07.03.2002

Euro conference

Conference backed a motion from the executive committee which called for a special conference over SSP constitutional matters and our position on the euro to be held in June. The SSP has never properly discussed its position, so the lead-up to the June conference promises some interesting debates. Hugh Kerr, SSP press and publicity officer, summed up the problem. The three who work in Tommy Sheridan's office are split three ways. Comrade Kerr recounted his background in the International Socialists and his advocacy of a boycott position in 1973 - he was expelled from the IS. Though there are comrades who support a 'yes' vote and those who call for an active boycott, it appears that at the moment at least the majority of comrades are advocating a 'no' in the euro referendum - they favourably cite the recent referendum embarrassment by the left-conservative alliance in Denmark which later saw the right come to power in a general election for the first time since 1918. Just as the SWP seems to want to change the position of the Socialist Alliance, it seems that the lure of 'popularity' that the 'no' campaign offers is just too much for comrades to resist. The case for 'no' is that the euro is a central part of the agenda to promote public spending cuts and so on. It is, of course, true that Maastricht may require such attacks, but from the ruling class point of view they would be necessary even if the euro - or, for that matter, the EU - did not exist. However, there are bigger political issues at stake. The euro is a step towards a United States of Europe - a development which will break down national boundaries and objectively aid the process of creating a united working class in Europe. This is not to say that we sit back and allow things to take their 'natural' course. There is no such thing. People make history, not least through the struggle of class against class. We are against capitalist exploitation, whether it occurs in an isolationist Britain or across the whole European continent. The 'yes' or 'no' choice we are expected to make is in fact analogous to a situation where a small company is being taken over by a big transnational. Are we for or against? The answer should be neither - we do not side with the big capitalist against the little one, or vice versa. It is the same when it comes to the pound or the euro. We should not align ourselves with the most reactionary elements of British politics of the 'Keep the pound' variety. Neither do we line up behind those who want to strengthen European capital at the expense of the working class. We need an independent working class agenda. That means a campaign for an active boycott - ie, using demonstrations, pickets and political strikes and other kinds of industrial action, a campaign that poses the need for a democratic Europe to be achieved by working class methods. Whatever the SSP special conference in June decides, the issue is one for the entire working class throughout Britain and we should look at the way we can respond most effectively. The SSP, the WSA and the SA should aim to run a joint campaign, employing the most militant tactics objective conditions allow. Sarah McDonald * Scottish socialists aim for 8 MSPs * Factional alignments and fights * Internationalist gestures, nationalist reality * Tokenism wins the day