26. THE NEED FOR A "PEACE BOOK" That in the opinion of this conference the problem of the social and industrial reconstruction of Great Britain after the war is of such grave importance and of such vital urgency, that it is imperative, in order to avoid confusion in the period of demobilisation, that the main outlines of policy in all branches should be definitely formulated, upon the responsibility of the minister of reconstruction, before the war ends, so that they can be published in a Peace Book for public criticism before being finally adopted by the Cabinet, for the authoritative guidance of all ministers and heads of departments.

a

27. "LABOUR AND THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER" That the draft report on reconstruction, entitled Labour and the New Social Order, be revised after consideration of all the amendments suggested, and in accordance with the decisions of the conference, and that every constituent organisation be asked to report within four weeks how many copies it proposes to order for distribution to its branches and members.

APPENDIX VI

PLATFORM OF BRITISH LABOUR PARTY IN THE

GENERAL ELECTIONS, DECEMBER, 1918

UNDER the new constitution of the Labour Party it is the duty of the National Executive in conjunction with the Labour Party members of Parliament to define before any general election the particular issues which should be made the party programme. Following is the text of the resolution passed by an emergency conference November 14, 1918, summarising the reconstruction policy of the party as embodied in the revised edition of the pamphlet “Labour and the Social Order":

INTERNATIONAL

Now that peace is at hand, the Labour Party feels justified in putting forward its demand that the promise made when its members joined the last Coalition Government in December, 1916, that Labour should have representation at the official Peace Congress, should be redeemed. It reaffirms the declaration of the Inter-Allied Labour and Socialist Conferences of February and September, 1918, that because of their response in defence of the principles of freedom the peoples have earned the right to wipe out all vestiges of the old idea that the Government belongs to or constitutes “a governing class.” In determining issues that will vitally affect the lives and welfare of millions of wage-earners, justice requires that they should have direct representation in the Conferences authorised to make such decisions.

In common with the other Labour and Socialist organisations in the Allied countries, Labour also declared in favour of a World Labour Congress at the conclusion of hostilities with a view to the foundations of an effective League of Nations being laid upon a genuine democratic basis, and also in view of the need for an international agreement for the enforcement in all countries of uniform legislation on factory conditions, maximum working hours, the prevention of sweating and unhealthy trades, and similar industrial reforms.

The Executive Committee, therefore, recommend that the Emergency Conference should adopt the following resolution

"That this Special Emergency Conference of the Labour Party reaffirms the demand of the Inter-Allied Conferences of February and September, 1918

"(1) That, in the official delegations from each of the belligerent countries which formulate the Peace Treaty, the workers should have direct official representation.

"(2) That a World Labour Congress should be held at the same time and place as the Peace Conference that will formulate the Peace Treaty closing the war.

“(3) That this Conference demands that the Government should afford facilities for the fulfilment of the above pro

posals."

NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION The Labour Party protests against any patching up of the old economic order. It declines to go back to the conditions of penury and starvation which were all that society used to allow to millions of workers. It stands for such a systematic reconstruction of industrial and social relations as will give to the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their labour.

The Labour Party demands the wide measures of reform that are described in “Labour and the New Social Order," which include:

1. A just and generous provision for the discharged soldiers and sailors, apart from either charity or the Poor Law, alike in respect of pensions, medical and surgical treatment, reinstatement in civil employment at trade union rates of wages, and complete security against involuntary unemployment.

2. Full provision for the civil war workers to be discharged on the conclusion of the war, and others whom the dislocation of industry will throw out of work, including adequate arrangements for placing in new situations as soon as possible and maintenance during involuntary unemployment.

3. The complete fulfilment of the nation's pledge to the trade unionists that they should be unconditionally reinstated in respect of the trade union conditions and workshop customs abrogated in the public interest; or else that the Government should submit for their acceptance measures calculated to achieve the same ends.

4. The complete restoration of freedom of speech, publication, travel, residence, and choice of occupation, and the abolition of all compulsory military service.

5. The completion of political democracy by adult suffrage, equal rights of voting for both sexes, and the abolition of any Second Chamber presuming to limit or control the supremacy of the popularly elected House of Commons.

6. The immediate application to Ireland of the fullest possible measure of Home Rule.

7. Provision for the greatly increased efficiency of the Legislature by the devolution of English, Scottish, and Welsh business to separate local legislatures united in a Federal Parliament.

8. The retention by the State of the railways and canals, the expropriation of the shareholders on equitable terms, and the organisation under public control, or a national system of transport worked for exclusively public objects.

9. The retention by the State of the coal and iron mines, the expropriation of the present owners on equitable terms, and the organisation by the National Government and the local authorities of the supply of coal as a public service.

10. The provision and management by the Government itself, in conjunction with the local authorities, of the proposed gigantic super-power stations by which electricity can be provided at the lowest possible cost, without toll to the capitalist companies, for both industrial and domestic purposes.

11. The effective maintenance of the standard of life for the whole nation by the suitable amendment and extension of the Factories, Mines, Trade Boards, and similar Acts.

12. The revision of the rates, age for eligibility, and conditions of old-age pensions, so as to make the statutory pension an absolute right of every person of pensionable age.

13. The abolition of the Poor Law and the merging of its present services in those already rendered by the directly elected local authorities to the children, the sick and infirm (including maternity and infancy), the mentally defective, the aged, and the able-bodied unemployed, stimulated, aided, and controlled by an effective Ministry of Health, whilst suitable

measures for the prevention of unemployment, and the securing of situations for the unemployed are taken by a Ministry of Employment.

14. The extension of the powers of county, borough, district, and parish councils, alike in respect of the acquisition of land, the reform of the system of assessment and rating, the obtaining of additional grants-in-aid, and freedom to undertake all the services desired by their constituents, together with the immediate resumption of local elections with proportional representation.

15. The prompt carrying through of a comprehensive national measure of housing, the local authorities being everywhere required, with grants-in-aid sufficient to prevent any charge on the rates, to make good the whole of the existing shortage in well-planned, well-built, commodious, and healthy homes for the entire population.

16. The reorganisation of agriculture and rural life by the resumption by the State of its ownership of the land, and its use as State farms, small holdings, and allotments, or cooperative enterprises, in such a way as to secure the greatest possible production, not of game or of rent, but of the people's food, together with standard wages for all the workers employed, adequate security for the farmer's enterprise, healthy dwellings for all the country population, and the development of village life and civilisation.

17. A national system of education, free and effectively open to all persons, irrespective of their means, from the nursery school to the university; based on the principle of extending to persons of all ages, without distinction of class or wealth and without any taint of militarism, genuine opportunities for the most effective education on a broad and liberal basis, and the provision for teachers of all kinds and grades of salaries, pensions, training, and opportunities of advancement commensurate with the high social importance of their calling.

18. The nationalisation of life assurance, with equitable compensation to the shareholders and complete provision for all persons now employed, in order both to place beyond doubt the security of the existing policies and to supersede the present costly and objectionable system of industrial life assur