18.12.1997

SLP balance of forces

It is worthwhile breaking down the votes for the NEC in order to assess the political groupings attending the second SLP congress. Because of the block vote of 3,000 from the North West, Cheshire and Cumbria Miners’ Association, every vote at congress was decided by the three delegates from this affiliate: namely, Paul Hardman, Billy Kelly and Perry Lomas. This meant that all those elected to the NEC were on the outgoing NEC’s recommended list. Nevertheless, a close analysis of the vote for the NEC reveals an emerging pattern of the different trends in the SLP which comrade Scargill referred to at the beginning of congress.

There were a number of groupings on the floor of congress - Fourth International Supporters Caucus (Fisc), Democratic Platform, the SLP Republicans, the Marxist Bulletin, ‘NUMists’, the Economic and Philosophic Science Review (EPSR) and a small group around Stalin Society member Harpal Brar.

The broadest division of congress we can make is between left and right, between ‘loyalist’ and democrat. The best indicator of the size of the democracy bloc is the vote for Terry Burns (274) and Martin Wicks (284). These comrades would have attracted the vote of the Democratic Platform, SLP Republicans, Marxist Bulletin and any other democratic or left vote. The remainder of the votes are ‘loyalist’ votes. I am unable to name the SLP’s second trade union affiliate, but I understand it cast a vote of around 30. The black section had 75 votes. The vote for the lowest successful NEC candidate, Darren Hickory, was 3,171. Assuming all the block votes were cast for him, the maximum number of CSLP votes he received would have been only 66. It is therefore likely that the Fisc-dominated black section did not vote for him.

If we subtract the block votes (trade union affiliates and black section) from the loyalist total - approximately 3,105 - this broad right wing had 500-600 votes. The left could muster around half the number of votes regularly achieved by the right, but the margin was usually nearer three to one. This was seen at the start of congress with the failed challenge to the conference arrangements committee report.

It must be emphasised that the groupings were just that. It is not possible to talk of them as rigid voting blocks, as many of the voting patterns were uneven. We need to pare away the different layers to reveal the core support for each group. Differentials amongst the recommended list are more difficult to work out, so let us look at candidates on the left not on the recommended list.

First, the Marxist Bulletin, perhaps the tightest block on congress floor. Its lowest vote was 81 - obtained by Christoph Lenk in the trade union section. Its peak vote was 160 for Barbara Duke. This would be an amalgam of MB, other democrats and a component ‘women’s vote’.

The Democratic Platform had a core vote of 161, represented by Terry Pearce. It seems clear that the Marxist Bulletin did not vote for this comrade, but instead opted for Hannah Williams. The top five unsuccessful candidates were all Democratic Platform supporters. They undoubtedly also attracted support from SLP Republicans and the Marxist Bulletin.

Next, the non-recommended loyalists. The EPSR had a core of 58 votes, represented by Leicester’s Dave Roberts. Roy Bull managed to win 91 votes in the vice-presidential ballot and 83 in the CSLP section.

Not all Fisc candidates received NEC recommendation. Jan Pollock in the trade union section and Rachael Newton in the CSLP section are Fiscites. They received 209 and 207 votes respectively - a good indicator of the core Fisc vote. This almost certainly included the block of 75 votes from the black section, which was controlled by Imran Khan and Roshan Dadoo, both Fiscites. This would indicate a core vote of 132 from CSLPs which supported Fisc.

Any group around Harpal Brar is more difficult to estimate. Interestingly, most of the Fiscites clearly did not vote for Brar in the CSLP section.

To conclude. Assuming that everyone voted in the vice-presidential ballot (3,934 votes), and removing the block vote of 3,105, we come up with the following broad groups: left vote - 200-284; right vote - 545-629. The table below also removes the total block vote.

According to the SLP’s constitution, the block vote should not have been counted in the CSLP section. Depending on the size of the affiliated union branch, Terry Burns definitely, and maybe Matthew Jones and Chris Erswell, would have been elected to the NEC if Scargill’s own constitution had been followed. This outcome was clearly unacceptable.

One real surprise was the relatively low vote for Alan Gibson. Although he was not recommended by the Democratic Platform, I imagined most would have voted for him. That was obviously not the case.

Martin Blum

SLP voting blocs

‘NUMists’ and loyalists: up to 400 votes

Democratic Platform with SLP Republicans: core 161 votes

Fisc: core 130 votes

Marxist Bulletin: core 81 votes

EPSR: core 58 votes

Brar/Stalin Society: approximately 30 votes