Gaitskell

Lives to fight another day.

Boyd, the AEU.member on the committee. Brother Lewis, secretary of the Paddington..IPE, branch, and members from It looks as if Mr. Gaitskell has had second thoughts. Battersea, Dagenham, Wembley and East Acton AEU branches ‘Clause 4 iS not to be ‘omitted: front’ thé Constitution; were refused an interview by Boyd. it is merely to be added to. But onl By those who are John Disley of Gillmoss (Liverpool) Amalgamated Union of taken in by Mr. Gaitskell’s tactical changes of emphasis n ; Building Trade Workers’ branch, and Peter Hendrie of Brixton will rejoice. For what Mr. Gaitskell has been doing Labourers’ branch, were also refused an audience by Labour Never since Mr. Jay’s famous article is seeing how far Party chairman and building trade union representative The can go and in what direction.

Brinham.

There are various ways in which socialism can be A number of Labour Party members demanded to see evicted from the Labour Party, and if Clause 4 is Gaitskell and other right-wing leaders, but their request was rejected. Twenty of these, however, reached the door of not omitted it can always be reinterpreted. The interthe NEC but were unable to gain admittance. pretation which is contained in Mr. Gaitskell’s proCouncillor Brian Crookes, former Parliamentary candidate posals to the National Executive Committee, and which for Garston present at the lobby on behalf of the Garston in the main have been accepted, is essentially a reconstituency Labour Party, said that his party had set up ‘a writing of Clause 4 and a restriction of public ownerClause 4 Defence Committee which had been sponsored by a ship to little more than its present extent. number of Labour Parties including two of the Coventry Thus Mr. Gaitskell’s change is not a retreat. But he has constituencies’. Cllr. Crookes said: ‘This was an issue on managed to give the appearance of one who has retreated which the left of the Labour Party and the trade unions This could assist him in two ways. It is liable to disarm the must unite to defeat the attempts of the right wing to remove Left and delude them into thinking that they have won a nationalization from the programme of the Labour Party.’

victory when they have in fact been defeated. And it could help to build up an image of Mr. Gaitskell as a reasonable SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE man who is willing to compromise, unlike th ose rabid fellows i on the Left.

Marxism in 1960 Four Lectures and Discussions The origin of Clause 4 Sunday Evenings at 730. at °° Clapham High Street, Why is it so easy for Clause 4 to be reinterpreted? Because ever since it was included in the Labour Party constiMarch 20: BRITISH ECONOMY TODAY. tution it has been continually understood in different ways The phrase ‘common ownership’ has been assigned no unJ. Archer.

March 27: THE CLASS-CONFLICTS IN BRITISH IN- ambiguous meaning and the phrases ‘the most equitable . .

that may be possible’ and ‘the best obtainable’ leave everyDUSTRY.

R. Pennington. thing open. This is no accident. The clause was included in April 3: THE LABOUR PARTY AND ‘CLAUSE #. the constitution in 1918 (and amended in 1929). The original draft was by Sidney Webb and Arthur Henderson and, then MARXISM AND INTERNATIONALISM. as now, the aim was to produce a formula wide enough to April 10:

M. Banda . embrace radically different tendencies. A collection to defray expenses will be taken at each meeting. The Labour Party had been formally constituted in 1906:

186 Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4 Telephone Macaulay 7029 SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1960 THE essence of socialist principles is that they Marcu 19, 1960 The formation of the Socialist Labour League was, therefore, an effective answer to those who would place us in the same stupid category as the opponents of film star scab Dickie Attenborough in ‘The Angry Silence’. Transport House refused us the right to organize in the Socialist Labour League and a number