A leading Labour Party supporter of British entry to the European Common Market announced on Friday (6 October) that he would resign his seat in the House of Commons and contest it in the resulting by-election as a 'Democratic Labour' candidate.

He's Mr. Dick Taverne, Member of Parliament for Lincoln, who has been under pressure from local Labour Party officials to resign because of his stand in support of the Common Market. The Party is opposed to entry on the terms negotiated by the ruling Conservative Government. Mr. Taverne said he had resigned because of the Labour Party's 'double talk' over British entry to the Common Market, referring to its original support for membership.

Mr. Taverne had a majority of 4,750 votes over his Conservative opponent in the 1970 election, and Lincoln is generally regarded as a safe Labour seat.

Mr. Taverne's announcement was quickly relayed to the Labour Party conference being held in Blackpool. The party chairman, Mr. Anthony Wedgwood Benn, said Mr. Taverne's resignation would not damage the Labour Party.

On Wednesday (4 October), the Labour Party conference rejected demands from a large body of the Party for a policy of withdrawal from the Common Market. But it decided that if Labour gained power, it would press for renegotiation of the terms of entry and would hold a public referendum.

Following is the transcript of a British Broadcasting Corporation interview with Mr. Taverne and part of Mr. Wedgwood Benn's statement to the Labour Party conference, as shown in this film.