Labour party | Militant| What's next for Labour | 1980s Politics | Blackpool | TV Eye | 1982

A LIVE DEBATE FROM BLACKPOOL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MILITANT - IN THE LIGHT OF THE LABOUR PARTY'S CONFERENCE DECISION. THE QUESTION:
SHOULD MILITANT MEMBERS NOW BE EXPELLED?
FRANK FIELD MP
TONY MULHEARN - TOXTETH CANDIDATE
AUSTIN MITCHELL MP
First shown: 30/09/1982
To license a clip please e mail: [e-mail]
Quote: VT27901

[@PERCYxyz]

Austin Mitchell, in reference to candidates with links to Militant, "They are not there to peddle their own ideas that are different from ours". Also Austin Mitchell, "Militant is not being expelled for their policy views".
Seems like Labour has had a long term issue with party democracy.

[@anthonydiggle2926]

I thought Syd Little was on the panel until he was introduced as some guy called Peter Taaffe. 😀

[@jasonayres]

3:30; Rodney Trotter's dad?

[@haydoncooper3744]

Nothing has changed it has simply changed its clothes.

[@LeighRichards27]

frank field (who pulled out of the debate) is and always was a tory

[@mattdavies7398]

No, he wasn't. He was a Labour man. Militant were a bunch of entryist Trots.

[@PERCYxyz]

"was" 😉

[@MrGoneTroppo]

Even the Trots were well-dressed and intelligent back in the day

[@Red-Revolution708]

Well Trotsky’s writings were Socialist not Communist. He was from the party of the Soviet not the Bolsheviks, the Soviet’s joined the Bolshevik to form a government, a deal was done, because there wouldn’t been a government if the Soviet hadn’t joined, probably an going civil war.

[@donny4855]

When left Labour backed the workers

[@spartacusforlife1508]

I had many friends in the militant tendency, went to many militant meetings and was privy to watching them plan taking over constituency party's in Liverpool. I can honestly tell you this. Militant was a party within a party. It's plan was to take over Labour wherever it could and it would never have become as successful as it did without working under the umbrella of labour

[@PERCYxyz]

@@spartacusforlife1508 Labour has always had factions.

[@fishjj76]

The workers seemed very happy to expel Millitant.

[@AnonymousCaveman]

Militant kept the party in a solid socialist direction... As soon as they were out... Labour took on neoliberal ideology

[@1ramises]

Of course lab won 3 elections under blair how many elections did your lot win !!?

[@Myndir]

That was when they started winning significant votes, right?

[@markmower1746]

Thank God for Thatcher.

[@netcurtains]

Said no one

[@leeshepherd6512]

she's dining with the devil

[@Fane7]

She’s looking up at us 😄