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Rank and File Mobilising Committee

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The Rank and File Mobilising Committee (RFMC) was an umbrella group which coordinated left wing groups to campaign for increased democracy within the Labour Party.

History

Following the successful campaign to change Labour Party rules to make it easier to deselect sitting Labour MPs at Labour Party Conference 1979, the Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory suggested to the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy that a group be established to defend these reforms and campaign for greater democracy within the Labour Party.[1] The RMFC was founded in May 1980 as a result of these discussions.[2]

Tony Benn records the founding of the RMFC in his diary of 30 May 1980:

"Frances Morell rang to tell me about the Rank and File Mobilising Committee, which is working to get together the CLPD, LCC, Institute for Workers' Control, Independent Labour Publications and the Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory, to agree on a programme of party democracy. In the evening we had a party, a sort of new left gathering, with Frances, Ken Livingstone of the GLC, Victor Schonfield, Audrey Wise, Tom Litterick, Chris Mullin, James Curran, a lecturer at PCL, his wife Margaret, George Osgerby, one of James's Students, Dick Clements and Biddy, Geoff Bish [then head of the Labour party research department][3], Dawn Primarolo, Jon Lansman of CLPD, Peter Hain and others. These are the people who have formed the Rank and File Mobilising Committee and, when the time comes, they will be the people who organise the Benn election campaign."[4]

Founding members[5][4]

Later members[6]

Campaigning aims

The groups brought together as RFMC had extensive disagreements on general political aims and tactics, however they were united in their desire for greater democracy within the Labour Party and all recognised that collaboration would increase their chances of success.[1]

The RFMC agreed five campaigning objectives:[2]

  1. Defence of mandatory reselection.
  2. Defence of the existing structure of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
  3. Ultimate control of the manifesto by the NEC.
  4. Election of leader and deputy leader by the party as a whole by electoral college.
  5. Accountability of an open and democratic decision-making within the PLP.

Campaigning activities

In the months leading up to the 1980 Labour Party Conference the RFMC organised 20 large rallies across the country in support of the Left's agreed campaigning aims.[2]

Tony Benn's Deputy Leadership Campaign

The RFMC has been described by Labour historians as providing the "main base for the campaign to elect Tony Benn as the Party's Deputy Leader".[1]

Dissolution and legacy

The decision to dissolve the RFMC was taken in October 1981, shortly after that year's Labour Party Conference.[7]

Labour Historian Patrick Seyd described RFMC's legacy:

"The RFMC was a unique organisation in the history of the Labour Left. For a period the Labour Left was united around one issue (limiting the powers of Labour parliamentarians) and the multitude of organisations operated together as a single unit. "[1]

See also

Further reading

  • Kogan, David. (2019) Protest and Power: The Battle for the Labour Party. Bloomsbury Reader. ISBN 1448217288.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Seyd, Patrick. (1987). The rise and fall of the labour left. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Education. ISBN 0333447476. OCLC 17952021.
  2. ^ a b c Seyd, Patrick (June 1986). "The Labour Left" (PDF). Department of Political Theory and Institutions.
  3. ^ Clough, Bert (2017-03-05). "Geoff Bish obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  4. ^ a b Benn, Tony, 1925-2014. (1991). Conflicts of interest : diaries, 1977-80. Winstone, Ruth. London: Arrow. ISBN 0099898705. OCLC 32303101.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ John Golding; Paul Farrelly; Neil Kinnock. Hammer of the left : the battle for the soul of the labour party. [Place of publication not identified]: Biteback Publishing. ISBN 1785900331. OCLC 945031879.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Kogan, David,. The Battle for the Labour Party. Kogan, Maurice. (Second edition ed.). London. ISBN 9781448217342. OCLC 1049802440. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Benn, Tony, 1925-2014. (1994). The end of an era : diaries 1980-90. Winstone, Ruth. London: Arrow. ISBN 0099971100. OCLC 31167999.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)


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