Britain's New Centrist Alternative

...THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS Britain's New Centrist Alternative bynormangeb SHIRLEY WILLIAMS London The trouble with sudden success is that it often leaves its beneficiaries vulnerable to equally sudden disaster Few are more aware of this than the sturdy crusaders who early this month quit the Labor Party to launch Britain's newest political movement Consequently, they have resisted the temptation to gloat over reports that their founding Council for Social Democracy (CSD) has attracted massive popular support only weeks after its formation There is another reason for their restraint Membership in the Labor Party is virtually a religious commitment, one does not leave this church lightly The three most active CSD leaders—David Owen, William Rodgers and Shirley Williams, all former Labor ministers?clearly agonized long and hard before deciding to cut and run A fourth prominent member of the group, Roy Jenkins, once Labor's deputy leader, in effect severed his links with the party when he went off a few years ago to become president of the European Commission in Brussels Predictably, the rebels are now treated like pariahs by virtually all their erstwhile political colleagues They can expect to face the kind of treatment they recently received from Labor Party leader Michael Foot Ignoring their records of faithful service to ex-Prime Minister James Callaghan, Foot presumed to disinvite them from a dinner thrown in honor of Callaghan by his quondam Cabinet Whatever pain and remorse the would-be dinner guests may have felt, though, was no doubt mitigated by the results of several public opinion polls These indicated that a coalition linking the new party to emerge from the CSD with the small centrist Liberal Party would win a comfortable plurality in the next parliamentary election The Social Democrats were probably cheered, too, by expressions of support from an impressive list of distinguished and diverse Britons, including such figures as philosopher Sir Alfred Ayer and union leader Frank Chappie Hordes of others expressed more than moral backing A single newspaper advertisement about the formation of the movement, containing the merest suggestion that contributions would be welcome, drew enough cash donations to free the CSDers from the financial squeeze they feared would cause their organization serious birth pangs And this, incidentally, at a time when the Labor Party continues to suffer serious monetary woes Even the news that the next queen of England had been discovered sheltered behind a shy smile and a girlish giggle could not divert press attention altogether from the self-appointed Social Democratic vanguard When will they name the day (for officially establishing their party)'' Have they already had pre-nuptial political trysts (with Liberal Party leader David Steel)7 Most important, how long will their honeymoon with the public and the media last9 Norman Gelb reports from London for the Mutual Broadcasting System A declaration of principles has been issued by the Limehouse Gang—named after the gentnfied street in the Limehouse district of London where Owen lives with his American literary agent wife But their popular appeal is based so far mostly on the negative attitude of a large number of Britons toward both Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Tory government and the Labor Opposition Many Labor voters are appalled that the commanding heights of their party have been seized by its far-Left contingent, and are fed up with the recriminations that have been flowing fast and thick among the battling factions "Up and down the country, party members are puzzling why it is that we hate each other more than we hate HER,' commented one Labor member of Parliament Still, the opinion polls show that the Social Democrats might do even more damage to HER Conservatives than to Labor Thatchensm simply has not been working A lot of people who voted for the Tones, thinking she would find a way out of the economic malaise that has plagued the country for too many years, are now disenchanted with the "Iron Lady" and her policies Some observers here believe that if elections were held tomorrow, only Britons with unshakable ideological or sentimental ties to their parties would vote Labor or Tory—not enough to prevent the forces of the center from forming the next British government Elections will not be held tomorrow, however Thatcher is not required by law to call for the vote until 1984 She is likely to hold out till then, in the hope of finding the formula for fulfilling her promise to get Britain moving again The question, then, remains Can the brave new Bntish political movement manage to retain its popularity past its first I lush ol youth7 Maybe not Dining these exciting lew weeks, as the corps ol disenchanted Social Dem-ociats departed with much pomp and circumstance, it has been too easy toig-noie developments among Labonics lei I behind An incicasinglv determined gioup ol Righl-wingcis has chosen to stay on and fight to oust the far Left from control Former Cabinet member Roy Hattersley, who would not have looked out of place at the CSD top table, has started an intra-Labor Party campaign to reverse the series of decisions that confirmed extreme Left-wing supremacy and prompted the renegades to venture into the political unknown That effort is gathering support from various quarters within the party, and from Chappie Although he was the first union official to support the Social Democrats, he has balked at their undermining Labor's position among the voters Some Left-wing elements have decided that the far Left has gone too far They feel it has to be slapped down hard before it enshrines as official policy the view that a Tory government is preferable to a Labor government not sufficiently "socialist"—a sure recipe for election defeat So the next few months will likely see a reassertion of policies and attitudes that stand a much greater chance of gaining public support than the positions espoused b\ what is increasingly described in the partv as the "loony left " Revolutions traditionally de-voui theirottspnng Bui since the lar Lei t coup w as executed in stages Michael boot, whoso leadership is a product ot the kitward surge lias not \et been consumed b\ (liecv ticniisls supposedly under his guidance They have only been able to nibble away at him—spreading the word about how he is a "disaster for not pushing socialist causes more forcefully, or how he is crippled by his desire for party unity To reverse the metaphor, Foot is getting fed up He is apparently ready to lead his party back toward the middle ground, at least far enough to enable nonradicals to live comfortably in it Changes probably are also in the offing on the Conservative side Many of Thatcher's supporters in Parliament and at the local level around the country are warning her that things simply cannot go on the way they have since she took office two years ago Britain's worst slump in four decades has made a mockery of her assurances that monetarist policies will ultimately set the economy straight The message may be getting through to the Prime Minister The recognition seems to be dawning at 10 Downing Street that the incredible unemployment is debilitating not only to those who are suffering it Government insurance pavments to the jobless are biting deeply into the North Sea oil revenues, originally targeted for revitalizing British industry To put an end to this potentially calamitous diversion of funds, a revised approach to Britain's economic tribulations is being urgently considered by government planners The CSD deserves some of the credit for the changes now taking place in the major parties It is as if, during the American Presidential election when so many people moaned about the major candidates' inadequacies, another ideological force had appeared that was stronger and more firmly based on political experience than John Andei son's B\ providing an alternative that was previously lacking, the Social Democrats have shaken up British political leadeis and luiictionaues Laboiues and Tories tind themselves compelled to drill closei to the ecnlci, where most ol the voters are It either paitv?1 both—actually iciuins 10 the middle giound, the Social IXnioci jisivuv hnd thai (hey pcakeclveiv eailv and slipped downhill the lest ot the way to I9S4...