07.09.2005

CPGB draft motions to Respect conference

Click here to download the resolutions as a leaflet in PDF format 20 signed up Respect members can present a motion to conference. Send an email to respect@cpgb.org.uk if you support one or all our motions. Remember, the deadline is Friday, October 14. Religious hatred Respect will oppose and actively campaign against islamophobia, racism and chauvinism in all their manifestations. Therefore, we oppose the government's proposed 'incitement to religious hatred' legislation. This will undermine the right of free speech on religious matters and will do nothing to protect religious minorities. Immigration Respect opposes all immigration controls. Whether they take the form of 'points systems' and similar 'humane' plans for controlled immigration, they give capitalism the right to pick and choose 'useful' immigrants. Respect says, 'No one is illegal'. Accountability and transparency Respect's elected representatives are bound by the decisions and policies of conference and between that the national council. If a Respect elected representative disagrees with one or a number of aspects of Respect policy, s/he should first seek to overturn this decision in the appropriate structures of the organisation. If this fails, the elected representative is expected to put forward Respect policy in interviews, articles, speeches and vote accordingly - but can make clear that her/his own position varies from this policy. Respect will strive to make available all voting records, motions and speeches of elected Respect representatives on its website. Faith schools Respect opposes faith schools. This is an important aspect of our fight for secularism. Secularism entails the separation of state and all religion. At the same time, it establishes freedom for all religions and religious institutions. In this way, it establishes not only equality between all faiths, but also equality between believers and non-believers. Therefore, restrictions on the rights of believers to wear religious symbols or dress according to their religious codes have nothing to do with secularism. In France, this was part of a chauvinist campaign against muslims. Respect unequivocally condemns such infringements of the basic democratic rights. Women should be free to the hijab, or not to wear it, as they see fit. Respect demands: * End all state-sponsored religious propaganda and acts of worship. For the state religion should be a private matter. * End state subsidies and tax breaks for religious institutions. Bring religious schools into the state sector. Religion should be taught as a subject of academic study, not as a means to indoctrinate children. * Freedom for all religious groups and practices - as long as they do no harm. Freedom for atheistic propaganda. Religious organisations and individuals have the right to propagate their ideas and seek to win converts. Opponents of religion have the same right. Socialism The 's' in Respect stands for socialism. Socialism is not a reformed, or 'patch-up' version of the present system - it can only mean a complete transformation of society. Thus, institutions such as parliament, army, police and judiciary cannot be taken over and used by the working people. They grew up under capitalism and are designed to protect the ruling class against the working class. The working class needs an entirely different kind of state - a workers' state based on councils of workers' delegates and a workers' militia. Elections can be used to agitate for real improvements in people's lives and to expose the system we live under, but only the mass action of workers themselves can change the system. The struggle for socialism is part of a worldwide struggle. We oppose everything that turns workers from one country against those from another. We oppose racism and imperialism The deadline for motions is midnight, Friday October 14. The closing date for amendments is Sunday November 6.