28.03.2002

Build election campaign

There are just five weeks until the local elections in England. Nominations need to be with returning officers in one week's time. The next few days will be the final opportunity for Socialist Alliance branches to push themselves to stand as widely as they can within their limits. Comrades need to be ambitious and build a big vote for socialism. To the extent that we can, we need to treat the election as a referendum on the Blair government. The tension between maximising our candidates and maximising our average vote dominated discussion at last week's London Socialist Alliance activists meeting at the University of London. We had a productive discussion around our tactics and political priorities for the campaign. Around 30 comrades attended, represent 14 borough-wide Socialist Alliances. The nature of the meeting points towards the direction the LSA needs to take. Its now largely defunct steering committee needs to be replaced by a democratically convened delegates meeting of London branches of the Socialist Alliance. I was heartened to see a decided shift in emphasis from John Rees and Rob Hoveman, leading members of the Socialist Workers Party. Having initially urged caution in the commitment of resources to the local government elections, the SWP leadership now seems to have embraced a more ambitious approach in relation to the number of candidates we stand. Unfortunately, I fear this could be too late. Part of the problem stems from the fact that the SWP has attempted to treat the Socialist Alliance as just one of its many united fronts. This led to the SA tap being turned off after the general election, as SWP priorities shifted to the Stop the War Coalition. Now that it wants to turn the tap back on, it is not surprising that we have seen a degree of conservatism below. As a result it seems likely that only around 20% to 25% of the 4.5 million electors who were given the opportunity to vote SA in the general election will be able to do so again on May 2. Some comrades continue to display a marked lack of ambition. Greg Tucker of the International Socialist Group said it was important that we concentrate on 'real' campaigns. Others thought it would be "insulting" to voters if all they see of us is a leaflet through the door. I said it was an insult to voters if we abandoned them and did not give them the opportunity to vote socialist at all. Lee Rock of the CPGB said that we need to be imaginative in how we present our campaign. While leafleting and canvassing in selected wards, it was perfectly reasonable to stand candidates elsewhere without specifically campaigning in a particular seat. We could put up posters or hold street stalls in central locations and hand out leaflets at tube stations. He gave the example of Walthamstow. Of the 10 wards around the station, there are only four wards we are contesting. This means 60% of people getting leaflets could not vote for the SA. John Rees stressed the importance of increasing the number of candidates. He said that we need to look like an alternative to Labour and not a local campaign group. One speaker from the floor said that talk of 'paper candidates' was a non-issue. If anything, it was the mainstream candidates who would stand 'paper candidates'. Mark Hoskisson of Workers Power asked: "How many Labour councillors will go canvassing in estates they are trying to sell off?" It is our candidates that will have the activists on the streets. We need to take full advantage of that. It was also gratifying to hear comrade Rees speak out strongly against localism. A comrade at the meeting had said: "It's all very good to have our checklist of the 10 evils of capitalism, but voters are interested in local issues that directly affect their lives." Comrade Rees emphasised the opposite. He said we need to build our own socialist vote. During the general election our vote was motivated by concerns around asylum-seekers and immigration. This time around, we need to mobilise opinion around the looming war on Iraq. It is precisely through 'big politics' that we will build our own, partisan vote. The LSA meeting emphasised that opposition to the war, campaigning against privatisation in general and of the tube in particular ought to provide the cutting edge. Comrades need to remember that, while we want to gain as many votes as we can, socialism will not come through the ballot box. We are trying to build a working class organisation. Through campaigning we want to make contacts, sink roots and win recruits. This was emphasised when comrades argued that we need to appeal to the 'youth vote'. Of course, many young people are not on the electoral register. That does not mean we should not highlight our republicanism, our anti-capitalism, our anti-racism, our position on the police and on drugs, just because young people likely to respond to our policies cannot vote for us. The lack of clarity over the scale of our intervention in these elections has its source in the central committee of the Socialist Workers Party. Is the Socialist Alliance just one of many 'united front' spokes on the SWP wheel of influence? Or are we a proto-party grappling with the problems of building a fully rounded approach to every aspect of political life? The success of the SA trade union conference points in a direction which may be uncomfortable for one section of the SWP, but it is undeniable that the Socialist Alliance has a 'certain logic'. We cannot blame local SWP activists for their conservatism in these elections. The original message from comrades Rees and Hoveman was to 'concentrate resources'; now it is for ambition and breadth. Nevertheless the campaigns that are now underway will help refocus the Socialist Alliance, building on what we achieved at the trade union conference. Marcus Ström Chair, London Socialist Alliance