TUSC andLeft Unity, where is the unity ?

Is a very good question I’d suggest. Firstly I don’t wish to criticise any group of people in particular but the recent rise of the left unity project has concerned me on several levels. I did post my initial thoughts on left unit a few weeks back not to everyons liking apparently but the early signs ar not great. The call for unity on the left and for a new party of the left was made by Ken Loach the radical left wing film director who’s recent film “the spirit of 45” has inspired 8 thousand people so far to sign a petition which is a founding idea for a new party. This weekend we hear of the left unity project holding their first national conference. TUSC the Trade Union and Socialist Coalitin of which I’m apart of and stood for recently tried to attend todays left unity meeting in a comradely open manner but apparently were turned away at the door. So much for left unity comrades ? There is much sectarian behaviour on the left right now why did left unity feel the need to set itself up without even acknowledging the existence of TUSC. I mean fair enough you may not agree withTUSC and think it doesn’t go far enough but to go ahead and try setting up a new party without even considerin to involve TUSC and its partners the RMT too smack’s of a bit of sectarian behaviour I’ve noticed for a while. Those who groaned when the left set up rival anti cuts bodies will now surely be smiling again as it looks like history is repeating itself with two rival left of labour projects. Of course we don’t know what left unity will stand for yet or what their aims are I’m sure we’ll find out in due course but for the two projects to not evn enter into some sort of discussion is very sad in my view. I’m a member of the socialit party and any new left party or mass workers party will likely and hopefully in my view see us involved others on the left who are turned off by the likes of us and the SWP and our behaviour over the years cannot simply wish us out of existence. They cantry and ignore us but I think that would be incredible sectarian as we can offer many ideas and organisational practises whichhave worked well for us in the past. For example all elected reps subject to immediate recall, no elected official to receive more than the average wage of a skilled worker and democracy at every level of the party with no appointed officials for them all to be elected by the membership. Key principles I think we uphold to and any new formation on theleft should stick to too. Disappointment and disenchantment with the Labour Party, exemplified by 8,000 signing up in support of the Left Unity statement, is hardly new. For example, when Arthur Scargill broke from the Labour Party the potential existed to immediately rally many thousands. But Scargill did not want any of the groups. He wanted to be the unchallenged labour dictator The most farcical of the SLP’s anti-democratic practices was Scargill’s use of the bloc vote of an ‘affiliated organisation’ - the North West, Cheshire and Cumbria Miners Association, made up of retired members of the National Union of Mineworkers. If conference looked as though it would vote the ‘wrong’ way, Arthur would ensure with just a nod and a wink that the NWCCMA delegates put their 3,000 votes to good use. Any new party or project bringing together Marxists and the left needs democracy at its heart. It cannot function or call itself a party with democracy as a added option in my view. WE strive to maintain democracy in the socialist party and I believe we do so very well. I know at this stage groups like TUSC, respect, Left unity etc hold up broad almost social democratic programmes clearly anti capitalist in nature but comparing these programmes which are small deliberately atthis stage they are often to the right of where we claim to stand. Take the SWP’s adventure with respect many of respects policies were decided and developed to please the likes of George Galloway and other big names involved. The SWP therefore foun itself making bigger and bigger concessions to keep them sweet. We are all aware of George Galloways out of touch views on the likes of abortion and the question of rape too more recently but When these questions came up more often than not respect fudged these difficult questions and left open ended questions like a womans right to choose very broad so you could red into it that it’s a womans right to choose whether to wear a head scarf or not. Not very clear comrades. There is an extraordinary paradox. As capitalism has gone into deeper and deeper into crisis, not only have we seen the Labour Party move further and further to the right, along with the whole of bourgeois society: the left itself has also been moving to the right. And it is common sense amongst comrades on the left that, while within the privacy of our own groups we can talk about Marxism, socialism, the history of our movement and the difficult ideas it has grappled with, when it comes to the ‘children’ - that is, the working class, a class that is meant to liberate itself - we pretend, especially when standing in elections, that really we are just like Labour used to be. That we are committed to a parliamentary road to socialism, to welfarism, to some sort of Keynesian golden age: in short that we are born-again Labourites. Now, I am not arguing that we ought to stand under a banner which simply reads ‘Revolution now!’ In fact we do stand for reforms. Quite clearly we are not in a revolutionary situation and in terms of readying our class to become the ruling class reforms are essential. We must have more democracy, we must have more power within capitalism. So it is not an argument about reform or revolution: it is an argument about what sort of reforms we want and how we go about getting them. That is the question. any Left Unity programme should explicitly state that it is about superseding capitalism. With that in mind it is also vital to stress internationalism. Socialism cannot be achieved in Britain alone. Nor can it be achieved even in Europe alone - though I think we need a bold, pan-European strategic perspective. Socialism is the task of the working class of all countries; socialism is the total transformation of all existing conditions. So, yes, we must argue that Left Unity must have a clear programme that commits us to the global supersession of capitalism. Of course, we have to defend and advance the existing gains of the working class. But that can best be done through a class struggle that does not stop at the shores of Britain.

What George Galloway’s victory in Bradford west can tell us for the left

An astounding victory last night in Bradford west by election where George Galloway saw off a labour party struggling to make any impact with their some cuts are nessesary line. It was a huge rejection of them and the other establishment parties that George won so convincingly. With a majority of 10 thousand this cannot just be wrote off as an anomaly.

So what can this mean for us on the left who are trying to build a force to the left of labour and campaigning for a new workers party like we are in the socialist party?

Well firstly I think this shows a deep rooted anger and despair with ordinary people with the 3 main political parties that George Galloway who isn’t a socialist by any stretch of the imagination stood on left sounding policies against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and offering himself as an alternative clearly shows that labour can be beaten in their heartland and a force to the left of labour can win in these areas.

As TUSC we are not supporters of George Galloway and have reservations on his politics and cosying up to various dictators in the past but no doubt this is more than that this victory showed that people wont always put up with the main 3 capitalist parties forever and ever and if a alternative is posed they can get a echo.

I also think we shouldn’t over state this this is clearly a tremor of the political earthquake happening right now but with the may 3rd local elections and the London GLA elections where genuine trade unionists and socialists will be standing under the banner of TUSC I think we can do well. I wont put my neck out and say we’ll get victories like George did in Bradford but the tide is turning on these establishment parties and people are fed up with the same old language same old lies and tired excuses from washed up politicians who only call at their door every 5 years or so.

I’m optimistic for the coming period without wishing to over state it I think we do have a opportunity to make some big in roads into the political plain and take those first steps to becoming that credible alternative that I am convinced people are looking for out there. A real socialist alternative that can serve the 99% not the 1%.

This also has shown a deep lying feelin felt by many that the establishment parties have for years and years taken ordinary working class people and their votes for granted. Especailly labour in the north who still feel and will not learn the lessons I feel that you can put anyone up in a area that has a working class base and it’ll always get elected. Wrong this is changing and for the better labour cannot takeits voters for granted as they will resist in the end. People will not put up with a party tied to capitalism and the markets and the banks forever. Labour has lost its way and workers are turning their backs on it now and I’m only too pleased to see this. It bodes well for the future for the building of a new workers party which in my view is needed more than ever in this coming period to provide a pole of attraction.

We move on but we never forget

Just wanted to do a special blog post on the rememberance sunday tributes.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day the guns fell silent in france and the world war 2 ended. This is the day we all stop to think of those we have lost and have sacrificed their lives for our cause today. For them we may not be living in a english speaking britain today instead we may have been speaking german.

I do think the papers in the week who highlighted these minority of muslims who were disrespecting the rememberance day services should be condemned but also we must not let theis become a attack on the muslims by so called racists in this country.

I still think there is a racist under current in this country still. Alot of people who are casually racist because their parents are or because it is seen as cool. We ll it is not cool it is very uncool. I am totally against racism and will disassociate myself with anyone i know who has been racist in any shape or form. We are a multi cultural country and must learn to live together. After all alot of british muslims fought for us in the war and helped us out. Of course there are a minority of extremists out there everywhere has some but these people seem to get more publicity than the peace loving kind hearted muslims who live peacefully in the united kingdom.

So i'd like to remind people waht the soldiers recent and from the past waht they have fought for and what we must protect. Our democracy and our freedom of speech.

We should feel proud to be british whether yuo are black, white, asian, gay, straight or anything.

To me equality matters a lot to me and fairness is key.