Tony Benn told these stories to the delight of his audience. The ¿themselves because they offer a rare insight into the workings of democracy. They are good, propaganda. And it is good that Tony Benn is now telling them.
Pressures He told them in the course of the battle for democratic reform which dominated last week's Labour conference and with which he and Eric Heffer have been most associated. He sees the struggle for a more accountable parliamentary party and leadership as part of the battle for the reform of society in general. He explains his view or tner relauonship us way.
'You have Labour ministers but once they get there they face these huge pressures. What we are trying to do is to help them. What Labour ministers need is the mobilisation of the labour wrestled all night with the permanent secretary at the Department of the Environment. He never seemed to realise that if only he had told the movement outside they would all have been on his side.
'He thought you intellectually with the civil service, just to get the clause in the Bill that you were elected for in the first place. outside in to provide countervailing pressures. And that's what it is all about. We have been pushed out of power and the reform movement is to bring us back in again.' The obvious comment to be made on that •guote is inal il 1s Crossman for not telling the movement outside' what was going on, coffice ever follow that advice.
Power But such a criticism only removes a small layer of the icing from the cake Benn is now presenting to the labour movement. It would be of that cake. The question he asks is: "Why at the 78th annual conference of the Labour Party do we find the structure of power in our society so little changed?' And the answer he gave on one occasion was: "The problem isn't Mrs Thatcher.
The problem is that capitalism is declining.
An obvious retort is to ask 'structures of power' would change if capitalism was expanding.
the birth of the British Labour Party more or less coincided with the beginnings of the decline of British imperialism. So there is nothing new in observing that the failures of the Labour Party and the failures of capitalism go in tandem.
It is more appropriate to ask why this should change now.
Can it really be that the mandatory re-selection of MPs, and the final say of Labour's national executive in deciding the manifesto, is all they amount to? Tony Benn says no:
•When I hear people saying that the debate in the Labour Party is a constitutional wrangle I ask were the Chartists a constitutional wrangle?
Were votes for women a constitutional wrangle?
Are the rights of trade represented a constitutional wrangle? No, they were the claims of the disinherited to enter into their rights as citizens. That's what the reform movement within the Labour Party is about.' Vengeance A comparison between the struggle of the Chartists and the goings-on at Brighton last week inflates the reforms won at conference out of all proportion. But for many delegates the battle which Benn waged did have a historical and political importance which outsiders cannot stories are valuable parliamentary uDOn, very good socialist Dick Crossman described how ne could argue it out You 'have to bring the movement the hall.
those but nor did Tony Benn in Party.
whether the Indeed, it can be observed that What are Tony Benn's solutions?
1J.
to be change.' easily grasp.
For years the rank and file members of the Labour Party have been kicked around, spat slandered and parliamentary leaders. They conference decisions thrown in the dustbin and replaced by the most right-wing policies Labour government has ever implemented. Last week in Brighton Benn offered vengeance.
On numerous occasions he said that the battle was about policies and not personalities. In fact his concrete social and economic largely unspecified. references here and there to import controlshe talked vaguely of workers co-operatives, and sensing the mood of many delegates he attacked the Corrie Bill on abortion and called for a woman's right to choose. limit of the alternative he offered.
Yet for many delegates such failings were not