07.03.1996

Lewisham debates Scargill constitution

The first public meeting of Lewisham Socialist Alliance, held last Thursday, was very successful. Over 50 attended the debate on ‘The need for a Socialist Labour Party’. Most encouragingly, there were supporters from a wide spectrum of political organisations at the meeting.

The opening speaker was Ian Page, a Militant Labour councillor who was expelled from the Labour Party. He outlined the disgust leftwing militants inside the Labour Party and the trade unions felt at Tony Blair’s stampede to the right, made obvious by its support for a so-called ‘stakeholding’ economy.

Ian also mentioned the disappointment, if not anger, felt by leftwing militants and revolutionaries when Scargill produced his draft constitution, which seemed purely designed to exclude the revolutionary left.

This produced an intervention from Terry Dunn, a member of the SLP steering committee. He insisted that “political organisations” would not be barred from joining the SLP - only political “parties”.

This did not convince everybody. Terry let the cat out the bag a bit later, however, when he expressed the fear that the left would use the SLP as an opportunity to go on a “fishing raid” - ie, grab a few more members.

Another leading SLPer, Nick Long, was more explicit. He argued that leftwingers should leave their “baggage” behind if they joined the SLP and leave their former organisations. If members of the Labour Party, such as himself, could do so then why could not members of leftwing organisations?

This ‘leftophobic’ stance was strongly criticised. Comrade Mick from ML argued that leftwing groups and organisations should join openly, retaining full factional rights, citing Communist Refoundation in Italy as a positive example. Speakers from the CPGB and the International Socialist Group argued that the draconian constitution should be fought. This, the CPGB speakers maintained, can only be done within the SLP.

The general consensus of the meeting was that leftwing militants would be able to “live with” the constitution - indeed, they must not become “obsessed” by it. We should unite around certain policies and objectives, and get involved in local struggles and strikes.

Danny Hammill