31.10.1996

Potential mass party

SLP branch reports

North London’s SLP rally at the Camden Irish Centre on October 16 clearly demonstrated the potentialof this still very new party to become mass. More than 200 people came to hear Arthur Scargill address the meeting. As Scargill himself said, the turnout was not unusual; indeed, it has become the norm for him to address packed meeting rooms up and down Britain.

Patrick Sikorski, the SLP’s general secretary, spoke first at the meeting. He denounced New Labour as nothing more than a “radical liberal party” (at best). Sikorski went on to declare the SLP’s support for “all-inclusive peace talks”, as part of the struggle for a “peaceful resolution” of the Irish question. This position, of course, is not without its problems, as “all-inclusive peace talks” is an outcome which the imperialist British state also desires - in order for it to negate the revolutionary struggle entirely.

Interestingly, Sikorski pledged to double the pension, introduce a minimum wage of £185 a week and build one million new homes. Unfortunately, he left unexplained exactly how this was going to come about - through parliamentary legislation or by ‘extra-parliamentary’ means?

Comrade Scargill carried on these themes, stressing on a number of occasions that the SLP was an extra-parliamentary party - a sentiment the audience obviously identified with. In fact, comrade Scargill began his speech by declaring that he was a Marxist and by making reference to his days in the Young Communist League, thus distancing himself from Labourism.

Not for the first time, comrade Scargill said that the movement ought to be grateful for Tony Blair. There were no longer any excuses to be in the Labour Party - the shedding of clause four should be a cause for relief, not regret. As he said, he now felt “reborn” and “amongst friends” for the first time in ages.

The comrade made fun of the media in particular, which has “blacked out” the SLP. He recounted how he was informed on the phone by a BBC official that Sir James Goldsmith’s Referendum Party was of far more significance than the SLP and was thus more deserving of media coverage. Amusingly, the BBC’s criterion with regards to ‘significance’ came down to sheer electorate clout - ie, how many candidates you stand, and voting figures.

When it came to ‘hard’ policies Scargill was unreserved. He committed an SLP government to a four-day working week with no loss of pay; a ban on all non-essential overtime; a 20% reduction in working hours; voluntary retirement at 55 at full pay and a “complete withdrawal” from Europe - on the grounds that a socialist Britain would not want the EU’s capitalist “laws passed on us”. He repeated his support for so-called “alternative markets”, such as Cuba. Comrade Scargill believes that such “alternative markets” can ‘compensate’ for the loss of the European market.

To much enthusiasm, he denounced the last Gulf War and the blockade of Cuba by US imperialism. He also called for the unification of Cyprus and Ireland. Unsurprisingly, particularly so given the venue, the latter call went down very well with the audience

Regrettably, there was not much time for questions from the audience. However, one of the questions posed was of vital importance. Comrade Bob Pitt, from the Camden Labour Briefing group, put forward the view that Scargill’s break was premature, as the vast mass of workers will vote Labour at the next election. Surely Arthur should have stayed inside the Labour Party, not abandoned the membership to Blairism?

Interestingly, in reply Scargill referred to the New Labour Party constitution rule book, which comrade Pitt admitted to not having read. Under the new rules, it effectively makes it impossible for Constituency Labour Parties to choose their own candidates, who will now be chosen from above and then foisted on the CLPs. This removes all traces of democracy from the Labour Party and, more importantly, makes it virtually impossible for a leftwing candidate to be selected. What is the purpose of staying in such a party, which would silence Scargill and push him onto the margins of political existence?

This drew enthusiastic applause from most of the audience, who clearly identified with comrade Scargill’s position. The views of comrade Pitt were received with impatience. It is time to give Labour the boot, once and for all.

This meeting was an omen of the future. After a few years of a vicious Blair regime, the message of comrade Scargill will find a wider audience amongst the working class. Those on the left who advise the working class to stay with Labour could well find themselves discredited and marginalised.

North-East

After 400 people attended a public meeting last February, the Sunderland SLP branch built up its membership to around 40. It is a very Labour-loyal area, but many are disillusioned. The present membership are strong and committed fighters. The branch’s long-term political strategy is a reaffirmation of socialism, but at the moment the short-term struggle is to get the SLP on the map. That is why the North-East’s main aim is to consolidate the membership in both local and national campaigns. The SLP must give despairing people hope again: no one should underestimate the potential for that despair to go in a rightward direction.

The branch has had a series of meetings about the Jobseekers Allowance and how it affects employed as well as unemployed workers. It also plans to fight Blair’s seat in Sedgefield, where the candidate will be Brian Gibson, previously of Sedgefield CLP. Campaigning will start now for this important seat. Dennis MacDonald stood in Sunderland in the May local elections, winning 551 votes, or 22%.

Three hundred Magnet workers in Darlington have been locked out since September after refusing to accept a poverty pay offer. Scabs have been sent in. The Labour Party’s silence in this dispute has been deafening. We do not know which side they are on. The workers have pickets every day.

Hospital workers are balloting for strike action against Newcastle Trust’s pay offer. At the moment they are stalled since the trust took out an injunction. SLP members are working to support these campaigns.