'Godfather' turning in his grave

THE FOLLOWING letter by Peter Taaffe (general secretary of the Socialist Party) was sent in reply to an article in the Guardian by Hywel Williams on 3 July.

Williams misrepresents the former left Labour stalwart Aneurin Bevan to attack Militant, the forerunner of the Socialist Party.

Dear Sir,

Aneurin Bevan was not "the Militant Godfather". However, he did share with us an admiration of Leon Trotsky, a stubborn defence of socialism and the rights and conditions of working class people.

He would have scorned his alleged "heirs" like the multi-millionaire Lord Neil Kinnock, as he did Ramsay McDonald for betraying the hopes of working class people.

Alive today, he would have forcefully opposed Kinnock's friends in the Neath/Port Talbot New Labour council - "Yes, a Labour council" - preparing to hand out redundancy notices to its 7,000-strong workforce in the last week.

Despite the lies peddled 25 years ago Liverpool council, under the influence of Militant, never sacked a single worker.

In fact, 2,000 new jobs were created, as were nurseries, new parks and 5,000 council houses built. Bevan, who achieved great things through the NHS, would have applauded this, while ferociously condemning New Labour today for passing on vicious Con-Dem cuts - as Neath/Port Talbot indicates is likely to be the case.

Sincerely,

Peter Taaffe

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