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(Continued from page 32)
not a policy making body, but an election machine supporting the
Conservative Party in Parliament. It was not a party in the conventional
sense at all, but a national union of local associations, which William
Hague is now reforming.
The origins of the Labour Party
The Labour Party, formed in 1918 as a policy making organisation, had its
origins in the Labour Representation Committee, which was created to win
representation for labour in Parliament. Starting from different positions,
the Conservatives in Parliament and Labour outside, the Conservatives were
seen as the representatives of the capitalist imperialist employing class,
whilst socialist anti-imperialist Labour were seen as representatives of
the working class. And whilst the Conservative Party allowed the
discrimination in Northern Ireland for reasons described by the British
political left as 'divide and rule', the Labour Party did not intervene
for a completely different reason. They regarded Northern Ireland as a
British colony which must be restored to a united and independent Ireland.
Consequences for the Conservative Party
A consequence that flowed from these two positions was that Conservative
Party supporters could join the Ulster Unionist Party, while citizens
resident in Northern Ireland have not been allowed to join the Labour
Party. With the splits in the unionist movement, (there are now five
unionist parties), the situation has changed, and under pressure, the
Conservative Party has allowed people to join, though has not, as yet,
given them effective support .
Consequences for the Labour Party
Rule 2A.3 of Labour's Constitution reads: "Individual members shall be
British subjects or citizens of Eire or other persons resident in Great
Britain for more than one year." There is no rule excluding British
subjects who reside in Northern Ireland.from membership
Rule 1. Clause ii.1 lists the categories of organisations which may
affiliate to the Labour Party, and these include trade unions. So a member
of an affiliated trade union in Northern Ireland can pay the political levy
and attend the Annual conference of the Labour Party, but is not allowed
to be an individual member.
(Continued on page 34)
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