02.04.2003

Pro-party?

A meeting called by Steve Freeman of the Revolutionary Democratic Group to discuss the cooperation of Socialist Alliance "pro-party" forces was held in Luton on March 30. Present were comrade Freeman; Martin Thomas and Gerry Byrne of the Alliance for Workers' Liberty; two comrades from the Bedfordshire SA Democratic and Republican Platform; two SA independents, Dave Church and Phil Pope; and myself. Workers Power did not reply to the invitation to attend. Comrade Freeman proposes to rally the "pro-party" forces before the May 10 annual conference at a public meeting the weekend before - he seems to place just about everybody apart from the SWP in that category. Steve suggested that non-SA comrades such as George Galloway, Tommy Sheridan and Dave Nellist be invited to address the meeting. Comrade Nellist, of course, led the Socialist Party out of the SA at the December 2001 conference, on the grounds that the more centralised structure just agreed had already transformed the alliance into a "party". I confessed to being baffled as to how comrade Nellist (or for that matter any of the organisations comrade Freeman wants to bloc with) could be considered "pro-party" in the context of the SA. Comrade Thomas suggested that a get-together in a pub the evening before conference might be more realistic. Peter Manson