THE LABOUR PARTY IN TRAVAIL SIR,-1 am quite willing to
agree that it is a reflection upon my intelligence, but I am quite unable to follow Mr. Fairlie's reasoning in your issue of April 1.
As I understand it, certain members of the Labour Party and of its National Executive had decided that, in Mr. Fairlie's words, the time had 'come to draw blood,' in other words to expel Mr. Bevan. The first step was to with- draw the Party Whip from him. This went according to plan. The next was for the National Executive to follow up by expulsion, and all looked set fair for this. There was a closing in for the kill. At this point Mr.' Attlee seems to have intervened. What he may feel about Mr. Bevan is his affair, but he had other things to consider. There had not been the expected majority for withdrawal of the Whip from Mr. Bevan, and the party meeting had revealed a heavy vote for all measures short of war against him. Mr. Attlee was aware of a deluge of telegrams from constituency parties supporting Mr. Bevan, and that cer- tain trade unions were of the same way of thinking. Also this is election year, and an election with Mr. Bevan in the wilderness would have been a strange and not very hope= ful affair. He, Mr. Attlee, acted as if he thought the :Derry hunt had better have one more think about it before getting on with their blood sport, and Mr. Bevan is still a member of the Labour Party. I can only see this as Mr. Attlee carrying his point of view.
To Mr. Fairlic these events convey a differ- ent impression. To ,him, 'The Right Wing proved itself impregnable.' Its decision to 'openly oppose Mr. Attlee has been proved abundantly justified . . . it must have taken some daring to throw Mr. Attlee's temporising motion in his face.' But surely his motion was acted upon and Mr. Bevan was not expelled. Mr. Fairlie quotes a 'Right Wing' member who anticipates Mr. Attlee now being led like a lamb to the slaughter. The lamb seems to have rescued Mr. Bevan from this bloody fate. By achieving this, Mr. Fairlie sees Mr. Attlee reduced to the position of a 'nominal leader' by 'the absurdity of his [successfull] manoeuvres: He asserts that 'The leader of the Labour Party has ceased to have any power in his party,' except, it appears, the power to get his own way—which, after all, is one of the marks of a leader. Most remarkable js the statement that 'Twice in successive weeks the Right Wing has voted solidly against him, and on this second occasion has shown that Lt can command a majority.' What are these votes?
And how comes it that after them Mr. Bevan is still in the party? I hope Mr. Fairlie will believe that I comment on his views with diffidence. His conclusions may be right, but I do not follow the chain of reasoning by which he is led to them.—Yours faithfully, Fivewents Way, Crowborough, Sussex WINSTiR
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