05.05.2010

Unity on the agenda?

Bob Davies stirs discussion at a Tusc meeting

About 25 people attended the May 4 Tusc meeting in Swansea, including eight from the Socialist Party in England and Wales, two Socialist Workers Party comrades and one lone comrade from the Morning Star’s Communist Party of Britain.

Rob Williams (Swansea West candidate and SPEW) spoke of the need to militantly defend working class rights, etc, etc. But noticeably his speech did not include any political (as opposed to trade union-type) demands apart from the need to counter the myth of immigrants taking jobs and the need to support the right of asylum and right of individuals to cross borders to find work (this came in response to a question about immigration from an ‘ordinary worker’ from the floor).

My own intervention was on the question of left unity, which is virtually non-existent at the moment. I asked comrades to think about the basis for such unity - within a broad, mini-Labour Party or a Marxist formation? In that contest, how should Tusc develop post-May 6? And how could we achieve such unity if groups like the CPGB are excluded?

Much discussion was subsequently (and somewhat to my surprise) based on this question. Most agreed on the need for unity, but their commitment to work for it as an immediate and serious task was questionable. An SWP comrade, for example, said that left unity is likely to take place only when the “working class moves” and the current demoralisation is replaced by a rise in confidence.

SPEW comrades argued that unity is needed, “of course”, but must be genuine, not “false”. How can we have unity with people who call for a blanket vote for Labour, for example? (I am not sure who this referred to). A leading comrade argued for a programme for unity that would defend workers’ rights in the areas of education, housing, pensions, jobs, employment, etc - as “old Labour did”. Beautiful. There was also a commitment voiced by SPEWers for a “thorough post mortem” on Tusc with the aim of building on the coalition as a step towards the future mass socialist party workers need.

An SWP comrade approached me afterwards and said the left really needs to get over its petty divisions and unite. Some SWPers also thought it would be a good idea to discuss left unity locally amongst the organisations involved in campaigning over the past four to five weeks.