The news that Labour is closing
down its student movement for being too right wing was like a blast
from the past, albeit with a twist. I
can remember when they were only disowned for being too left wing.
In 1970 or 1971, whilst I was in university,
I was ‘associated with’ the university’s Socialist Society (I use the phrase ‘associated
with’ because they didn’t have ‘membership’ as such – it was open to anyone to
turn up and participate). After protests
from the Socialist Society at the invite to the university’s chancellor, Lord
Robens (then also Chair of the NCB), to speak one evening, the Students’ Union had
another guest speaker along a week or so later in the shape of the late Eric
Heffer, then a Liverpool Labour MP. He
was often, shall we say, ‘out of favour’ with the hierarchy of his party (much
like Jeremy Corbyn before he became leader, and for similar reasons). During a robust exchange at one point, he
told the audience that we should join the (Labour Party) Young Socialists to
promote our views within the party. One
comrade quickly responded with the memorable riposte “But when people like
us join the Young Socialists, the Labour Party disbands them”.
It seems that the Labour Party’s approach
to its younger membership is a bit like that of Goldilocks – they should be at just
the right degree of leftness.
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