Reminiscing on the Labour Party, NEC chairman and minister in Lloyd George's post-war capiner, Georqe Wardle. to write: "..from the very first, the ties which pound Ine Darty loce ner vere ol the loosest possible kind. and in mv opinion wisely, always declined to be bound by any programme, scribe to any dogma or to lay down any creed". Whatever may be thought of the 'wisdom' of Wardle's comment, it offers an insight into the unique character of the party from its earliest days.
Unlike every other party claiming to represent workers' interests in Europe, the Labour Fariy was not tormed or clear political principles.
German Social-Democratic Party, example, it was not built around a socialist programme heavily 'indebted' to marxism but developed much more empirically out of the gradual & hesitating steps of the unions to find a political defence against the employers' offens.ive. Both Lenin and Trotsky (the latter in his discussions on the possibility of a Labour Party arising in the USA) were to stress this unique feature.
The fact that the Labour in a very real sense, the unions', groping uncertainly forward, •is central io understanding its nature and evolution. It meant primarily fhat the will ot inose newly-unionisea workers, struggling to create an independent noltica voice. was ededuc the trade union bureaucracy which had it has become active in many campaigns against immigration and abortion ri last few decades (as Brian Pearce was Lo poinı out ana wio saw Pressure able to them.
It has steadily to suboff from their LRC.
unlike ine Line rodu.
the time being, Party was, Labour'. 'cn cotine the early years, agreed, "their task as While acting under pressure from the rank-and-file, the union bureaucracy continually acted as a 'brake' on this develooment and sought to contain ine Labour Representation Committee (LRC) within a framework politically acceptThey were aided in this by their intellectual allies. breaking from the decaying corpse of Liberalism. (notably the Fabians around Sidney & Beatrice Webb) who helped mould the orientation of the new party The political outlook of the labour bureaucracy with their 'whole network of social relations separating them original class' could be sharply detected at the opening of the The resolution put forward by Hyndeman's Social-Democratic Federation (SDF) caliling for a party based on Ithe recognition ot the class struggie and having as its aim the nationalisation of the means of production' was unceremoniously defeated. This was far too extreme for the trade union leaders & ex-Liberal allies trying to contain the unswell in working class actıvity wnicn had already pushed them this far down It was replaced by the ILP proposal that the new party would 'willingly co-operale win any party wnicn, for may be engaged in promoting legislation in the interests of Such a perspective led, in to electoral blocks with the Liberals whereby both sides in manv constituencies, not to contest each others! candidates. More generally, it laid the basis for the party's operation in the Commons as a mere oroo tor ine Liberais. 'left-winger' Lansbury to exclaim:". . I prompting do not know a single question of legislation on which the Labour Party has mongood to dicacconiate itself from the An. anti-working willing to co-operate win Incir us acal he pointed out, breeding respect for myln ilical parly.
Mentary system Fabian course, creation , resull collaborationist policies of the leace-: was not sneaked in benina ine pact= -movement by a clandes: -: group ot Fabian intellectuals & .TC-" union bureaucrats, although this is - : to say that such figures were ho conscious promoters of such polic es that went into the party's early year?
The roots of this leadership are, the final analysis, to be found in :-s political consciousness of the laboumovement itself which - while seeing the need to defend its own class interests - still retained deep illusions the possibility of so doing through ite medium of parlamentary reform. Tre party reflected, in this sense, both :strengths and the weaknesses of the labour movement which was 'groping towards the need for a political voice but not yet a socialist one.
This is the meaning of Leon Trotsk acute observation, in his study 'Whers is Britain Goina?!. on the nature oi: break from Liberalism which was, le:
the Labour Party res. resents a 'priceless historical ach:e. ement', it should not be overlooked :" the unions which created it were mor: 'disillusioned rather as to the gooc;: of the Liberals than as to ine democ": ic pacifist methods of solving socia! problems'. While the unions. fighti-g against the employers! offensive, hac seen the need to defend their interes: as a class through an independent se .
that party was domina:=? still by the outlook of Liberalism: of seeking reforms within the parlia-.
It is such an ideological outlook -; accepts the framework of the presssystem as its arena of activity & mere seeks reforms within it - which tes allowed the Labour bureaucrats to re. tain control over the labour moremedown to the present day. They hare.
been alded in inis by tre =. orical inability of the marxis: mo: s to implement an orientation tonare Labour Party which can combire an appreciation ot ine gair .. re (in terms of the conscio s-ess s labour movement) with a ru:- ess:
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Second of a series of articles on the nat- ure and origins of the Labour Party..