Nec Briefing Not Thei

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At this weekend's London Labour Party conference, Militant editorial board member Keith Dickinson is an accredited delegate. Despite Golding (above), he must have his full MILITANT got it right when they pointed out to Labour Party general secretary Jim Mortimer before last week's National Executive Committee meeting delegate's rights. any 'facilities to Militant on Labour Party occasions' from CLP level upwards.

Just before the NEC Mortimer wrote to Bermondsey saying that a majority of officers had decided to go ahead with the expulsions on Wednesday because it would help Labour's election chances!

And four days afterwards he said on TV, with a straight face, that "we are not conducting a witchhunt". . 'I am not going to condemn them the Militant PPCs] in advance without listening to what they have to say"

Roy Hattersley has remained silent about his prediction last year that a purge would give Labour a million more votes.

On Friday, the three London CLPs where the Militant EB are members (Islington Central, Hammersmith North, Norwood) received a letter from Mortimer informing them of the NEC's decision, and telling them to delete the names from their membership lists. By Monday morning Mortimer had Islington Central's reply:

"Thank you for your letter of 24th February, informing me of the decision taken by the NEC last Wed.

nesday to exclude from membership of the Labour Party the five members of the Militant editorial board.

In reply to your letter, the officers of this CLP have instructed me to draw to your attention the various motions passed on this issue by our General Committee over the past several months (copies of which have been sent to you periodically), and to inform you that, in accordance with the policy set out in those resolutions, and ill accordance also with policy set out in an advertisement we have sponsored in Tribune this week, we do not recognise the expulsion of Peter Taaffe and Ted Grant from the Labour Party; and that we will continue to regard them as full members of this CLP.

Consequently we are unable to accede to your request that the names of these two comrades be deleted from our membership records.

We shall be conveying this correspondence to members of the General Committee"

Hammersmith North sent baok, a reply which asked under what rule the NEC had expelled members directly, going over the heads of the CLP. As with Islington Central, they have a clear policy that they will not expel or recognise the expulsion of socialists from the Party and, together with at least 40 other CLPs, and 150 individuals, have •signed the Labour Against the Witch-hunt advert in Tribune this week.

At the LAW press conference on Monday afternoon Reg Race said, ''The NEC need CLPs to agree to expulsions. What is clear is that the CLPs involved do not agree", He also pointed out that CLPs 'have got considerable bargaining strength vis-a-vis the NEC", not least because it is election year.

And he pointed to the example of Hornsey. At one point. the NEC threatened to disband Hornsey CLP by December 31 last year unless they toed the line and excluded Tariq Ali, but they stood firm and the NEC has done nothing. Indeed, last Wednesday's NEC, which expelled the five Militant supporters,

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OFF HORNSEY JOHN HARRIS