WeeklyWorker

25.06.1998

Threat to London Socialist Alliance

With the London Socialist Alliance general meeting just over a week away the issues at stake need to be aired openly. Inclusive democracy and the continuation of the LSA as a united front are under threat. The Greater Manchester Socialist Alliance conference debacle - where the right of all constituent organisations to automatic representation on the steering committee was removed - looks ominously in danger of repetition. The result amounted to the bureaucratic exclusion of the CPGB.

In London there is a proposal before the July 5 meeting to “elect a London coordinating committee”. This too would end the present inclusive arrangement, where all affiliates are represented by elected and recallable delegates - surely the very essence of an alliance. The resolution reproduced alongside - now with the support of Socialist Outlook - amalgamates the ones submitted previously by Socialist Party and the Socialist Democracy Group. The aim appears to be a retreat into localism and/or sectarianism, downgrading the LSA and with it the prospect of real political engagement (and therefore a thorough testing and debate of our differences).

Some comrades appear to fear debate. For example, David Lyons of the SDG complains that I have set aside too much time for discussion on July 5. According to comrade Lyons, 11am is an impossible time on a Sunday for anyone to attend a meeting. He believes the CPGB is attempting to impose its own “hard Bolshevik standards” on others (in fact the London timetable mirrors the Scottish Socialist Alliance’s conference on June 20).

It seems to me that the whole LSA project is in danger of collapse. The Socialist Party is deeply divided over this issue. A minority - particularly in Coventry, where Dave Nellist is the influential figure - have been enthusiastic. However, the majority of the SP leadership has never taken the SAs seriously and certainly do not want electoral competition.

In the latest edition of Socialism Today Mike Waddington - national organiser - argues that the May 7 election results show how right his organisation was to stand independently of the Socialist Alliances. With an organisation visible declining around him, both he and Peter Taaffe have no wish to see another ‘Scotland’.

That is why the SP contribution to the amalgamated resolution states that the LSA ad-hoc committee should reduce the frequency of its meetings to once every two months. Supposedly that would allow us “to concentrate on the borough alliances at this stage”. A very dubious claim. I have previously cited the example of SP-controlled Hillingdon SA, which did not meet for over 18 months. The London SA, which only came into being in February of this year, can hardly be blamed for this.

In fact the formation of the LSA spurred the creation of local alliances and helped to coordinate their activities, especially in the May 7 local elections. But the SP wants to ignore all evidence of success and insist on the virtual liquidation of the LSA. For this task it has closely aligned itself with Socialist Outlook and some members of the Socialist Democracy Group.

The agenda is clear. Rather than win more forces to the LSA, the intention is to stitch up the whole thing quickly. These comrades seem to be drawing back not only from joint electoral work (Socialist Outlook is pro-Labour, the SP is out for itself and the SDG has as many views as it has adherents), but the whole idea of honest political debate. Comrade Lyons, who along with a handful of others walked out of the Socialist Party to form the SDG last year, at that time committed himself to fighting all bureaucracy and conspiracy in the workers’ movement with openness. It is more than a little ironic therefore to see him concoct behind the scenes an anti-democratic lash-up with the SP and SO. Worse, this is being excused under the guise of anti-communism.

In his Weekly Worker article (June 11) comrade Nick Long (also SDG) says that the huge tasks facing the LSA “cannot be carried out by members of an organisation [the CPGB] with ongoing delusions in the ability of the SLP moving beyond anything more than a refounded communist-Labour party”. Furthermore he says the CPGB is “ambivalent about the need to give mass political expression to the working class as it becomes increasingly disillusioned with New Labour”.

All of this is rather strange. We have consistently exposed the bureaucratic nature of the SLP and its leadership in the pages of the Weekly Worker. Moreover we have actively promoted the Socialist Alliances throughout their history. While comrade Long actively participated in Arthur Scargill’s witch hunt in the SLP, CPGB members stood as SA candidates against New Labour. The only ambivalence exists in the mind of comrade Long.

The politics of comrades Long and Lyons are a mix of localism and red-greenism, which they believe is shared by the majority of the LSA. Unfortunately, judging by the support of SO and the SP for the call in the resolution to “build links” with, among others, “the green left, the Green Socialist Network, the London Federation of Green Parties”, they are not alone in wanting to dilute the explicit working class content of our socialist alliance. Surely all our work must be directed towards the aim of a united workers’ party - green groups and individuals who claim to be socialist are of course welcome to join.

The truth is that there are deep divisions not only between, but within all these organisations. Tensions and schisms are bound to emerge if the LSA is maintained and developed. This is exactly what the leaderships of the SP and SO fear - it is also quite possibly a source of anxiety to comrade Lyons when he looks at his own group. After all comrade Long appears to believe it was a grave mistake not to have supported the pro-police, pro-business Green Party candidate in Hackney.

All who want the LSA to succeed should turn up to the meeting on July 5. It would be a real setback if this positive project were to be effectively closed down.

Anne Murphy

Amalgamated motion to the LSA submitted by Socialist Party, Socialist Outlook and Socialist Democracy Group

One year into a new Labour government the task of building an effective socialist opposition is starkly posed. This committee recognises that:

1) The development of Socialist Alliances is at a very early stage in London. Nevertheless there have been a number of steps forward taken with the formation of local borough alliances.

2) The following proposals are put in order to develop the London Socialist Alliance.

We agree that: 

1) The primary role of the ad-hoc committee at this stage is to help with the building of borough alliances. We should not be content with their existing membership but aim, through campaigning, to involve more trade unionists, socialists and young people. When the local Alliances develop, the role of the all-London Alliance will also evolve.

2) Over the summer months we hold and prioritise a combination of local meetings and London-wide meetings on issues such as: the minimum wage, Millennium Dome, housing privatisation, transport, solidarity to workers in struggle (Such as supporting the RMT in fighting against the privatisation of the underground). These meetings should be linked to existing campaigns and should be built by local street stalls and leafleting.

3) We build links with the Labour left, the green left, the Green Socialist Network, the London Federation of Green Parties, self-organised campaigns and trade union bodies.

4) This ad-hoc committee meets less frequently in order to allow us to concentrate on the borough alliances at this stage. We meet every two months and the meetings are widely advertised among the London Socialist Alliances. We use the meeting to coordinate our work, learn from each other and hold political discussions. This does not preclude other meetings when important all-London issues arise.

5) We set a date in the autumn for a founding conference of the London Socialist Alliance. This meeting would be open to all local Alliances and their affiliates and would elect a London coordinating committee. The conference would also discuss the development of the London Alliances, what role the all-London Alliance would play in the coming year, and proposals from the National Network of Socialist Alliances.

Motions to the LSA submitted by the Communist Party of Great Britain

Motion 1

1. The London Socialist Alliance is a united front of socialists. It is open to affiliation from individuals, borough Socialist Alliances, trade union bodies, political and other working class organisations. The Alliance is committed to democratically agreed campaigns on any issue of relevance to furthering the cause of socialism.

2. The Socialist Alliances are not yet party organisations. The structure of the Alliances are based on inclusive not exclusive principles. Minority views are tolerated and given the opportunity to become the majority. The London Socialist Alliance shall hold general meetings to discuss the direction of the Alliance and debate political questions.

3. The London Socialist Alliance steering committee will provide overall political direction and administrative coordination. It will consist of:

4. The London Socialist Alliance is committed to a principled orientation to socialists within the Labour Party and progressive political organisations not affiliated to the Socialist Alliance.

5. The London Socialist Alliance recognises no contradiction between building and organising the Alliances in either a bottom-up or top-down manner. Borough Socialist Alliances have full autonomy to organise their own political campaigns and to implement London Socialist Alliance campaigns as they see fit. In addition the London Socialist Alliance will build the Alliances through initiating its own campaigns and where appropriate following the lead of the National Network of Socialist Alliances.

Motion 2

The London Socialist Alliance is committed to building an all-Britain Socialist Alliance.