Press home ose ground

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necessary. our MPs. believes, only isolate the left.

movement.

from Gerry Byrne. IF there is one law in politics it is that nothing stands still. Either you go forward and press home victories or the ground already gained gets taken back.

Vladimir Derer's two articles arguing for "low profile", , non-divisive tactics misses this vital point.

His argument that if we keep our heads down and don't antagonise the opposition, then they'll accept that we're for unity too and will leave alone the democratic gains already achieved is the wisdom of the ostrich.

It credits the right with a gentlemanly Queensbury Rules view of politics. It's a recipe for turning a temporary retreat into a rout.

Whizzkids

Of course it is necessary to make a sober assessment of where we are at. False optimism is only slightly less dangerous than Vladimir's crushing defeatism.

But, accepting the need for sober realistic assessment, it's clear that Vladimir Derer's evaluation of the Deputy Leadership battle is entirely negative.

Was there really nothing gained? Was it really only the distasteful diversion Vladimir Derer sees it as?

I think a lot was gained from the Benn campaign, and its 'style' for which Vladimir Derer can barely conceal his scorn, offers Issues - the way to win mass support several pointers for how we should pursue the fight from here on.

Vladimir bemoans the fact that so many CLPs opted for "issues" this year rather than constitutional changes; but surely one of the important advantages of the Benn campaign was the linking of 'the democracy and policy questions for the first time in the minds of a whole mass of Labour Party members.

Unfortunately most activists, even in the CLPs, find constitution baffling and tedious. The Benn campaign helped to link these with the need for different policies and a different kind of Labour government to implement them.

The short term effect of losing ground on some of the constitutional issues is less of a disadvantage when seen in the light of a real advance in politicising the labour move-