ABSTRACT
The grass roots link between organized workers and the political wing of the Movement is at the level of union branch affiliation to the local Constituency Party. The levy is generally collected from the member (usually along with the regular contribution) by the branch. Clearly, the proportion of branches affiliating suggests that at this grass roots level, after fifteen years of steadily growing emphasis by the national office, there had been, on the basis of this true measure, little or no progress. It is equally clear that a mere quantification at the branch level of affiliation is inadequate for measuring the full depth or significance of the association of the union and its substructure to the Labour Party. Quite apart from the ideological conflict, there was a basic organizational constraint. The national union has no direct control over the DC and would therefore have difficulty, as already suggested, in winning acceptance of its own views and authority.
