05.05.2004

SWP vote down womens' rights

In the light of the George Galloway’s statement on abortion in an interview in The Independent on Sunday I put an emergency motion to the April 26 organising meeting of Islington Respect. This read: “Islington Respect opposes any attempt to further restrict the rights of women to abortion and contraception, and therefore resolves to call upon the national committee to mandate Respect’s elected representatives, now and in the future, not to support proposals for any such restrictions.”

The resolution was fiercely opposed by the Socialist Workers Party, whose members suggested that the motion would exclude catholics from Respect. It was argued that this was a matter of conscience and that George Galloway was not, after all, organising against abortion rights. The SWP proposed that the whole question be remitted to the executive.

The comrades have forgotten that in 1979 the TUC led a demonstration against the Corrie Bill. Did the TUC exclude catholics? Is Respect unable to go as far as the TUC? They seem also to forget the role that they have played in pushing Galloway forward as the personification of Respect.

Comrades from the International Socialist Group took a principled position. They had no hesitation in supporting the first part of our motion, but moved an amendment to the second to the effect that instead of a mandate the NC organises a discussion in Respect over the issue with a view to a policy debate at the next conference. Comrades were not unreasonably concerned about the democratic implications of a decision like this being left to the NC.

The problem with the ISG position is that things can move very quickly on the ground. Already the Muslim Association of Britain has issued a press release supporting Galloway’s anti-abortion beliefs and one of MAB’s leading members heads the Yorkshire and Humberside Euro list. What if a private members anti-abortion bill went before parliament before the next Respect conference. Would Respect’s only MP go into the ‘yes’ lobby?

In the end the only vote taken at the Islington meeting was the one backed by the SWP and my motion was duly remitted to the executive. Hopefully they will not fudge over this issue. Something needs to be done now to ensure that the world knows that the majority of Respect support women’s reproductive rights and that our colours are not nailed on the anti-abortion mast.