24.04.1997

Revolutionary challenge in Brent

Public election meetings have been taking place throughout the campaign, providing an excellent opportunity for the Socialist Labour Party to pose its alternative to New Labour’s very loyal Ken Livingstone.

This week the Brent Disability Action Group challenged all the candidates on their policies. One leading member told us:

“Stan Keable, the SLP candidate, definitely came off better. It is clear all the other candidates just want to deal with the symptoms, not the causes. I am considering not only voting for the SLP, but joining.”

Members of Brent East SLP also went along to a local Socialist Workers Party meeting asking for their support in the campaign. Leading member Brian Butterworth told us that they had offered Arthur Scargill help in Newport East but had been turned away. Yet he would not give a firm commitment to help in Brent East. He said though the SWP in abstract has called for voters to vote “Labour or socialist” they would not comment on individual candidates. Apparently those standing on a socialist platform in the SWPs words have to be “credible” to win an SWP vote - but any old New Labour candidate is OK.

The SWP is yet to formally reply to Brent East SLP’s appeal for support but Brian Butterworth did complain that the candidate Stan Keable was “ultra leftist”.