PTK
Paul Kegan
Yes, it is not good to blame others for not supporting you.
As for people who split from the Labour Party.
There are two kinds of left-wing departures, in my experience, which we may call negative or positive. For some, their split from the Labour Party (or any other left-wing party) is part of a process of disillusionment to leads to them becoming politically inactive, where for others it enthuses them. For the former, difficulties faced by the new political group can be the straws that break the back of their political commitment.
In a wider perspective, internationally, and historically, splits that occur as a result of an upsurge in political struggle go on to prosper, where those that come simply from disgust at a right-ward drift and betrayal do not prosper.
Why did the Socialist Labour Party of Arthur Scargill not receive more support than it did when it was founded? Scargill was actually an undemocratic Stalinist, but from a distance his politics looked good to many people, but they felt no urgent need to join. There was no ongoing struggle that enthused masses of people, of which the SLP was an expression, with large numbers of people desperate to become involved.
The SLP was born, not from successful struggles, but from defeat. It was formed (in a top-down way, of course) in reaction to the abandonment of the old Clause IV part 4 of the Labour Party Rule Book, which had stated that the party was committed to the common ownership of the means of production. It was formed in reaction to that defeat, and in a period of wider defeats for the working class and left-wing ideas. The defeat of the 1984-85 miners strike, and the triumph of neo-liberal capitalism and discredit of what was seen to be socialism.
The same applies to the Socialist Alliance. The Socialist Alliance could have built on the mass support for the movement against the Iraq war, but the SWP decided to keep it under wraps during those protests, as their conception was that it should only be rolled out at elections, with little activity between elections. The SWP then junked the Socialist Alliance in favour of forming a “get rich quick” scheme with George Galloway, called Respect. Respect did have some success, and the reason it did so was that it built on the mobilisation against the Iraq war.
What was wrong with Respect? How do you know that any new group is not going to have similar problems?
The key thing is to clearly define what any new party stands for, and to ensure that its elected Councillors and/or MPs adhere to that policy. There needs to be a clause stating that if any elected official does not follow party policy, then they are expelled.
As for people who split from the Labour Party.
There are two kinds of left-wing departures, in my experience, which we may call negative or positive. For some, their split from the Labour Party (or any other left-wing party) is part of a process of disillusionment to leads to them becoming politically inactive, where for others it enthuses them. For the former, difficulties faced by the new political group can be the straws that break the back of their political commitment.
In a wider perspective, internationally, and historically, splits that occur as a result of an upsurge in political struggle go on to prosper, where those that come simply from disgust at a right-ward drift and betrayal do not prosper.
Why did the Socialist Labour Party of Arthur Scargill not receive more support than it did when it was founded? Scargill was actually an undemocratic Stalinist, but from a distance his politics looked good to many people, but they felt no urgent need to join. There was no ongoing struggle that enthused masses of people, of which the SLP was an expression, with large numbers of people desperate to become involved.
The SLP was born, not from successful struggles, but from defeat. It was formed (in a top-down way, of course) in reaction to the abandonment of the old Clause IV part 4 of the Labour Party Rule Book, which had stated that the party was committed to the common ownership of the means of production. It was formed in reaction to that defeat, and in a period of wider defeats for the working class and left-wing ideas. The defeat of the 1984-85 miners strike, and the triumph of neo-liberal capitalism and discredit of what was seen to be socialism.
The same applies to the Socialist Alliance. The Socialist Alliance could have built on the mass support for the movement against the Iraq war, but the SWP decided to keep it under wraps during those protests, as their conception was that it should only be rolled out at elections, with little activity between elections. The SWP then junked the Socialist Alliance in favour of forming a “get rich quick” scheme with George Galloway, called Respect. Respect did have some success, and the reason it did so was that it built on the mobilisation against the Iraq war.
What was wrong with Respect? How do you know that any new group is not going to have similar problems?
The key thing is to clearly define what any new party stands for, and to ensure that its elected Councillors and/or MPs adhere to that policy. There needs to be a clause stating that if any elected official does not follow party policy, then they are expelled.
