summed up in a Guwdin editorial, which pointed out that while it would he best to got rid of those responsible for making Suns University an intellectus desert', the sym pethy they woul gain would merely Isad to another mobilisation in which the euthorities might be dafeated even more completely then in the previous demon. stration. Thus the victory of those studants and staff against an 'academic responsible for great suffaring in Indochina is now complete and their active solidarit totally vindicated.
An attempt by Colin Jordan's brown shirted British Movement to hold a rally in Merseyside bat Saturday was thoroughly smashed. The tuscists hed organised an a maximum accurity, minimum publicity basis, but desoite this Liverpool's anti fascist commitice was able to rispanc rapidly and effoctively. so that almost 500 counter demonstrators arrived at the Pie Head where the rally was to be held. At this point, many of the fascists tried tr retrest into the background. Unfortunate ly for them, some were weering Nazi style brown-shirts the cut and the style of which were then dramericaily altered by the counter demonstrators. A rump around Jordan then attempted a 'Custer': last stand operation, defended by 50 police, but Jordan was finally forced t fice, seeking reluge in the back of a polic jeep.
In the process of this highly successi action, 13 af the counter demonstrator: were arrested. A DETENCR TIMO-PHS DOCI set up and all donations should be sent to Defence Fund, 52 Cullen Street, Liver pool 8, The disciplinary procedings taken by Hood ing University authorities agains 14 militants involved in the grants cam paign have come unstuck already. At the first session of the hearings the disciplinary committee wastound to be unworkans Dy its own ruke and regulations, and the meeting was postponed indefinitely. This i a clear victory for the students, and i partieularly embarrassing for the admin istration because on the only previous cocasion when disciplinary charges were made lagainst students who had pravente a NATO conference from taking placel thay had to be dropped altogether Meanerhile a motion presented to last woak's Mudent union meeting by Communist Party and Workers fight to substitute a series of interim massures overwhelen ingly rejected. This showed the potential for continuing activity on the CATERIOE despite such thinly. disguised attempts to wind it down.
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