14th November Movement for Left Unity

[butchersapron]

What's class consciousness delroy? Do you mean people explicitly talking and thinking in terms of class and joining things like left unity? If not, what?

 

[discokermit]

Of course it is, what do you think austerity is?

a walkover, not a struggle.

 

[Awesome Wells]

I really don't see why getting labour in would be any better. Red Ed has already said he won't reverse any of the cuts. Its just lube.

It isn't just about being better. God knows Miliband is a goofy pasty faced corporate stooge.

It sends a message to the tories who think labour are all socialist lefty idiots.

It also gets them out of office which is the most important thing right now.

I would rather labour took over than another term of this coalition or, god fucking forbid, a tory majority.

The alternative is a repeat of the outcome of the last election: a hung parliament and another coalition which means Labour, if they get the majority, going into bed with the libdems. They daren't go it alone as a minority because the tories and libdems will tear them to shreds.

 

[frogwoman]

What's class consciousness delroy? Do you mean people explicitly talking and thinking in terms of class and joining things like left unity? If not, what?

if you're looking for class consciousness i'm not convinced you'll necessarily find it in things like left unity.

 

[SpineyNorman]

Don't talk about class, it's divisive maaaan!

 

[treelover]

How I learned to stop worrying and love Left Unity

When I first heard about Left Unity, I signed up immediately, but was sceptical and nervous. Whose stitch-up was this? Behind the façade of starting a national conversation about the kind of party we need, who was preparing the answers for us, to be swallowed whole on delivery? I signed up, and helped get our local group started. I was in. But like everyone else who came along to our group, I kept darting nervous glances towards the exit.

Since then, I have learned to relax. Left Unity is not a fraud. It is what it says it is. It is a genuine attempt to build a new party of the left. It rejects old dogmas and formulas – wanting to be guided by Marxism, and other left currents, but not defined by them.


http://leftunity.org/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-left-unity/

One activist's experience.

 

[butchersapron]

That's Stuart Watkins ex-SPGB sometimes ultra-leftist is it?

 

[imposs1904]

That's Stuart Watkins ex-SPGB sometimes ultra-leftist is it?

The very man. Lovely bloke.

 

[Sasaferrato]

assuming have butchers on ignore sass- there are two different left unities. The one you are on about is not the subject of this thread

What was that about left wing cohesion again?

 

[belboid]

What was that about left wing cohesion again?

You're not very bright, are you?

 

[DotCommunist]

herding cats ennit

 

[butchersapron]

What was that about left wing cohesion again?

One is a union group. One is a party. Go back to sleep. On my dollar.

 

[nino_savatte]

One more time... Sas, this is a different Left Unity or do you have some kind of blind spot when you see those words?

 

[Coolfonz]

Would be good to get more people on the LU discussion forums, talking about policy etc...

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

Have they split yet?

 

[Coolfonz]

Nope, still going...
http://forum.leftunity.org/main/viewforum.php?f=13

 

[SpineyNorman]

Would be good to get more people on the LU discussion forums, talking about policy etc...

Can you give treelover his elipses back please?

 

[Coolfonz]

I'm looking directly at the sun right now and i can't see any sign of an elipse.

 

[caleb]

Fucking hell, looking at that forum you get a real sense of what a mess this shit is.

 

[frogwoman]

agriculture, food and animal commission as the first forum on the list?

*avoids joke about visiting corn fields and grain production up by 5%*

 

[ska invita]

Fucking hell, looking at that forum you get a real sense of what a mess this shit is.

Im surprised its as busy as it is - its hard to get people to engage with forums in this day and age

 

[rekil]

PD needs something like that, with hot PD topics, but just a big jpg instead of an actual forum which would be silly.

 

[butchersapron]

Believe it or not, within those many many sub-forums, there are also ones with their own set of sprawling sub-forums - and, within those sub-sub-forums further sub-forums - i'm not kidding. The amount of duplication and spread is astonishing and really needs to get sorted

 

[ska invita]

i think the idea of creating policy via a publicly accessible forum is commendable. how much of an influence the boards will have on any final manifesto is another matter.

 

[caleb]

I love the simplistic worldview of some of Left Unity - the left has been held back by using certain words or talking about certain things. Don't use those words or talk about those things and the people shall flock to us. Oh to be so naive.

 

[ska invita]

I love the simplistic worldview of some of Left Unity - the left has been held back by using certain words or talking about certain things. Don't use those words or talk about those things and the people shall flock to us. Oh to be so naive.

There does seem to be an element of that, which i tend to support in general terms. Not addressing prospective voters as The Proletariat is one thing, but how this plays out in policy is another...where will the line be drawn between idealism and pragmatism, in the name of electability.

 

[Coolfonz]

I love the simplistic worldview of some of Left Unity - the left has been held back by using certain words or talking about certain things. Don't use those words or talk about those things and the people shall flock to us. Oh to be so naive.

Well why don't you come and say so? If you think peppering materials with words like `capitalism`, `multiculturalism`, `diversity` and so on would encourage people to vote LU then stand it up. Personally I think that's naive.
And no one I've seen says anyone will `flock` to LU as a result, sadly. It's more about trying to communicate without tiresome lefty jargon so people might actually listen. Hope that's clear...

 

[ska invita]

Whats your feeling about the way policy will be formulated coolfonz? What are the limits?
For example, republicanism isn't particularly popular at the moment (royal family approval ratings have bounced back in recent years to a relative high), but I'd imagine it is supported by the majority of LU. Has there been any discussion of reigning in policy for the sake of popularity?

 

[Coolfonz]

Yes definitely there has, well from me anyway. The idea is to actually be a political party as I understand (and I'm not central to LU's planning) and that does require people who aren't career leftys to vote for LU. So from my pov it will need a big dose of reality-checking...

Hence the need to speak clearly without jargon and so on.

As for how policy will be made. A conference is planned I believe. Early days etc. Would like to see more communication from LU myself though...

 

[chilango]

Again it's all about missionary work innit?