Workers Revolutionary Party, are other examples of the same development.
The reasons for the mounting press campaign and the continually more blatant violations of working class democracy by Wilson and Co are clear. The impact of the economic and political crisis is convincing more and more people that capitalism, and a policy of collaboration with it, has nothing to offer the working class. Despite all the moves by the open right wing of the Labour Party, and the reformist nature of Labour's programme, an understanding of this crisis is reflected in the move to the left in the rank and file of the trade unions and the Labour Party.
The decision to remove Reg Prentice, the previous removal of Griffiths in Sheffield Brightside, and the similar moves underway in Hammersmith North and Hayes & Harlington show a new determination to challenge the old bureaucratic ways of the open right wing of the Labour Party. It would be very difficult now for the party leadership to attempt again what they did when Liverpool Exchange constituency refused in 1964 to re-adopt Bessie Braddock - to officially "enquire' into the Constituency, to arbitarily reinstate Braddock, to threaten to dissolve the CLP, and to demand the administering of "loyalty oaths". Another step forward will hopefully come this week when delegates use their democratic right to remove Healey from the NEC and Callaghan from the Party Treasurership: DECISIVE QUESTIONS But despite the limited advances made in selecting candidates and even here the struggle is really only beginning - it is still obvious that the two biggest questions of working class democracy have hardly been tackled. The really decisive questions are democracy in the trade unions, and the relation of the organisations of the labour movement to Parliament and the Parliamentary Labour Party.
The centrality of the question of trade union democracy is obvious. The overwhelming number of working class struggles, including most of the decisive ones of recent years, are carried out through the trade unions. Furthermore, even inside the Labour Party itself, the constituencies only make up a tiny fraction of the votes. No matter how the constituencies are organised, without democracy in the trade unions there can be neither democracy in working class struggles nor democracy in the Labour Party.
Yet when we look at the situation today it is clear that even the present rules which apply in the constituencies are a model of democracy compared to what exists in most unions. At least there are some forms of election in the constituencies. At least some procedure exists to get rid of unwanted MPs. In most unions there are virtually no significant elections whatever. Many union bureaucrats enjoy their jobs for life — with no means of removing them. The issue of working class democracy began to dominate the Labour Party conference even before it really got underway. Prentice's red baiting outburst on 'Communist inNational Executive Committee, are completely typical of the campaign that has been The continual dragging of the AUEW into the courts, the vicious slander campaign against Tony Kelly and other members of the NewWhat is more, almost no unions support the ! torms of organisation - - strike committees, all negotiations in the hands of rank and file representatives, all agreements to be voted on at mass meetings which are necessary for real workers democracy in struggle. Without the securing of these elementary rights it is meaningless to talk of real democracy in the workets movement.
But, crucial as the question of trade union democracy is, there can be no doubt that the most crucial question of all is the relation of Two faces of Labour. Left, David Skinner, former Clay Cross Councillor. Because he served the interests of the working class by refusing to implement rent rises under the Tory Housing Finance Act, the mar from the Official Receiver's department turned up last week to assess tne value or tne contents or nis council house.
Above, Environment Secretary Tony Crosland. He is fond of telling workers that 'the party's over'. He never served anyone's interests but his own. Below is what ne describes as his Cotswolds cottage It cost close to £45,000. But our Tony's more concerned than that about the problem of housing expenditure-so he's got another one. It's in Holland Park and is valued at around £70,000. his subsequent behaviour.
There is absolutely no way under this system that someone who violates the democratic decisions of the workers movement can be brought to task and replaced. It is this which the coalitionists and right wingers have used since time immemorial to thwart the workers movement. Only the right of recall, something which cuts right across the whole parliamentary system, could secure control for the workers movement over its representatives. For the last year the Labour Government, through its complete support for the Soares leadership of the Socialist Partv, has been spearheading the internation al co-ordination of counter-revolutionary activity in rortugal. A resolution trom the betro to the con ference fully supports Wilson in this. Fortunately however, there is a good amendment from York CLP which calls for the conference to view with alarm the build up of reactionary forces around some of the leaders of the Armed Forces Movement and the lead ership of the Socialist Party. The international support afforded these people and their call for a plur alist' (ie. capitalist) democracy, is typified by the espousal of their cause by such champions of socialism as The Times, the Daily Telegraph, and the Econom ISE.
This amendment should be supported by every socialist - as should the previous action of Juditl to aaress tre conterence But it is only by linking the York resolution to actions outside Parliament such as the demonstration a fortnight ago in London, the sending of workers delegations to Portugal, the struggle against the sabotage of the multi-nationals -that an international movement to heip defeat the counter-revolutionaries in Portugal can be built.
sions and popular assemblies of Portugal today - which always develop as the working class moves towards a decisive struggle for socialism.
Unfortunately all the reformist proposals for democracy in the labour movement merely attempt to skirt around the fundamental question of Parliament. For example, the resolution to this year's Labour conference from Brightside Labour Party calls for the leader of the Party and the Cabinet to be elected by the Party conference. But then, not very surpris ingly, the resolution is forced to admit that even this very modest proposal may not comply with the present rules of Crown and Parliamentary privilege Having made this obvious point, however, the resolution does not then grasp the bull by the horns and declare that if workers' democracy conflicts with the rules of Crown and Parliamentary privilege, then it's just too bad for those rules. Instead the only thing which the resolution can propose is that 'a working party is set up to look at the situation!
All such a working party will find out is that any moves for real control over represen tatives of the labour movement will 'conflict with the rules of Crown and Parliamentary privilege'. What then? On the logic of the 'sovereignty of Parliament' the labour movement will then have to accept that it can't have democratic control of its representatives. That is indeed what all the Prentices and Wilsons will scream. Any reformist will be helpless against their arguments - after all, aren't "socialists" defenders of the sovereignty of Parliament?
CLEAR ANSWER
The only real answer that can be given to the right wing on this question of workers' democracy is clear. Yes, we prefer parliamentary democracy to open dictatorship, but we also know that Parliament is a fetter on the real democracy of the working class. We openly say that we intend to replace Parliament with a system of mass workers democracy such as has begun to develop wherever there is a real struggle for socialism Only through this can the working class secure a government which is really under its control and which is really based on and responsible to the workers organisations. The demands for the election of the leader by the whole Party, for the subordination of the Parliamentary Party to the Party as a whole, and for conference decisions to be binding, are only steps to this ultimate goal.
But to give such an answer is impossible for reformists who are tied to the sovereignty of Parliament'. It is only the revolutionaries who can be consistent fighters for workers' demorracy. Only they will achieve a government which is responsible to the workers' organisations. The reformists not only will never achieve socialism, they will never even achieve democracy in their own organisations.
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filtration', and Wilson's claim that he could dictate how Ministers would vote on the developing over the last months. ham North-East Labour Party, and the witch-hunt of the Militant and now of the