SWP expulsions and squabbles

[gamerunknown]

I wouldn't defend domestic violence but nothing has yet been proven, or is a court of law a bourgeoisie concept?

Charges are made in fewer than 50% of domestic abuse cases brought to the police (data for 2013, page 98).

 

[SpackleFrog]

Not sure if this is the right place for the link below (and if not, apologies), but the Hedley issue does pop up regularly on this thread:
http://www.janinebooth.com/node/206#.VRrGokG6p4E.facebook

I think it's a bit weird Janine wants to publically answer this but nothing else in relation to the whole episode. She's an AWL member with genuine influence in the RMT so she must know at least something of the rationale for them taking no action against Hedley, but she's neither raised any criticism of their handling of the case or of the AWL for writing the speculation pieces.

Mind, I took a look at that bloody Safer Spaces Exposed blog and maybe you can't blame people for not wanting to get involved... Ugh.

 

[Nigel]

Lol
Do any of these people go to Clapton F.C. to watch the lousy football,or just get involved in lefty bun fights & slagging matches !

 

[SpackleFrog]

I don't know if this is where this goes but that prat Hedley is now linking to the aforementioned sickening Safer Spaces Exposed.

E2A on Facebook I mean.

 

[SpackleFrog]

This could potentially warrant its own thread I guess but I feel its better off stuck in here:

https://peacetothecottageswaronthepalaces.wordpress.com/

 

[Trotsky007]

This is very familiar territory to an ex-swp member. I hope the people involved stay strong and find a political home that is more open and less dogmatic. Something like RS21 perhaps.

 

[Plumdaff]

Can anyone tell me what's happened to the ISN? Have they all joined rs21 /Green Party then?

 

[The39thStep]

Charges are made in fewer than 50% of domestic abuse cases brought to the police (data for 2013, page 98).

what is the biggest reason for not charging?

 

[J Ed]

This could potentially warrant its own thread I guess but I feel its better off stuck in here:

https://peacetothecottageswaronthepalaces.wordpress.com/

This is certainly true of the full-timers, where not a single full-timer in the past five years has been elected that has not been privately educated

Wow, you even need a private education to be a Trot these days

 

[DotCommunist]

Wow, you even need a private education to be a Trot these days

Trotsky himself was a man schooled so weren't he? I seem to remember reading of legal training..

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Can anyone tell me what's happened to the ISN? Have they all joined rs21 /Green Party then?

The ISN is dead. They may be having one last meeting or they may not, but either way it's being wound up. As always in such circumstances, most of the nominal members will drift off into inactivity or single issue or union activism. Of the ones who were still active at the end, some have moved to RS21, some to Left Unity, some to the Greens. Ironically, the small number signing up for the Greens tend to come from the wing which was more "left wing" and sceptical in its approach to Left Unity.

It seems like a pretty demoralised milieu, having been through a major split, a failed courtship process, another smaller split that may have been the stupidest in the history of the left and now the death of their group.

 

[SpackleFrog]

This is very familiar territory to an ex-swp member. I hope the people involved stay strong and find a political home that is more open and less dogmatic. Something like RS21 perhaps.

Oh dear. Is your little group of social democrats so desperate you want a handful of nouveau Stalinista's to swell the ranks?

 

[SpackleFrog]

Wow, you even need a private education to be a Trot these days

That bit did freak me out somewhat. They can't all be can they?

I've only recently met Socialist Appeal, as they have a group at Shef Uni of late - things must be bad if every full timer is private school educated.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

I've only recently met Socialist Appeal, as they have a group at Shef Uni of late - things must be bad if every full timer is private school educated.

Sample size of "fulltimers hired in the last five years" in a group the size of Socialist Appeal can't be very big.

 

[gamerunknown]

what is the biggest reason for not charging?

Well, according to the document I posted, 46% of those indicating they were victims on an online survey didn't report it to the police. 30% of those claimed their reason was lack of confidence in the police.

The document also notes the following:

... in some cases, officers are more inclined to caution (which counts as a detection) because force performance management systems measure success in terms of the numbers of detections achieved. A simple caution can be seen by officers as a quicker and easier route to achieving a detection

 

[belboid]

Can anyone tell me what's happened to the ISN? Have they all joined rs21 /Green Party then?

There's still a national members meeting to decide, but everyone is talking of it as 'the last national members meeting.' It's not quite a complete foregone conclusion, but Tranmere have a better hope of survival at the moment than the ISN does.

Those joining the Greens do, as Nigel says, seem to be the 'leftists' mostly - I can only assume it's because they want to stay active in n organisation bigger than a couple of hundred people.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

Oh dear. Is your little group of social democrats so desperate you want a handful of nouveau Stalinista's to swell the ranks?

Now I've seen enough posts by you to know you're not a mental - but I hope you realise what this post makes you and your politics look like

 

[SpackleFrog]

Now I've seen enough posts by you to know you're not a mental - but I hope you realise what this post makes you and your politics look like

Oooh, touche!

All I've seen from RS21 so far (and to be fair to them I haven't really looked) has been graphs and charts telling people whether to vote Labour or Green. Curiously the SNP don't get a shout out which seems harsh.

We're not Social Democrats, it's a transitional blah blah blah...

 

[The39thStep]

Well, according to the document I posted, 46% of those indicating they were victims on an online survey didn't report it to the police. 30% of those claimed their reason was lack of confidence in the police.

The document also notes the following:

Thanks , do any of these apply to the Hedley case ?

 

[gamerunknown]

Thanks , do any of these apply to the Hedley case ?

No, as Caroline Leneghan eventually did contact the police. However, the document also notes that those bringing allegations also face counter-accusations, which is something Caroline did face. The reason I referred to low conviction rates is to demonstrate that there is plenty of domestic violence occurring that isn't “proven” in court and that distrust of justice administered by the state is well-founded.

 

[The39thStep]

No, as Caroline Leneghan eventually did contact the police. However, the document also notes that those bringing allegations also face counter-accusations, which is something Caroline did face. The reason I referred to low conviction rates is to demonstrate that there is plenty of domestic violence occurring that isn't “proven” in court and that distrust of justice administered by the state is well-founded.

I take your point in your last sentence but neither of the main reasons explaining the low conviction rate apply in the SH case. Further both an enquiry by the trade union ( which included rank and file members) of which both CL and SH were members of said there was no case to answer

 

[gamerunknown]

True, though there is a faction within the RMT that maintains that Steve Hedley has a case to answer (here).

 

[Das Uberdog]

The ISN is dead. They may be having one last meeting or they may not, but either way it's being wound up. As always in such circumstances, most of the nominal members will drift off into inactivity or single issue or union activism. Of the ones who were still active at the end, some have moved to RS21, some to Left Unity, some to the Greens. Ironically, the small number signing up for the Greens tend to come from the wing which was more "left wing" and sceptical in its approach to Left Unity.

It seems like a pretty demoralised milieu, having been through a major split, a failed courtship process, another smaller split that may have been the stupidest in the history of the left and now the death of their group.

just for posterity...

 

[SpackleFrog]

True, though there is a faction within the RMT that maintains that Steve Hedley has a case to answer (here).

No there isn't - that's been debunked.

 

[gamerunknown]

No there isn't - that's been debunked.

Where?

 

[SpackleFrog]

Can't remember - link you posted is over two years old. Point is Littlechild deliberately misquoted the police report which made the whole thing look a bit suspect.

Why did you say "there is a faction" and then refer to an article by an individual by the way?

 

[gamerunknown]

It's presumably illustrative of some kind of broader dissent (Caroline Leneghan was a member, after all), though perhaps all have left.

The "misquote" was included in context in the commentary underneath the article.

 

[SpackleFrog]

It's presumably illustrative of some kind of broader dissent (Caroline Leneghan was a member, after all), though perhaps all have left.

The "misquote" was included in context in the commentary underneath the article.

It's her rep, not a faction.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

Can't remember - link you posted is over two years old. Point is Littlechild deliberately misquoted the police report which made the whole thing look a bit suspect.

I know AL a a bit and dont believe he would deliberately misquote a police report that's all I can say for sure on the whole thing

 

[SpackleFrog]

I know AL a a bit and dont believe he would deliberately misquote a police report that's all I can say for sure on the whole thing

Fair enough. I don't know them but I have seen the police report.