BOURNEMOUTH PARTY CONFERENCE 1937

The DLP pre-Conference meeting was held on Sunday, 3 October. The tactics of some of the regional committees were strongly criticised by moderate supporters of reform. Frank Bowles, a member of the Constituency Parties Association Executive, condemned them as deliberately provocative, and said that they were bound to create suspicion in the trade unions. John Wilmot – himself a leading candidate for the NEC –protesting strongly against canvassing for the Executive, said that the proposals had been put in jeopardy by such ‘foolish and tactless manoeuvres’, and called for the disbandment of the Constituency Parties Association. The discussion among the supporters of reform reflected a growing uncertainty about the fate of the proposals.

When Conference opened next day, with Hugh Dalton in the Chair, the issue seemed to hang in the balance. ‘Some of the big unions will openly oppose, others will plead for delay, and the result at the moment is in doubt’, commented the Manchester Guardian. ‘The exact course of the debate cannot be forecast, but even if the main changes should be carried there is a strong presumption that their operation will be deferred’. The Railwaymen (with 21500 votes), the General and Municipal Workers (242,000) and the two textile workers unions (170000) were definitely opposed – making a total of 627000 against. The miners (400,000), the distributive workers (137,000) and the Railway Clerks (49,000) had come out in favour of reform; in addition the proposals were likely to have the support of almost all the DLPs themselves with some 500000 votes between them – making a total of about a million votes for constitutional change.