 | 'The spokesman was blunt and to the point. The party had a right to expect candidates to support its policies, he said. As Mr Canavan has voted to protect student grants for poor families and benefits for children of single parents, everyone can see the mainspring of the leadership's displeasure.' Herald Editorial, 12 th November 1998. |  |
The context for such rigorous discipline extends beyond the Canavan affair to the struggle for the Welsh assembly leadership and for Labour's candidature for mayor of London. In each area a candidate of independent mind and voting habits appears likely to be blackballed by the leadership. The fact that the PM's spokesman is so clearly paranoid as to claim that the media supports candidates who attack the Labour Party is a matter for sad reflection.
There are, though, questions which the Labour Party must still answer. Are we to believe that the party places no value anymore on a lifetime of service and family attachment, for if this is so it will upset many. Is it the case that the rigorous control emanating from party HQ over matters in Scotland, London, and Wales honours the principles of devolution? Many will doubt that it does. The sight of Mr Canavan as an independent will be an odd and poignant one. He should remember, though, that historically there have been few independents who have succeeded in contests with their mainstream former parties.
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