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With-- Documents and Interviews on the WRP's Buried History

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With-- Documents and Interviews on the WRP's Buried History NUMBER 36-37 ENGLISH EDITION WINT~ 1985-86 ONE DOLLAR175 PENCE --With-­ Documents and Interviews on the WRP's Buried History 2 SPAR1'ACIST Contents "Dear Gerry ••• You've Got It Coming" "Dear Gerry ••• You've Got It Coming" .•••..••••• 2 Healylsm Implodes •••.•••••••••.• 3 SPARTACIST LEAGUE/U.S. Spartaclst and the Healyltes •••• 12 BOX 13n CPO, NEW YORK, N,Y, 10116 212/732-7861 Spartaclst Delegation Final Statement to 17 November 1985 1966 London Conference •...••• 15 News Line Interview with London Conference Flat B Participants 155 A Clapham High Street On the 1966 Split ••••••.••••••••• 18 London ~4 7SS Matgamna-Thomett Spiked 279 Alexander Palace Road London N22 4BJ Anti-Sectarian Defense •••••.••• 31 (January 1975) Dear GerrYI Confessions of a "Renegade": We fought for many years. I find no pleasure in your Wohlforth Terminated •••.••••.•• 32 present pass. I don't know what you've done with girls, but I Appendix I (January 1965) do know what you'v~ done with politics and you've got it coming. More on Vietnam •.•••••.••.•.•.• 37 I think it went wrong back in the RCP. You were Appendix n (April 1966) ungovernable and ill-advised. ' Spartaclst Statement to About the American party Cannon came to believe that the International Conference ••••.•. 38 greatest thing that C.E. Ruthenberg might have done was to uphold the work of Louis Fraina, not become the "general" Appendix m (January-February 1967) secretary. British communism was stillborn from its inception. An Open Letter to Other Supporters of the IC I am sorry for you, if you didn't help kill those 21 Iraqi Oust Healyl •••••••••••••••.••••., •• 41 Communists. And if you didn't, I wish you well. Appendix II: (April 1968) Preface to Marxist Bulletin No.3, Part I The Split In the Revolutionary Tendency ........ 44 Appencllx:l[ (February 1977) cc: Mike Banda WL/SL Exchange on c/o News Line Workers Democracy 21 B Old Town Look Who's Calling Clapham Us Comrade ...................... 47 London SW4 OJT Appendix n (May 1985) Smash Fascist Smear of 'SL •••• 48 · __ cal The Far Left: 1900-1920 British Communism Aborted .. ~64 English Edition Attention supporters SPARTACJST ~ of the Spartacist tendency (Fourth Internationalist) An Organ of Revolutionary Marxism All sterling Organ of the International Executive Committee of the U.S. $30 international Spartacist tendency EDITORIAL BOARD (this issue): James Robertson (editor), Helene Brosius (managing editor), Elizabeth Gordon, Albert Nelson, Sterling with Jan Norden, Reuben Samuels, Joseph Seymour, David Strachan 14K solid gold "4" PRODUCTION MANAGER: Noah Wilner U.S. $40 CIRCULATION MANAGER: Linda Jarreau SPARTACIST PUBLISHING CO. Box 1377, GPO, New York, NY 10116, USA Telephone: (212) 732-7862 (postpaid) (Pin shown 1'h times actual size) Opinions expressed in signed articles or letters do not nscessarily express the 8dltorlal viewpoint. Order from/pay to: Number 36-37 Winter 1985-86 Spartacist, Box 1377 GPO, New York, NY 10116, USA WINTER 1985-86 3 HEALYISM IMPLODES WRP split: a failing-out Banda/Slaughter News Line among political (above) expels Healy. bandits. Photo shows Healy/Redgrave Null Line Gerry Healy (left) and (above left) expels Banda/ his long-time hatchet Slaughter. man Mike Banda. Bulletin NOVEMBER 23-The British Workers Revolutionary had no clothes is more to the point. And Banda's got a Party (WRP) of Gerry Healy and Michael Banda, which problem: when Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the professes to be the largest and most leftist group in Britain CPS U in 1956 launched his attack on the crimes of Stalin, calling itself Trotskyist, is in profound upheaval. The the question legitimately would be posed, "Hey Khrush­ apparent bulk of the group, headed by general secretary chev, where were you?" But Khrushchev had a mechanism Banda and leading theoretician Cliff Slaughter, has severed for controlling the whole process; it's called a Stalinist itself from Healy, the WRP's historic leader. Healy claims bureaucracy, backed by state power. Banda does not have 250 supporters, out of a total of perhaps 1.000 WRP state power. members or a bit more, including film star Vanessa The Banda/Slaughter News Line (30 October) says the Redgrave. The two wings have expelled one another, both WRP Central Committee expelled Healy on October 19, claiming the WRP name and both producing papers with charges having been brought against Healy on October 12 the same name, News Line. To appreciate just what a by a CC vote of 25 to II. The charges against Healy were traumatic event this is for WRPers (not least for the (Banda News Line, 13 November): "sexual abuse offemale Banda/Slaughter side, which at first glance might seem in a party members, physical violence against party members strong position, with an apparent majority as well as and of making unfounded accusations of involvement with physical possession of the headq uarters and printshop), it the CIA against an international leader of the Trotskyist must be added that Gerry Healy has long occupied in the movement" (i.e., David North of the American Workers WRP a position roughly equivalent to that enjoyed by J. V. League). Banda's paper presents thefollowingchronology: Stalin in the Russian Communist Party. a letter (see page 4) by Aileen Jennings, Healy's long­ In the pages of the British gutter press, the apparent time secretary and mistress, was sent to the Political ouster of Healy by his long-time chief lieutenant is por­ Committee last july. Jennings charged Healy with violat­ trayed as a rip-roaring sex scandal. Given the deep-seated ing "security" over a 19-year period by having had sexual puritanism of the WRP, the sex angle undoubtedly deep­ relations with some 26 women listed by name. "The letter ens the members' shock at the charges, revelations and was suppressed by the political committee .... But other admissions that have been made in the pages of the W R Ps' victims of Healy's behaviour came forward to tell their own own newspapers. But at bottom, there are two reasons why appalling stories of his brutality." most members of the W R P must feel that reality has come In September, still according to the Banda/Slaughter totally unhinged: (I) charges of hideous physical violence wing, Healy signed an agreement with Banda and Sheila against members and of concrete, bloody crimes against Torrance, then the WRP assistant general secretary, to the international working class have been leveled, and are "retire on the grounds of'ill-health and age'." But Torrance in the main admitted; (2) the whole of the WRP leadership switched sides and the decision was overturned, Torrance and membership participated in the cult of Gerry Healy, making the motion to expel one of the women who had while Banda admits to having been Healy's closest testified against Healy. "This produced an explosion inside collaborator for 35 years. The slimy capitalist reptile press the party. General secretary Banda and other members of may headline "Red in the Bed" but for the thousand or so the full-time staff walked out of party headquarters in members of the WRP, the old story of the emperor who protest. They were followed by workers at four of the 4 SPARTACIST A letter to the Work.... R.voI......., Party .............................. c:.ooo..- .... ,... ..... _.. ".OIIIIT_ Political Committee -.........,. .. ..,. ~"""1WIOnT........ __ ...... c....••• j 8t.h ,luI, ,.,8') DurIng the courM of ectIon on the IIMchestIer ~ certaI~ h8ve come to light _ to the running of Y T,.."lng by a homoMx......... the ..... Tr, "nII"adf'. Mi kl" I\"]nd.. - Grnf'",.1 Slo,." .. """, this holds for the Party In reI8IIon to police pr0voca­ Tr, ,.,,.,,.. df' sb("ll .. TI)" .. anef' -AlJ!Ji st.,In'. Cf'n"",,1 s.·f'" .. t'lr, tion. I believe the PoIltlcaI CoImn ....... comM:t In ataIIni that a cover-up of such pndIca endangeNd the P8rty from a eerIoua pnwocIItIor".. HavIng ,..u.d ttl... I must ther'efoI=to the Comm..... that I can no longer go on up a PMItIon III both the ofIIce .... In the ..... wII ..... opens the Party to MIIce provocation; namely that wIIllIIt for 19 yMrS t h8ve been the cIoee ....... In aer.n~anee v!th nur a«r~8ent dat~d companion of ComrIIcIe ~covwed upa problem which the PoIltlcaI must now ... "'17/8'), I unrl!lK'F'YC'dl, und"rtak(" '1) e"dS(" f_!!d!at... l, with I cannot. becauM ., p.· .. :J",·.. l cl),Jduet. vi t.h t.hf' ,nu',". this Is that the ftIIls In partIcu.... .. U8ed In a completely opportunist ~ for _XUeI llalaona with ........ membera employed by the hrty on Newa Une, female memben of the InternIIlIonaI tomm ........ others (26 Incllvlcluals .... then named). On any aecurIty beals, one of .... or mora has to rour,;1"1];;::Jl' be the beals of either bIIIcIunaIl by the police or an C. {;({;.----J- actual ... In security to a poIawom.n. I em aIdng the PoIItIcIII Committee to .... atepa to NSOIve the PMItIon for the Party In the preeent poIltlcllllItuIIlIon. In 1964, ..... a Control Commlulon of InvestIgIIlIon Comntde Healy gave an undertaking he would c:eae Famous Aileen Jennings leHer printed in Banda's News Line, these prIICIIce8. This .... not happened .... I cannot 30 October 1985 (left), accused Healy of ''vIolating security" sit on ttIls volcano any longer. with 26 female members. Under pressure, Healy signed YOUI'll frIIlernaIly, AI .... Jennlnga statement (above), addressed to Banda and Torrance, July 1, 1985 foreswearing "personel [sic] conduct with the youth," while protesting It would cramp his lifestyle. Paperback Centres, the College of Marxist Education in on Healy's behalf, boycotting the CC meeting which voted Derbyshire and the RuncorJ:} works where News Line is his expulsion.
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