29.11.2001

Socialism 2001 has its prophet of old

Spirit of Maclean

The main theme of the Scottish Socialist Party?s Socialism 2001, being held this weekend in Glasgow, is undoubtedly the deification of John Maclean - the outstanding early 20th century Clydeside socialist and trenchant opponent of World War I. For the SSP he is now prophet, saint and martyr. On Friday there is a march from George Square and a rally at Glasgow Caledonian University which will celebrate his life - especially his call for a Scottish workers? republic.

Maclean was a member of the British Socialist Party. However although he thought himself a supporter of the Bolsheviks he refused to join the CPGB when it was formed in 1921. Maltreatment in prison deeply affected his personality. He saw spies everywhere - his wife, friends, the CPGB were all suspect.

After a brief membership of the sectarian Socialist Labour Party, Maclean formed his own Scottish Workers Republican Party - irrelevant except that it splendidly serves the left nationalist myth makers, including the SSP.

Apart from Friday?s rally there are speeches on Maclean on both the Saturday and Sunday. Gerry Cairns of the left nationalist John Maclean Society, Hugh Kerr and James Kelman will all be singing his praises. The purpose is clear. Create a left nationalist ideology to root the SSP call for an ?independent socialist Scotland? in what passes for history. The high priest of the new faith is, of course, Tommy Sheridan. His holy scribe being Alan McCombes.

SSP branches are currently deciding on motions to be debated at next March?s delegate conference in Dundee. Amongst those being proposed is a call - very much against the left nationalist tide - for the SSP to aim for organisational unity with socialists in England and Wales, while recognising the right of the Scottish people to self-determination. This is vehemently opposed by the leadership, which at present has a comfortable left nationalist majority. Since Scottish independence is the top priority, unity with socialists south of the royalist border is regarded as not only a waste of time, but positively undesirable.

Part of the Macleanite argument used to justify this separatism is the claim that the SSP is light years ahead of its English and Welsh counterparts in terms of working class consciousness and the advance to socialism. Scotland just cannot afford to wait for England and Wales to catch up. Besides, the achievement of socialism in one country in Scotland will act as a boost to workers in the rest of Britain. This is the SSP leadership?s version of ?internationalism?. It has been given a Marxist gloss by Alan McCombes and is to be defended by Murray Smith (SSP international coordinator) on Sunday. He is to speak alongside Chris Bambery - representing what left nationalists in Scotland now call the ?Socialist Workers Party, England and Wales?. 

Our nationalists are able to point to the current state of the Socialist Alliance in support of this ?England and Wales are backward? argument. While comrades Sheridan and McCombes do not completely rule out the possibility of the SA making the same kind of progress in terms of membership growth and electoral success as the SSP, it is regarded as highly unlikely. They look at the antics of the Socialist Party and its Committee for a Workers International - represented by a lone Phil Stott among the speakers at Socialism 2001 - and the SWP and conclude (correctly) that neither have the slightest desire to come together in a single party. In Scotland of course the SWP came on board last May, when the SSP was already established as the place where all socialists had to be.

That is why those of us who passionately desire working class unity on an all-Britain level, viewing it as a burning necessity in order to topple the UK state, are looking to socialists in England to put the SA on a firm footing. Our only speaker this weekend is Mary Ward, billed as Campaign for a Federal Republic. Steps taken in the direction of establishing a Socialist Alliance party would undercut the argument that there is nothing in England to unite with. Surely that means the left at the very least prioritising the SA in all its activity, building up working SA branches and launching a regular SA publication. Unless and until we see such moves within the alliance, our job will be doubly difficult.

The SSP leadership is politically ambitious - and quite rightly so - but its ambition is worryingly misdirected. The leadership talks of eight or nine MSPs after the 2003 elections to the Scottish parliament (and this is certainly possible), but their main task is not seen as acting as an advance party in the enemy camp as part of a united struggle of workers in Scotland, England and Wales to defeat the UK constitutional monarchy system. On the contrary, they will be called upon to act as foot soldiers for the SNP, helping to ensure that we have a referendum on independence. Margo MacDonald MSP and Dorothy Grace Elder MSP - both from the SNP - address Socialism 2001 on Saturday. Scottish independence delivered by the SNP might well weaken the UK, but the struggle to smash it would be set back years if workers north and south of the border go their separate ways.

The entry of the SWP - now reconstituted as the Socialist Worker Platform - into the SSP has been a complicating factor in assessing the balance of forces within the party.  In addition to comrade Bambery of the ?SWP-EW? the SW Platform is well represented at Socialism. Donny Gluckstein, Neil Davidson, etc.While such SWP leaders have consistently stated that the call for Scottish independence is ?no problem?, the platform upon which they are organised in the SSP tends to contradict that. It is based on the ?Where we stand? column carried every week in Socialist Worker, but has this important addendum:

?We support the right of self-determination for the Scottish people and extension of the powers of the Scottish parliament. Scotland remains, however, part of the UK imperialist state. Together with English and Welsh workers we face a common enemy. Scottish workers remain part of British-wide trade unions. We stand for a united fightback by Scottish, English and Welsh workers.?

The SW Platform has the support of around 40% of SSP activists and clearly this influx has caused the leadership, dominated by the International Socialist Movement comrades (formerly the Scottish Militant Labour majority), to rethink on several important issues, including the public sale of a platform?s literature and voting rights at conference.

From this year conference will no longer be open to all members, with equal right to speak and vote. There has been significant resistance at branch level to the decision agreed this year that from 2002 conference votes will be determined by branch delegates. It would, of course, be difficult to conduct all-member conferences ad infinitum, assuming continued growth, but the prospect of the comparatively well organised SW Platform supporters being able to win a majority at a conference decided by whoever turns up on the day spurred the leadership to implement the change.

Branches are currently allowed 25% of members as delegates, with voting rights, but any member can still attend conference and participate in debates and thereby influence decision-making. Current SSP membership is between 2,000 and 3,000 (exact figures do not appear to be readily available). This will put at least 500 delegates in the City of Discovery next March, making it the largest SSP conference to date (this year?s Glasgow conference had around 350, including visitors). However, as a result of the change platforms no longer have guaranteed equitable representation at conference.

Of equal concern to grassroots supporters of minority platforms (who do much of the donkey work in the branches) is the official disapproval of publicly selling and promoting literature other than Scottish Socialist Voice, introduced as part of new guidelines aimed at reducing the influence of the SW Platform. This undemocratic ruling is likely to be vigorously challenged at the Dundee conference. Various red herrings are offered in support of this censorious policy, the most popular being that workers would be confused by the plethora of material available, would not understand why there was such a variety of (partially conflicting) socialist perspectives and the autonomy of the SSP would be undermined.

If we are serious about building a political party of the working class using the dual tactics of ?electoral struggle? and ?mass action on the streets and in the workplace?, then the SSP will need more than Scottish Socialist Voice as the sole reading matter for the masses. To frown upon platforms and tendencies that openly sell their preferred literature as well as the Voice is tantamount to the denial of freedom of expression. SSP members who do not fear open and transparent democracy will campaign for definite SSP actions. However, those same members may not agree with important aspects of party policy and must have the right to publicly argue their position in order to become a majority. Open debate, open disagreement and the acknowledgement of such disagreement are the essential ingredients of a truly democratic organisation. To pretend everyone within the SSP is in complete agreement over every question would be a deception. Socialist parties, including the SSP, are not homogeneous.

Comrades in England and Wales and throughout the world can rest assured that there is a growing minority in the SSP which stands for and will fight to achieve the closest possible unity in the war to overthrow first the UK state and then the universal system of capital.

Ronnie Mejka