24.02.2000

LSA makes its mark

London rally for unity and socialism

Tuesday night's London Socialist Alliance 'rally for socialism' brought together over 800 socialists and communists from a wide range of organisations. It was a display of left unity which put the early, hopeful days of Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party into the shade. Perhaps three-quarters of those present were mobilised by the Socialist Workers Party, and it is the positive attitude recently adopted by this organisation towards cooperation with the rest of the left which has facilitated the coming together.

The timely event succeeded in gaining prime-time TV and radio coverage for the image of a confident and united left urging Ken Livingstone not only to break with New Labour, but to run for mayor on a specifically socialist platform along with a specifically socialist slate. The Wednesday morning news on BBC1 scanned across the rows of faces packed into the Camden Centre, listening to Paul Foot saying, "I hope he stands for mayor as a socialist and a trade unionist."

This keynote speech by the SWP's most entertaining and most popular speaker - he was given a standing ovation as he rose from his wheelchair to speak - implied that the SWP, the largest element in the alliance, believed that the LSA should not under any circumstances stand down its candidates to make way for Livingstone's as yet unnamed 'first eleven': "Whether or not he stands, whether or not he stands as a socialist," said Paul Foot, "there will be in this election a socialist presence."

Janine Booth of the Alliance for Workers' Liberty was more explicit: "Ken should now stand for mayor as a genuine working class candidate - independent of New Labour, but not independent of the working class movement. Whether Ken stands or not, the LSA will stand candidates for the GLA." This was echoed by Kate Ford of Workers Power, who appealed to Labour lefts to make an electoral front: "You've kept your head down: now is the time to fight."

A whole range of other speakers also called for support for both Livingstone and the LSA. None seemed to foresee any problems with this. What if Ken, as seems more and more likely, stands his own slate of GLA candidates? It is very possible he will simply ignore the LSA. What then? A whole range of options spring to mind, ranging from an LSA withdrawal in order to give his list critical support, to standing in opposition. It might even be correct - if, for example, Livingstone turned his back on the labour movement and looked to some cross-class, populist coalition - to put up a candidate against him in the mayoral election.

The CPGB's Anne Murphy was the only speaker who touched on such questions. Nobody else seemed to have considered anything other than an unproblematic Livingstone-LSA link-up - or at least an unspoken alliance. She was the only one to recognise that Livingstone will almost certainly field his own slate. She urged him not to look to the "rogues' gallery of businessmen, Tories and Liberal Democrats", but unite with the LSA, the workers' movement and the socialist left. What was needed was an "open, inclusive and socialist slate".

Comrade Murphy emphasised that for us the "key issue" is democracy: "We need to challenge how we are ruled. Blair's fake devolution has stirred up discontent everywhere it has been implemented. From Northern Ireland to Wales, to Scotland, and now London, people are angry precisely because, in the name of devolving power, Blair is actually trying to increase his dictatorial control. He is trying to stitch us up."

Ken Loach declared he was not making a film of the election. However, a title has been mooted - the Blair stitch project. Attacking New Labour's slogan 'Labour means business', he identified the "actual core which unites the LSA" as the understanding that the interests of business - casual labour, flexibility of labour, mobility of capital - are "diametrically opposed to the interests of the working class." Hoping Livingstone will stand, he said, "We will have to keep an eye on him, but we should all vote for him."

Overjoyed at the revolutionary left coming together, comrade Loach berated the past sectarianism which kept us apart: "Long ago, the group I was in would have sent me to the darkest dungeon for associating with a 'state-cap' like Paul Foot." Prolonged applause. "Thank goodness that sectarianism is over. Look how strong we are together."

Paul Foot reciprocated: "It is a pleasure to share a platform with Ken Loach. I have felt plagued by the menace of sectarianism. How many people have told us, 'Why can't you all get together?' Now we have achieved a non-sectarian, united socialist alliance." He made particular mention of comrades Booth and Ford, presumably to demonstrate the broad similarity, in his view, between the politics of the SWP, AWL and Workers Power. The declaration that he "agreed with every word they said" was certainly a little over the top, but should be taken as a friendly exaggeration.

The Socialist Party's speaker was councillor Ian Page. A large part of his contribution - each speaker was allowed only five minutes by SWP chair Pat Stack - was devoted to an amusing, although totally irrelevant joke, which had as its butt the Weekly Worker. The day after his victory in a Lewisham council by-election a woman mentioned the 'Weekly Worker' slate standing in the EU elections held simultaneously: "Well, I'm a worker and I get paid weekly, so I thought I'd vote for them," she said. To which comrade Page added: "I hope the comrades from the Weekly Worker take that in the spirit in which it was meant - I've been on their front page often enough recently."

Unfortunately, the telling of this little tale left him with insufficient time to elaborate on the SP's ambivalent position on the GLA elections - supporting the LSA in the first-past-the-post constituencies, but backing the Campaign Against Tube Privatisation against us when it comes to the PR all-London list.

Nevertheless, despite the avoidance of such awkward questions, the evening can be judged a real success. Closer unity, deeper understanding and mutual trust will be built by removing barriers to openness, to full and frank discussion. In particular bringing the SWP's rank and file into contact with the rest of the revolutionary left in this London rally was a significant first step which augurs well for the future.