Getting a Foot in the Door

By Patricia Blake

The deeply split Labor Party elects a leftist unifier

It was a surprising switch of political allegiances that illustrated a desperate search for some semblance of party unity. Last week the moderate old guard of the British Labor Party suddenly turned and joined the aggressive left wing to elevate Michael Foot, 67, to the post of party leader to succeed James Callaghan. Foot handily defeated Denis Healey, 63, the party's right-wing standardbearer, by a vote of 139 to 129 in a poll of Labor Members of Parliament. A militant socialist, Foot is not only an opponent of Britain's terms of membership in the European Community, but also an advocate of unilateral nuclear disarmament, who has vowed to send U.S. cruise missiles "back to Washington." Not since the Depression in the 1930s had Laborites reached so far left for their leader and potential Prime Minister.

Still, it was Foot's stance as a party peacemaker, rather than leftist ideologue, that made his victory possible. For one thing, Healey's brilliant but abrasive personality had created a host of enemies, while Foot's genial ways had won him friends across the political spectrum. But the overriding reason that many moderate and even right-wing M.P.s opted for Foot was to avert an explosive crisis that has been shaping up in the deeply divided party.

Party regulars reckoned that if Healey won last week's election, Labor could not have avoided an internal battle next year after a special party conference in January establishes a new electoral college to choose the party leader. The college will be dominated by the left-wing local parties and powerful unions. Running under the new rules, Healey might have been beaten by the divisive champion of the party's radical left, M.P. Tony Benn. As it is, the popular Foot is expected to preempt House challenge and sail through vigor the next leadership election virtually unopposed. If he becomes Prime Minister any time soon, the relationship between Washington and London would be strained. A much greater philosophical contrast than that between Foot and U.S. President-elect Ronald Reagan cannot readily be imagined.

But the ideological splits inside the Labor Party run deep, and Foot must first reconcile the mostly moderate M.P.s with the increasingly strident radicals gaining strength at the grass roots. That is a monumental task for a politician of great charm but less vigor, of coruscating rhetoric but lamentable lack of administrative skill. Even Foot's appearance arouses more affectionate regard than confidence in a strong leader. A frail figure at 67, with a flowing white mane and a slight limp, he exudes a benign vagueness in conversation. It did not help his image on his first day as leader when he tripped on the steps of the House of Commons and broke his ankle.

His first appearance as the opposition leader in the Commons drew some derisive cheers from the Tories for a different reason. The Conservatives welcomed his election, because they calculated that a Foot-led Labor Party would have less chance of defeating them in the general election that must take place by early 1984. Healey, whom every poll had shown to be the Labor candidate preferred by voters, had consistently been regarded as a formidable challenger by the Tories. Thus they were surprised when the first post-election poll that pitted Foot vs. Thatcher showed Labor's new contender five points ahead of the incumbent as the people's choice for Prime Minister. The poll, conducted by the the M.O.R.I organization, showed that even though respondents felt that Foot had "rather extreme views," he was more "in touch with ordinary people" than Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Labor Opposition believes that by the time the next election is called, the Conservative government will be in such deep trouble over its rigid monetarist economic policies, which so far have not cooled a raging inflation nor prevented a sharp rise in unemployment, that Labor can prevail with just about any candidate. Said Political Analyst Robert McKenzie: "It is possible that the next election could be won by Labor even if the party was led by Judas Iscariot."

Later this month Foot will take the first step in the long march toward his possible ascendancy as Britain's Prime Minister. The occasion will be a mass Labor Party protest against the Thatcher government in Liverpool, where unemployment is running at 15.2%, almost twice the national average. In spite of his crutches, Foot is determined to join the demonstration march when it converges on the docks of Merseyside. Last week he delivered his first salvo against the Thatcher government: "We will proceed to unite to attack the outrages and infamies which this government is inflicting on our people."

Such exhortations come naturally to Foot who, in his 30 years in Parliament, has established a reputation as a highly effective, alternately fiery and witty, orator. In a recent Commons speech, for example, he ridiculed Tory Industry Secretary Keith Joseph by comparing him to a magician who takes a gold watch from a member of the audience. Said Foot: "He would take out his mallet, hit the watch and smash it to smithereens. Then he would step to the front of the stage and say, 'Sorry, I've forgotten the rest of the trick.' "

Politics and protest are in Foot's genes. His father, Isaac Foot, was a Liberal Member of Ramsay MacDonald's government, and his three brothers have had distinguished public service careers. His wife of 31 years, Jill Craigie, is a well-known writer and documentary film producer. Though he has always relished the role of iconoclast and socialist firebrand, when he became deputy to the cautious Callaghan in the last Labor government, Foot damped down his fires. It is now widely believed that he may once again backtrack on some of his most radical positions, including unilateral nuclear disarmament. Foot himself, however, was not about to concede the point publicly. Once again he put himself on record: "I am as strong as ever in my socialist principles. "

--By Patricia Blake. Reported by Bonnie Angelo/London

With reporting by Bonnie Angelo

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