Galloway's Workers' Party of Britain

[Smangus]

They have a candidate for the Lewisham mayor election (caused by damian egan quitting to stand in the kingswood by-election)

John Hamilton for Mayor – Workers Party – People Before Profit

johnhamilton.org.uk

hmm at



(from this page)

he has been involved in the past with lewisham 'people before profit' who seem to have gone in with WPB for the mayoral election at least. They do have a certain amount of form in this direction...

He gave me a leaflet today when I went through Blackheath. Had some pretty mad hair! Said vote against genocide!

 

[PTK]

He gave me a leaflet today when I went through Blackheath. Had some pretty mad hair! Said vote against genocide! View attachment 414527

So, Starmer is the "puppet" of Israel? Hmmm. This is what happens when you have no real analysis of the political and economic system.

 

[ska invita]

So, Starmer is the "puppet" of Israel?

i'd go with muppet

 

[Dogsauce]

Master puppeteers, those hook-nosed types, right?

It’s like some people have learned nothing after these last few years.

 

[TopCat]

So, Starmer is the "puppet" of Israel? Hmmm. This is what happens when you have no real analysis of the political and economic system.

Is it?

 

[PTK]

Is it?

Yes.

 

[TopCat]

Yes.

Would you like to expand beyond a damning assertion?

 

[belboid]

Would you like to expand beyond a damning assertion?

the tail doesn't wag the dog.

 

[TopCat]

the tail doesn't wag the dog.

That’s cleared that up. Thanks.

 

[brogdale]

the tail doesn't wag the dog.

Exactly; just because the Starmer faction cynically used antisemitism for factional politics doesn't mean that he or his regime are controlled by that process.

 

[PTK]

Social and historical processes are not explained by conspiracies.

The government of the USA did not, for example, supply arms and other support to the brutal regime in El Salvador in the 1980s when it was fighting a civil war against the left, because President Reagan was a puppet of the Salvadoran state. It acted as it did because it saw a victory by the left in El Salvador as a threat to the interests of US imperial capitalism.

Starmer is committed to defending the interests of Anglo-American imperial capitalism (although he would not think of it in those terms). That is what motivates his stance with respect to the State of Israel.

This is what motivated Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson when UK troops waged a secret war in defence of the feudalistic Sultan of Oman against left-wing rebels in the 1960s. Wilson was not a puppet of the Sultan of Oman.

 

[steeplejack]

The WPB does have an analysis of the current political sitaution, just a lot of it is a caricature or back of a fag packet stuff.

It's a mixture of statism, social conservatism and re-industrialisation, with no particular plan for how a re-built British industry would be at all competitive or who will provide the billions and billions of start up costs or training / re-skilling to grow the workforce for this industry. BNP leaflets used to have the same wishing-on-a-star desire to rebuild British industry, in the 1990s.

It's basically the Brexit Party with public ownership taking centre stage instead of the free market. Galloway's incontinent drivel about immigrants / stopping the boats at the end of last week should put the mockers on anyone being semi-tempted to vote for comedy Stalinism at any level of election. The pro-Russian propaganda (fawning WPB publications "On the Progress of the Special Military Operation") and borderline climate change denialism are also major red flags for anyone semi-sane.

The WPB is entirely cast as an ego-vehicle for Galloway and when he leaves the stage in five years, as he hinted he would during the Rochdale by-election campaign, then the WPB will quickly disintegrate and become an oddball footnote in political history. Much like so-called "The RESPECT Unity Coalition".

Galloway lucked out in Rochdale, that's the only reason this dormant thread got re-animated. A pity, really. Yes Starmer massively discomfited and humiliated bu a cursory glance at the profile of this unpleasant little gang shows us there's nothing much to celebrate in Galloway's return. Not sure red-brown populism / Russian apologism is really going to solve anything in the UK of 2024 and Galloway being right on Gaza doesn't earn him any kind of free pass.

 

[RevolutionSound]

WPB smells a little Strasserite to me, no doubt someone will come along and correct me though!

 

[The39thStep]

WPB smells a little Strasserite to me, no doubt someone will come along and correct me though!

Depends on what your sense of smell is like tbh

 

[steeplejack]

WPB smells a little Strasserite to me, no doubt someone will come along and correct me though!

The39thStep will be along to scold you shortly, and quite rightly so.

This isn;t a Strasserite group- it's a farrago of outcasts and opportunists headed up by a washed-up carpetbagging cunt.

 

[RevolutionSound]

The39thStep will be along to scold you shortly, and quite rightly so.

This isn;t a Strasserite group- it's a farrago of outcasts and opportunists headed up by a washed-up carpetbagging cunt.

I knew someone would! The anti semitic nationalist worker's populism still smells a bit Strasserite to me.

 

[steeplejack]

Honestly what does "Strasserism" mean to anyone but politics & history nerds nowadays?

 

[RevolutionSound]

Depends on what your sense of smell is like tbh

Not great tbh, misspent youth an all that

 

[RevolutionSound]

Honestly what does "Strasserism" mean to anyone but politics & history nerds nowadays?

nowt wrong with nerdery!

 

[hitmouse]

He gave me a leaflet today when I went through Blackheath. Had some pretty mad hair! Said vote against genocide! View attachment 414527

Nice socks, although I'm not sure about them being mismatched.

 

[PR1Berske]

I won't post the link

 

[Smangus]

Nice socks, although I'm not sure about them being mismatched.

The 1st 2 out of the drawer go on the feet!

 

[RD2003]

It may have been the Communist Federation of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), which became the Revolutionary Communist League of Britain. The RCLB did blur faces on photos in its paper, “Class Struggle”. It was a relatively sensible group, and dissolved itself in the late 1990s (I think).

A mush sillier group was the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist), which was the local section of a movement created by a person in Canada called Hardial Bains, and is now the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist).

I doubt it was the much more sober group, led by the late leading figure in the Engineering union, Reg Birch, which published “The Worker” (now called “Workers”), the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist).

Do I qualify for my leftist trainspotter badge?

If you have been distressed by the mention of any of the groups in the above post, please phone our helpline.

Thinking about it, didn't Alexei Sayle used to be involved, in his youth, with one of those Stalinist/Maoist/ pro-Albanian groups? I seem to remember he used to have a lot of jokes about it all.

 

[PTK]

Thinking about it, didn't Alexei Sayle used to be involved, in his youth, with one of those Stalinist/Maoist/ pro-Albanian groups? I seem to remember he used to have a lot of jokes about it all.

Sayle was involved with the CPB ML, and describes how Birch would come in to the meeting and lean on the back of someone's chair as he addressed it.

 

[Sue]

Thinking about it, didn't Alexei Sayle used to be involved, in his youth, with one of those Stalinist/Maoist/ pro-Albanian groups? I seem to remember he used to have a lot of jokes about it all.

His folks were. He used to joke about spending family holidays at political gatherings in Albania etc.

 

[RD2003]

His folks were. He used to joke about spending family holidays at political gatherings in Albania etc.

I always understood that his parents were in the 'proper' CPGB, and he thought them too timid or something and rebelled. Although I could be wrong.

I vaguely remember him in recent years talking about holiday camps in East Germany or somewhere, which is more in line with the mainstream CP. Think it was on R4, where he has an enertaining little niche now that he's a national treasure.

 

[Sue]

I always understood that his parents were in the 'proper' CPGB, and he thought them too timid or something and rebelled. Although I could be wrong.

No idea tbh.

 

[RD2003]

Sayle was involved with the CPB ML, and describes how Birch would come in to the meeting and lean on the back of someone's chair as he addressed it.

At least he didn't follow showbiz fashion and join the WRP.

 

[PTK]

At least he didn't follow showbiz fashion and join the WRP.

Alexei Sayle, like a number of children of CPGB parents, found the CPGB rather disappointing.

 

[RD2003]

Alexei Sayle, like a number of children of CPGB parents, found the CPGB rather disappointing.

I knew a fair amount about the CP as my grandad was a member for three decades, although leaving in the late '50s or early sixties, before I was born. I was only 16 when he died, but I'd been left with the impression that he resented the anti-Stalin stuff, which I did understand even then-he came from absolute poverty, had seen both his brothers die needlessly in WW1, was a manual worker all his life, had served in the army WW2 etc, and in his view Stalin and co. had taken on the capitalists and twatted them. I was drawn towards the YCL, but, as you say, it was disappointing. The Eurocoms were in charge, and to me they seemed to be to the right of Benn on many issues. I went to meetings of my local branch, which were a bit shambolic, and it wasn't long before I jumped ship for the ostensibly more dynamic Trots. Maybe didn't seem so at the time, but it was all good fun looking back.