SWP expulsions and squabbles

[Nigel Irritable]

There's been some discussion of the latest SWP rows and expulsions over on the Callinicos / Penny thread, but, it tended to get buried under mountains of hate directed at the "left" commentariat. So here's a thread to discuss expulsions and squabbles in one of Britain's main left wing groups.

The Weekly Worker (as always, caution advised) has an account of four people getting the boot in the run up to SWP conference. There's an amusingly Kafkaesque edge to it too. They were expelled for factionalism, seemingly as a result of facebook messages. But this happened during the "pre-conference period", where for a few months a year, SWP members are supposed by allowed to form factions. The problem is though that to gain factional rights, you need 30 signatories... but to gather those 30 signatories you have to engage in what the Central Committee considers "factionalism". Which is an expellable offence.

So two of the people who wrote critical articles in the pre-conference bulletins and a couple of others were unceremoniously ejected.

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/943/swp-expelled-before-conference-begins

 

[el-ahrairah]

splitters

 

[plug ugly]

Paris is a good bloke. The SWP should be striving for more like him, working-class and pretty ordinary. A great loss to the SWP although its not surprising they've got rid of him, they were bound to do it at some point.

He got demoted from the SWP in Leeds a year or so back I think? His girlfriend is Jen Wilkinson who was the Manchester/North West full timer but is now down in London on the NEC I think.

 

[Red Storm]

Paris is appealing the expulsion.

I can concur with the above, Paris ain't your usual swappo.

 

[Red Storm]

Makes me laugh that the CPGB (pcc) are commenting on expulsions when they forced out one of their few good members only a few months back.

 

[The39thStep]

2009

Ged, Adam and Paris from Leeds refer to “John Rees and the renegades and charlatans of the Left Platform”.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Makes me laugh that the CPGB (pcc) are commenting on expulsions when they forced out one of their few good members only a few months back.

What's that all about then?

 

[Nigel Irritable]

2009

So no jobs openings for them in Firebox it seems.

 

[SpineyNorman]

I don't know Paris myself but Ged is an irritating little prick - he's a fulltimer in over here now and he's one of only two SWPers in Sheffield that I dislike on a personal level.

 

[belboid]

I don't know Paris myself but Ged is an irritating little prick - he's a fulltimer in over here now and he's one of only two SWPers in Sheffield that I dislike on a personal level.

ohhhh, him.....

 

[Red Storm]

What's that all about then?

Forced out some Manchester member(s?)

 

[SpineyNorman]

ohhhh, him.....

You too eh?

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Forced out some Manchester member(s?)

What does "forced out" actually mean though?

 

[DaveCinzano]

Paris is a good bloke.

He dropped in my estimation with the way he precipitated that whole Trojan War thing though.

 

[Red Storm]

What does "forced out" actually mean though?

IIRC they weren't allowed right of reply and were attacked in the Weekly Worker. From what I heard they were made to feel unwelcome in the party anymore.

 

[Das Uberdog]

i hear on good authority that this most recent expulsion has caused a serious rift in the office, and could well create quite a significant split from within the actual party apparatus. though it is notable that all of the expelled members have been active 'oppositionists' to the SWP's undemocratic culture, there are also personal allegations linked into the 'factional' charges too, which will no doubt get revealed in due course.

this petition has been circulated by those accused:

We the undersigned do not accept that Charlotte Bence, Adam Marks, Tim Nelson and Paris Thompson should have been expelled on a charge of being "part of, and helping to organise, a secret faction".
Like many other comrades the four named are concerned with the handling of a recent Disputes Committee investigation into the alleged misconduct of a Central Committee member. There have been informal conversations on and offline between a number of comrades regarding this matter. This does not constitute the formation of a secret faction.
We are also aware that a number of comrades have circulated a petition in some branches calling on the Central Committee to add the above mentioned CC member to the 2013 slate. So far as we are aware these comrades have not been accused of any form of factionalism. This is a clear double standard.
We call on party conference as the sovereign body of the party to overturn this decision and reinstate these comrades.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

IIRC they weren't allowed right of reply and were attacked in the Weekly Worker. From what I heard they were made to feel unwelcome in the party anymore.

I'm always a bit skeptical of people saying that they "were made to feel unwelcome" in a political organisation which didn't take disciplinary action against them. That said, the CPGB/WW are always making those sort of claims about other groups, with little or no evidence to back them up, so I'm not really inclined to defend them.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

i hear on good authority that this most recent expulsion has caused a serious rift in the office, and could well create quite a significant split from within the actual party apparatus. though it is notable that all of the expelled members have been active 'oppositionists' to the SWP's undemocratic culture, there are also personal allegations linked into the 'factional' charges too, which will no doubt get revealed in due course.

this petition has been circulated by those accused:

Thanks for that DU. It puts things into a much clearer context than the Weekly Worker piece. Looks like there's going to be quite a barney at the conference this year, over whether or not a certain CC member is a wrong'un. There was a bit in one of the IBs saying that a bunch of people were going to appeal the dispute's commission decision on that case at conference, so now there's that and the appeal from these expulsions to go through.

Allegations of sexual misconduct are often pretty explosive in left organisations.

 

[MikeC]

IIRC they weren't allowed right of reply and were attacked in the Weekly Worker. From what I heard they were made to feel unwelcome in the party anymore.

Hi Red Storm,

Given that most splits/resignations/expulsions on the left *are* driven by a bureaucratic dynamic,administraive measures etc. I can see why people would be eager to believe that this was the case here too, particularly that we (CPGB) make a big deal out the of appalling bureaucratic-centralism of the left and so on and any chance for us to be ignored is a chance many are happy to take... but thankfully it's not the case.

Look through the Weekly Worker. The comrades who left - who were *not* expelled or otherwise forced out - had letters and articles printed on *numerous* occasions and what is more were actively encouraged by the pcc to submit pieces detailing their political criticisms of the party for debate and discussion - criticisms which turned out to be very unclear indeed, some comrades even admitting that they struggled to articlulate exactly *what* they disagreed about. Space in the paper was offered and given as was time at members aggregates. They were free to have formed a faction etc etc but instead left to join the ACI. Its a bit of a boring none story really. Sad they left.

I think this interpretation of the cpgb forcing comrades out, denying them space in the paper and so on is the usual suspects on the left interpreting things as they *wish* they were.

My two pennies.

Comradely,

Mike C (cpgb)

 

[SpineyNorman]

lol

 

[Balbi]

But what about the CPGB's toilet habits eh?

 

[DaveCinzano]

But what about the CPGB's toilet habits eh?

Towards a daily log

 

[emanymton]

Thanks for that DU. It puts things into a much clearer context than the Weekly Worker piece. Looks like there's going to be quite a barney at the conference this year, over whether or not a certain CC member is a wrong'un. There was a bit in one of the IBs saying that a bunch of people were going to appeal the dispute's commission decision on that case at conference, so now there's that and the appeal from these expulsions to go through.

Allegations of sexual misconduct are often pretty explosive in left organisations.

Yes the unease about xx (there I have named the CC member involved) is the background to this I think. I have meet Paris a coupe of times and was a little surprised he remained a member so there is nothing new about his opposition to the SWP leadership to explain this expulsion. This is about the SWP CC trying (and failing it would seem) to cover its arse and get rid of xx as quietly as they can. I missed my chance to find out more of what was going on this week as I was going to go out for a meal with a friend who is in the SWP and a mate of Paris, but I couldn't make it in the end.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

As I understand it from someone late of this Parish, a "Democratic Opposition" factional document has now been circulated in the SWP, with some 50 or 60 signatories.

 

[SpineyNorman]

This seems to be pretty serious - almost certainly a split coming up if what I heard last night is anything to go by.

 

[Red Storm]

This seems to be pretty serious - almost certainly a split coming up if what I heard last night is anything to go by.

What did ya hear?

 

[JHE]

Yes the unease about Martin Smith (there I have named the CC member involved) is the background to this I think.

What are/were the accusations against Martin Smith?

 

[The39thStep]

Persistent wearing of Fred Perry shirts

 

[Cornetto]

I went for a pint with Paris the other night, they all want back in the SWP and are working towards that.

 

[butchersapron]

They can want what they like. Have they learnt nothing about how it works yet? If allowed back in after requisite grovelling you are going to have to leave because you'll be isolated, placed under attack, accused of not grasping the new perspective, of further secret factionalising and so on - possibly in the way that they did to previous dissidents.