THE CORRECTNESS of the orientation of the Healy current towards the Labour Party, and the correctness of the position taken by the leadership of the Fourth Internatomal on Dis, was rapidi revealed in the developments of the late 1940' While the 'open"
of the Labour Party leapt from 266,000 in 1944 to 645,000 in 1946, to 730,000 in 1949. However, despite the nreuments of Healy and the International leader ship the RCP majority refused to change course and orient towards entry into the Labour Party — a more sectarian and bankrupt refusal to face reality has seldom been soca. In 1947 confronted with this refushi of the Haston leadership of the RCP to change course, the Intercational look a disastrous decision. In a reversion back to the very worst principles of splits over tactical decisions which had crippled pre-war British Trotskyism, the International leadersbip interwened to sniit the RCP and alow Hally's current te enter the Labour Party, Only eighteen months afier the split the RCP majority recognised that they had been wrong on the question of the Labour Party nrd came over to the policy of entryan. By then, however, the damage bad been done. Relations between the majority of the Trotskyist cadres who had remained in the RCP and the Healy group had become bossoned than the atmosphere of the RCP. When the reunification took place, Healy demanded, and got, a majority on the leading bodies of the fused organisation, even though he was in a minority in the section. This impossible situation was then rapidly "resolved" with Healy's expulsion of the supporters of Tony Cliff and Ted Grant Not merely were many valuable militants CLEMENT ATTLEE - Labour Prime Minister 1945-51, a period of rapid growth for the Labour Party.
Alcbough the loog term consequences of this decision of 1947 were lo be disastrous, in ebe short term they allowed Healy so demonstrate che superiority of his political line over any ober proposed at tha time. Although by 1949 even the RCP majority hac abandoned it line and turned to entry inside the Labour Party this in itseif by no means exhausted the issue of what political libe to take. Above all what bac to be decided was what proctical. attitude to take towards the developments in the Labour Party and the left wing that was developing there.
Mechanical The RCP majority of course had its own answer to this problem.
wah theie fut forces. As he Trach Presum of the TEC "Beranium, varying in scale from one country to sorber, le an inevitable phenomenon of the present comjuncture._. Bevanism polarises the discontent of the mawses... and will retain it within the framework of these organisations (the social democratie parties).. ant when and how Bevanism will be byleadership present with exactitude. Whar is certain is that it will first be necessary to go through the experience by penetrating it and helpine it from the inside to devefop ils lest resources and consequences" (22) *My emphasil → AJ.
Differences In order to carry out the necessary tactics a complete break with the sectarianism of British Trotskyism had to be made. It was on this basis that the real differences berween Healy and the other currents from the RCP emerged in the carly 1950's. Haston himself abandoned Trotskyism in 1949, but he ex-members of his majority, Ted Grant and Ton Tiff, who later founded respectively the Militar current and the International Socialises, remained fully active and gradually came round to the policy of entryiam in the Labour Party. As events were to show, however, they had not at all broken with the national sectarian concepts of British Trotskyim. The Cliff afier their utterly bureaucratic pulsion by Healy, to form a newspaper Sociah Review which continued the old tradition of the 'independent" Trotskyist journal. It, and the organisation which produced it, remained, not surprisingly in the circumstances, without significant influence. The Grant group, after a period of wild syndicalism, sentied down to producing the standard sectarian paper The Militant which continues to this day.
Healy however had a wholly different experience which he could draw on. He was well aware of the extreme organisational flexibility which, in sharp contrust to the British groups, the SWP had shown -producing a three times a week paper in some circumstances, abandoning their own paper altogether in others, Joining the Socialit Party as individunis, offering organisational compromises to ger a fusion Tribune Wishes "Best of Luck' to the Weekly an read the helons of de Labour Mascane in Briai us halong wast a su part Sociales tablise pleved in buiking un de wergh of die Momen Minat Fied with the centrists etc. Drawing on this experience, Healy was able to break radically with the sectarianism of the RCP in line with the perspectives of the International, and plunge into creating an organising and political centre for the developing left wing of the Labour Party.
Instrument The instrument which above all embodied the break with sectarianism carried out by Healy in this period was the paper Socialir Outlook which his current created on their entry into the Labour Party. While Cliff's Socialisr Review for example stood on the edges of the movement in a sectarian fashion, and in effect simply commented on it, Healy Igunched right into a policy of collaboration with left social democrats and centrists. Issues of the naner incuder headlines such as Bevan Cives the Lead that Workers want: socialst Fanning a the ony Answer and "Left mast press the Offensive"". (23) Elemeots sach as Bessie Braddock, then a 'left' figure, wrode articles for the paper. While undoubted errors were committed nevertheless, and in contrast to the sectarianism of the ather currents of Bricish Trotskyism, Healy's essential line and tactics were vindicaled. Around issues such as the defence of the Health Service, German re-armament, the Korean war, and all che other issues of Bevanism, the Healy group acquired the Labour League of Youth. By the cod of the tirst four years of the 1950's Healy, through an absorption of some of the lessons of internarional class strugale and party building, and through a radical break with previous sectarian traditions of British Trotskyim, had succeeded in building an organisation which not mercly completely outstripped all its rivals which had emerged from the RCP but which bad an lofluence and significance qualitatively greater than anything which had hitherto boon achieved by a Trotskyist organisation in Britain. It could not bave been achieved through a different tactic. Ir was also in this period, in mes non seclarian tactics and a clear Line of solidarity with the North in the Karean war against the FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 21. 1992 anti-communis of the Chiff group, that be laid the conditions tor ine nexe occisise sko lorward - the wide recruitment from the Communist Party follow ing the criais of char organisation in 1956.
ANEURIN BEVAN