Picket outside Brixton (where Price sisters are held) last Sunday Faced with deadlock in the negotiations for the formation of an executive for the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr. Whitelaw has taken another dip into the gravy bucket, and come with a ladleful of extra, nonvoting, Administration posts, Nothing could reveal more dearly the opportunism of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and the intended role of the new Executive. Together with the Alliance Party. the SDLP had opposed Brian Faulkner's demand for a majority in the Executive, insisting on proportional representation.
Then, last week, Faulkner won support for his policy of parlicipation in He Executive from the Uster Umonist Council by a majority of only 10 votes. It was clear that if an Exccutive were not speedily set up. he would not be able to scrape together the necessary taxi-load of votes to get a majority on the next occasion.
The SDLP had to give in. They are de party of compromise. Once The basis for a comp. mise has been removed they will go under, and after them the catholc minority has no alternative exopt the Provos. Whitelaw was desperate to have the deal settled, so that he could get hack to a cooler seat in London. Faulkner, weak as he is, had the strongest hand. So the botten deal: Whitelaw's vague promises about treeing some detainees for Christmas should fool no-one. The hehaviour of the Parliamentary Labour Party on this issue was a scandal. After expressing support for Whitelaw's achievement, the Labour Party pulied out of the debate. Labour's acquiescence in the Whitelaw deal, the demand for the repalriation of Irish political prisoners in British jails and the growing movement for the withdrawal of British troops from the North of Ireland all find a common focus in the struggle to smash the bi partisan policy. That is why the Troops Out demonstration this Saturday (I December) takes on added importance with the setting up of the Executive.