Were you recruited to the Left? Have you recruited people to the Left? Is it even possible to be "recruited" to the Left?

[8ball]

Born in a left wing household, my Mum was briefly a Labour councillor. Joined the Labour Party at 18 and stayed a decade, through the Bennite/democracy battles. Began to see the limits of all that and left and then did very little due to health issues for a decade or more. From there. belatedly sussed out I was an anarchist, though I've only been in local groups on and off since then (plus local anti-cuts stuff, union rep etc.).

Only time anyone has tried to recruit me - I take 'recruited' to mean something you can't just walk in off the street to - was Militant, at the time of the Miner's strike. It was the time of entryism and I knew the local Militant lot from the local Labour Party. They were so keen to get me, not sure why, that they got their regional organiser down to a meeting at someone's house for the purpose. I'd acted with them when it came to various things in the local Labour Party, but knew I would never join a party that denied it's own existence, ran centrally, was boring as fuck - trots basically.

They sold it to me that it was a secret organisation and that they'd have to deny we'd even had this meeting if I mentioned it to anyone outside the room. I was also told I'd be well up in the branch because I'd read stuff (I was doing an MA in politics at the time), even to the point of saying 'you'll be above x and y'. Couldn't have been a worse sales pitch. Hierarchical, conspiratorial and centralised. Yuk

Sounds quite exciting and secret agent-y, though.

 

[Wilf]

Sounds quite exciting and secret agent-y, though.

Not quite Philby, Burgess and McLean. More 'we've got this thing that involves hours of paper sales, years and years of parroting some tedious line at meetings and the death of your social life. Wanna join?'

 

[8ball]

Not quite Philby, Burgess and McLean. More 'we've got this thing that involves hours of paper sales, years and years of parroting some tedious line at meetings and the death of your social life. Wanna join?'

Not even an invisible car.

 

[Wilf]

Not even an invisible car.

A Workers Invisible Car, erm... affordable public transport.

 

[Serge Forward]

Sounds quite exciting and secret agent-y, though.

I wonder if they had special miniaturised gadgets.

 

[The39thStep]

Born in a left wing household, my Mum was briefly a Labour councillor. Joined the Labour Party at 18 and stayed a decade, through the Bennite/democracy battles. Began to see the limits of all that and left and then did very little due to health issues for a decade or more. From there. belatedly sussed out I was an anarchist, though I've only been in local groups on and off since then (plus local anti-cuts stuff, union rep etc.).

Only time anyone has tried to recruit me - I take 'recruited' to mean something you can't just walk in off the street to - was Militant, at the time of the Miner's strike. It was the time of entryism and I knew the local Militant lot from the local Labour Party. They were so keen to get me, not sure why, that they got their regional organiser down to a meeting at someone's house for the purpose. I'd acted with them when it came to various things in the local Labour Party, but knew I would never join a party that denied it's own existence, ran centrally, was boring as fuck - trots basically.

They sold it to me that it was a secret organisation and that they'd have to deny we'd even had this meeting if I mentioned it to anyone outside the room. I was also told I'd be well up in the branch because I'd read stuff (I was doing an MA in politics at the time), even to the point of saying 'you'll be above x and y'. Couldn't have been a worse sales pitch. Hierarchical, conspiratorial and centralised. Yuk

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have to learn to speak in a scouse accent at meetings ?

 

[Wilf]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have to learn to speak in a scouse accent at meetings ?

And the choppy hand gestures, don't forget the Ted Grant gestures comrade!

 

[newme]

what left?

 

[Wilf]

And the choppy hand gestures, don't forget the Ted Grant gestures comrade!

Or was Peter Taafe the choppy feller?

 

[8ball]

I wonder if they had special miniaturised gadgets.

They could elicit sympathy from the most hard-nosed capitalist shill with their tiny violin.

 

[8ball]

A Workers Invisible Car, erm... affordable public transport.

Well, I’ve never seen one.

 

[Serge Forward]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have to learn to speak in a scouse accent at meetings

In the mid 80s I bumped into a Glasgow member of Militant living in the Stoke area. I hadn't seen her for a couple of years, so imagine my surprise to find that she had developed a scouse accent

 

[Wilf]

Well, I’ve never seen one.

Ah well, clearly never a member. Corbyn's got one, but the silly bastard just uses it to store his marrows.

 

[The39thStep]

In the mid 80s I bumped into a Glasgow member of Militant living in the Stoke area. I hadn't seen for a couple of years, so imagine my surprise to find that she had developed a scouse accent

Even their Manchester members would stray into it . Hardly came across them in North West London though .

 

[PTK]

Well, I’ve never seen one.

You should be able to see the petrol, because the petrol would not be invisible.

 

[8ball]

You should be able to see the petrol, because the petrol would not be invisible.

It doesn’t run on petrol - it’s a Workers car.

 

[PTK]

"YOU are at a meeting, and someone with a fake Liverpool accent makes a speech demanding the nationalisation of the principle 253 monopolies.

Well, what’s wrong with that? Why is everyone groaning?

You’ll soon see. Half a dozen other people stand up and make the same speech, with the same fake accent and the same curious hand-movements. Are they clones? No, you have just met the Militant – the largest organised group on the British left. Militant’s theory is simple. The working class needs a programme. The revolutionary party’s job is to elaborate the programme and go out and win converts to it. So, for example, the basic weaknesses of the Wilson/Callaghan governments were their lack of such a programme."

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

www.marxists.org

 

[Wilf]

You should be able to see the petrol, because the petrol would not be invisible.

That's like saying 'that invisible man feller was always visible, you could see his blood'.

 

[Wilf]

"YOU are at a meeting, and someone with a fake Liverpool accent makes a speech demanding the nationalisation of the principle 253 monopolies.

Well, what’s wrong with that? Why is everyone groaning?

You’ll soon see. Half a dozen other people stand up and make the same speech, with the same fake accent and the same curious hand-movements. Are they clones? No, you have just met the Militant – the largest organised group on the British left. Militant’s theory is simple. The working class needs a programme. The revolutionary party’s job is to elaborate the programme and go out and win converts to it. So, for example, the basic weaknesses of the Wilson/Callaghan governments were their lack of such a programme."

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

www.marxists.org

That 'top 200 monopolies' line, or whatever it was - often wondered whether HQ kept an eye on the Financial Times to see if there'd been any mergers or takeovers:

'Quick, tell the drones, it's now 'Top 199 monopolies'. We don't want to lose credibility with the working class using out of date information!'

 

[PTK]

That's like saying 'that invisible man feller was always visible, you could see his blood'.

No, you would not be able to see blood in the blood vessels of the Invisible Man, but you would be able to see the food that that he consumed after becoming invisible, for the food was not present when the magic potion or ray or whatever acted on his body to make him invisible.

He would be unable to see anything, of course, because the light would pass through his invisible eyes without interacting with his retinas.
Being recruited by a left group is a bit like being “chatted up”, and the process by which one comes to like a particular group is bit like “falling in love”, as features that you previously found odd or ugly begin to seem loveable.

 

[Wilf]

Being recruited by a left group is a bit like being “chatted up”, and the process by which one comes to like a particular group is bit like “falling in love”, as features that you previously found odd or ugly begin to seem loveable.

Think I must have been around the wrong kind of groups. I've always found initial meetings with new comrades to be an early airing of the character traits that will eventually lead to separation. Oh and booze.

 

[The39thStep]

That 'top 200 monopolies' line, or whatever it was - often wondered whether HQ kept an eye on the Financial Times to see if there'd been any mergers or takeovers:

'Quick, tell the drones, it's now 'Top 199 monopolies'. We don't want to lose credibility with the working class using out of date information!'

I was in a pub in South London with some mates and Hatton and a few of their lads came in so obviously had a chat . Hatton was a cocky cunt , some sort of youth worker at the time, but give him his due he bought a round when pressed .

 

[The39thStep]

"YOU are at a meeting, and someone with a fake Liverpool accent makes a speech demanding the nationalisation of the principle 253 monopolies.

Well, what’s wrong with that? Why is everyone groaning?

You’ll soon see. Half a dozen other people stand up and make the same speech, with the same fake accent and the same curious hand-movements. Are they clones? No, you have just met the Militant – the largest organised group on the British left. Militant’s theory is simple. The working class needs a programme. The revolutionary party’s job is to elaborate the programme and go out and win converts to it. So, for example, the basic weaknesses of the Wilson/Callaghan governments were their lack of such a programme."

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

www.marxists.org

Don’t forget that Labour is the party of the working class

 

[PTK]

Think I must have been around the wrong kind of groups. I've always found initial meetings with new comrades to be an early airing of the character traits that will eventually lead to separation. Oh and booze.

Since I was in my 20s (I am in my 60s now) I have been aware of the psychological factors that lead to people joining particular groups. Yes, sometimes someone will join because they agree with that group’s stance on the Korean War, or the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but often it is because they find a rapport with the people in the group. I would notice that a certain kind of person would be more likely to join the SWP, and a different kind to join Militant, and the same applied to other groups. Another factor being that the group someone joined was the often first group they came across, and perhaps was the only left group in the town in which they lived.

People who felt like outsiders were perhaps more likely to join more “outside” (or “wacky”) groups

 

[redcogs]

my journey slightly embarrassing. i found the growing counter culture of the 60s attractive. Began reading Oz, IT, NME (when you could get a free copy if you sent in a slip!). Always found John Lennon in his left phase stimulating and hated how he and Yoko were persecuted for making peace demands. Got a hospital job where i met a former professional footballer (who originated in the socialist Clyde Valley), we became great pals. He was a workplace militant (and my shop steward) of the first order - taught me loads. i got sacked for giving manager lip, which fucked me off no end. Encountered hippy types selling Socialist Worker and really began to obsessively read it. Attended a few IS meetings. Then Tony Cliff did a local public meeting, and i was cornered by him after his speech, which i had found to be very funny. He told me i should join. i had doubts because the comrades were mostly university posh types, and i wasn't, but Cliff could be persuasive so i surrendered. i spose i was a push over, but that period was culturally and politically quite exciting and i was naturally optimistic. i learned a lot looking back.

 

[Serge Forward]

"YOU are at a meeting, and someone with a fake Liverpool accent makes a speech demanding the nationalisation of the principle 253 monopolies.

Well, what’s wrong with that? Why is everyone groaning?

You’ll soon see. Half a dozen other people stand up and make the same speech, with the same fake accent and the same curious hand-movements. Are they clones? No, you have just met the Militant – the largest organised group on the British left. Militant’s theory is simple. The working class needs a programme. The revolutionary party’s job is to elaborate the programme and go out and win converts to it. So, for example, the basic weaknesses of the Wilson/Callaghan governments were their lack of such a programme."

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

John Sullivan: Go Fourth and Multiply (Part 1)

www.marxists.org

That was a great left-trainspotting pamphlet. I think I still have a copy somewhere.

Anyway, on the whole "nationalise the top 200 monopolies" slogan, I think it was Workers' Playtime (or it could have been Xtra) that took the piss with a "nationalise the top 200 fish and chip shops" headline

 

[The39thStep]

my journey slightly embarrassing. i found the growing counter culture of the 60s attractive. Began reading Oz, IT, NME (when you could get a free copy if you sent in a slip!). Always found John Lennon in his left phase stimulating and hated how he and Yoko were persecuted for making peace demands. Got a hospital job where i met a former professional footballer (who originated in the socialist Clyde Valley), we became great pals. He was a workplace militant (and my shop steward) of the first order - taught me loads. i got sacked for giving manager lip, which fucked me off no end. Encountered hippy types selling Socialist Worker and really began to obsessively read it. Attended a few IS meetings. Then Tony Cliff did a local public meeting, and i was cornered by him after his speech, which i had found to be very funny. He told me i should join. i had doubts because the comrades were mostly university posh types, and i wasn't, but Cliff could be persuasive so i surrendered. i spose i was a push over, but that period was culturally and politically quite exciting and i was naturally optimistic. i learned a lot looking back.

Cliff was very very persuasive but to be fair before they modelled themselves entirely on the Bolsheviks the IS was far more eclectic and diverse .

 

[A380]

Not quite Philby, Burgess and McLean. More 'we've got this thing that involves hours of paper sales, years and years of parroting some tedious line at meetings and the death of your social life. Wanna join?'

I was in Militant for about six months. Gave Ted Grant a lift home once. Got chucked out, those two things were not related.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I was in Militant for about six months

I was involved in it for a bit as a teenager but don't recall if I ever actually joined. Remember going to some conference thing in London and singing the red flag, and sleeping in some community hall thing after getting pissed in the evening. Turns out sleeping on a wooden stage isn't the most comfortable night even when drunk.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

God no. I was drawn to it because mainstream politics isn't written in the favour of workers.