Ranks Vote Benn

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ALRIGHT KITSON -THAT'S THE LAST TIME YOU PERSUADE ME TO BACK AN OUTSIDER! ERSUADE ME TO BACK AN

ANY democratic choice by labour movement activists would make Tony Benn deputy leader of the Labour Party.

He has 226 nominations from constituency Labour Parties, as against 31 for the choice of the entire Fleet Street press, Denis Healey, and eight for the wretched John Silkin. He also has 12

union nominations (Healey has nine, and Martir ›mas Silkin none).

OUTSIDER Peni AES

But the way the vote goes will depend on the unions, and specially on the biggest union, the

The political colour of TGWU branches is not very different from that oflocal Labour Parties.Majority

Like the Labour

rties, those branches

ust have a majority 10 want a leadership in Saut

the movement committed to carrying out conference policies rather than flouting them.

Probably the TGWU's Biennial Delegate Conference this June would have reflected that. And so the platform used every trick available to stop a vote.

Now it seems that the top officials want to cast the TGWU's vote for

John Silkin- the one'stop Benn' camman paign who tries to be for Healey and Benn what the SDP is for the Tories and Labour. And when Silkin is eliminated, they probably - want to abstain.

support In other words, they are pushing a policy that would get practically no support among TGWU activists. It would not even get support in an opinion poll of all TGWU members - so much for the bureaucrats' standard excuse that they "represent" the silent majority as against the "unrepresentative" activists!

Some unions have decided more democratically. But Healey's chances will depend crucially on block votes decided by top union officials.

Lobbies

Resolutions, ibbies 1 protests ir e the evant unions apply ough pressure swing

the decision at Labour Party conference. But that can only be the start of a fight for thorough union democracy.

Democracy

The opening-up of the Labour Party by the recent democratic reforms is inseparable from union democracy.

The entrenched unaccountable elites in Parliament and in the union offices have a common interest and a common outlook.

Formally, TGWU acting general secretary Alex Kitson is closer in his ideas to the average union activist than to Denis Healey - formally he supports unilateral nuclear disarmament and opposes incomes policy Acted But when the unidi and Labour activists star demanding a real say -start demanding that th formal policies should b acted on, and leader unwilling to act on then should be replaced then Healey and Kitso are thick as thieves.

Win In the month betwee now and Labour confe ence, we need a b drive to swing the cruci unions. And beyond th we need a fight to real democracy in unions, starting regular election and rig of recall over all officia

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Socialist Organiser, Thursday 3 September 1981 Page2

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