SWP expulsions and squabbles
- Thread starter Nigel Irritable
- Start date
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
Send them an angry note.
discokermit
Well-Known Member
"our total membership now stands at 7,180"
loooool!
loooool!
comrade spurski
Well-Known Member
being a sad bastard I actually read the membership figures on page 21...
the membership of the SWP is 7180 members at the present moment...out of these 2147 pay subscriptions...30%ish
How can you be a member if you don't pay subscriptions?????????
the membership of the SWP is 7180 members at the present moment...out of these 2147 pay subscriptions...30%ish
How can you be a member if you don't pay subscriptions?????????
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
because, well, y'know, stuff.
emanymton
A cat politely sat on the flaming gardener.
Just because they don't pay subscriptions doesn't mean they don't consider themselves a member, they might never have been asked.
Last time I tried to see them they told me they would set their dog on me if they ever saw me again.
But you can't write anyone off, they were once heard to mutter that racism might be a bad thin and then got pressured into signing a bit of paper they knew nothing about, which makes them prime SWP material.
Arghhhh
Last time I tried to see them they told me they would set their dog on me if they ever saw me again.
But you can't write anyone off, they were once heard to mutter that racism might be a bad thin and then got pressured into signing a bit of paper they knew nothing about, which makes them prime SWP material.
Arghhhh
barney_pig
Po-cha-na-quar-hip
"The document from Leeds in IB1 tells us “Leeds District began 2013 with 201 reg- istered members in the five branches. As a result of systematic contacting we cur- rently have 73 plus 12-15 who are likely to reregister making a max of about 88.” The author therefore tell us that the district’s efforts have managed to strip more than half the membership off the lists. We don’t believe this is a valid approach.
Some comrades think the only real members are those who pay subs. Of course we do want to have a serious effort to get everyone to pay something. Money is a political marker of identification with our organisation - and without it we could do very little. There are always a number of delegates to conference who arrive not paying subs. ...
It’s a problem if comrades risk removing from our lists people who consider them- selves members or might still be interested in the party."
Some comrades think the only real members are those who pay subs. Of course we do want to have a serious effort to get everyone to pay something. Money is a political marker of identification with our organisation - and without it we could do very little. There are always a number of delegates to conference who arrive not paying subs. ...
It’s a problem if comrades risk removing from our lists people who consider them- selves members or might still be interested in the party."
comrade spurski
Well-Known Member
I seriously don't get it...
You can't write in the bulletin unless you pay your subs
You can't vote in internal swp elections (for CC etc.) unless you pay your subs
You can't go to conference unless you pay your subs
....
But you can be a member if you don't pay your subs?????
completely mad and dishonest ...
You can't write in the bulletin unless you pay your subs
You can't vote in internal swp elections (for CC etc.) unless you pay your subs
You can't go to conference unless you pay your subs
....
But you can be a member if you don't pay your subs?????
completely mad and dishonest ...
discokermit
Well-Known Member
amazing. when i was in, our branch didn't consider anyone who wasn't active a member, never mind whether they paid subs or not.
discokermit
Well-Known Member
funny to see the prof/kimber destroy rmp3's stupid diana bullshit. referencing zetkin.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
but you can! several do each year apparently
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
Birchall does more-Cliffite-than-thou very competently. He also has a very nice way of sounding measured while he twists a knife.
emanymton
A cat politely sat on the flaming gardener.
I have no idea if this person ever paid subs or not. But at once conference I went to there was a student delegate who had joined at freshers, as the conference was in Oct or Nov she can't have been a member for much over a month. She also got elected to the national committee, for as far as I could tell for no other reason than simply being a student at a posh uni. I didn't know her at all, but I had a five minute chat with her on the way back and it was immediately obvious to be that there was no way she would stay in the SWP longer than a few months. I was wrong though I think it was about 2 weeks latter she quit and declared herself an anarchist.
I think that was actually my last SWP conference, come to think of it.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
"Yet after this disastrous year all eleven CC members are putting themselves forwardfor re-election. (Even the England cricket team makes one or two changes after a particularly humiliating defeat.)"
marvellous.
Jonathon Neale puts the boot in rather more bluntly further in. Somewhat vicious against the Leatherettes
discokermit
Well-Known Member
it's sharpening up a bit. the opposition seem to be fighting, now. but is it too little, too late?
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
almost definitely, but it'll be interesting to see how many they pull with them
Oisin123
So Much for Subtlety
Well, I think overall things look bleak. Just because you have eyes doesn't mean you can see and, alas, it seems like the centre of gravity lies with the: 'let's just get on with building the party' type. They will take the lines fed them from Alex and soothe over their doubts. Especially if they see light at the end of the tunnel in the hope that by concentrating on the bedroom tax and anti-racism they can build up their branch. For such members, there probably is a feeling that the CC made mistakes: it's hard to deny the ring of truth in the gritty detail supplied by Hannah and Viv. But they want to move on, and do so in the manner that they've become used to over the past decades. What this kind of member doesn't appreciate yet is how hard it will be in the future to develop the kind of periphery the SWP are used to working with. Telling potential allies who are concerned that the SWP might be rape apologists that the real problem was 'movementism' is going to sound appalling. The middle ground don't see it at the moment, but they are heading for a long cold twilight of political activity, with annual bracing conferences (we grew again, even though our paid membership dropped) filled with chirpy contributions from members in small towns who 'got out there' and showed the possibilities.
There is still time for a twist or two in the story and one dynamic that might change things is that the more rabid supporters of MS might go in search of mass expulsions and even attempt his rehabilitation. In other words, they might inadvertently create what the opposition need, a very specific demand that has the leverage to unseat the CC. Pat's motion is closest to this. From his opening piece it seems that Alex is going to resist the demand that an apology be written to the two women and that position carries risks, because the middle ground won't be so unyielding on that idea.
There is still time for a twist or two in the story and one dynamic that might change things is that the more rabid supporters of MS might go in search of mass expulsions and even attempt his rehabilitation. In other words, they might inadvertently create what the opposition need, a very specific demand that has the leverage to unseat the CC. Pat's motion is closest to this. From his opening piece it seems that Alex is going to resist the demand that an apology be written to the two women and that position carries risks, because the middle ground won't be so unyielding on that idea.
The view of the original complainant has largely been absent in this discussion. I came across this on facebook, from an apparent supporter:
"We believe comrades should know the position of comrade W: she has been severely damaged by the mishandling of the case and the fallout which followed. She came forward to the CC and DC trusting that her organisation would behave in a principled fashion. She has been hounded, isolated and ostracised. As a result, she has left the SWP and feels she has no choice but to leave the city she lives and studies in because she cannot bear constantly seeing or being afraid of seeing the comrades who have played a role in making her life so difficult."
https://www.facebook.com/stretchouttime/posts/10151639041881986
People keep saying that SWP loyalists are rape apologists. I always felt that this was unfair. They should be called rape facilitators because it is their behavour which allows rapists to believe they'll get away with it (as they usually do).
"We believe comrades should know the position of comrade W: she has been severely damaged by the mishandling of the case and the fallout which followed. She came forward to the CC and DC trusting that her organisation would behave in a principled fashion. She has been hounded, isolated and ostracised. As a result, she has left the SWP and feels she has no choice but to leave the city she lives and studies in because she cannot bear constantly seeing or being afraid of seeing the comrades who have played a role in making her life so difficult."
https://www.facebook.com/stretchouttime/posts/10151639041881986
People keep saying that SWP loyalists are rape apologists. I always felt that this was unfair. They should be called rape facilitators because it is their behavour which allows rapists to believe they'll get away with it (as they usually do).
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butchersapron
Bring back hanging
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
that's the one
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
I wonder if these emails that just happened to end up in kimber's possession will be brought up at conference. I don't think similar examples of private emails or discussions by the face-book expelees ending up in the CC's hand were every looked into seriously.
tedsplitter
Well-Known Member
“How very dare you! We strenuously deny these outrageous claims that we would hack into someone’s email / facebook. Here’s some selective quotations to imply they were a wrong un anyway” usually does the trick.
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
Between the pieces from Hannah Dee, J Neale and Simon, Viv and Rita, we are really given a much more detailed view of what went on, at least from the point of view of the leadership's critics. It doesn't make for comfortable reading. In fact it's grim stuff. I wonder if those accounts will have any resonance with people who had been loyalists up to now.
Oisin123
So Much for Subtlety
Well BB?
taffboy gwyrdd
Embrace the confusion!
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
A bit patronising coming from someone who signed up to the Rees /German outfit.
Idris2002
Christmas Eve, you know?
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