27.03.1997

Alive and kicking

The Morning Star’s Communist Party of Britain, one of the few remaining elements of opportunistic, pro-Labour ‘official communism’, held a press conference earlier this week to launch its election campaign. The group is standing three candidates, but campaigning vigorously (by its own lazy, social democratic standards) for the return of Tony Blair’s party.

This received little attention from the media, apart from an attempt at irony by Fran Abrams in The Independent. “Rejoice! The communist manifesto is published,” she wrote. “This, of course, is the communist manifesto of 1997, not the Communist Manifesto of 1848. It also has nothing to do with the Communist Party of Great Britain, which no longer exists.”

Ms Abrams may be interested to know that the CPGB not only exists, but its members will also be contesting the general election - as Scottish Socialist Alliance candidates in Scotland and Socialist Labour Party candidates south of the border.

Peter Manson