16.05.2007

Serious debate on key questions

The CPGB Wales annual day school, held in Cardiff on May 12, attracted small numbers, but produced serious and worthwhile debate. Bob Davies reports

The event focused on two specific topics - left politics in Wales after the assembly elections; and the imperialist threat against Iran.

The CPGB's Cameron Richards introduced the first session, highlighting the massive decline in support for Labour, yet the lack of any working class alternative. Those left organisations that had stood in the May 3 elections seemed to have learned nothing, he said - their sectarian, 'halfway house', economistic approach to party-building translated into a series of virtually indistinguishable campaigns, from which the key issues of radical democracy and principled unity were totally absent. For workers in Wales this situation was farcical.

Comrade Richards suggested that we were in a different political period, where the left generally was "moving in the opposite direction" from us on the main questions facing the movement. This would produce new challenges for us, particularly around strategies for developing our project of left unity and party-building. While we could not ignore the left groups, the comrade also suggested a more structured engagement with the left of the Labour Party and with left forces within Plaid Cymru. He was sharply critical of the Plaid left, which claims to be socialist, yet, during the elections, failed to differentiate itself from the party's petty nationalist leadership and programme.

A number of issues were raised in the general discussion, much of which was concentrated on strategies and tactics the CPGB could use in fighting for our political goals. Comrade Mark Fischer emphasised the need to be imaginative with our engagement with advanced sections of our class, wherever they may be concentrated. Our culture of an "open polemic, transparency of debate and honesty" within the movement needed to be applied in relation to all sections of advanced workers. Socialists in the Green Party should be included in that, as well as any left nationalists who claim socialist credentials. An engagement with the left of Plaid Cymru, for example, would help inform members of the CPGB as well as readers of the Weekly Worker and allow us to develop a more rounded critique of nationalism.

On the question of programme, Comrade Russell Starr, an "ex-Spartacist", suggested that the question of self-determination in Wales was not too important at this particular moment. I stated that this was being a little blasé on the question of democracy and spoke of the need for communists to fight on all democratic issues. If the BNP could now claim (and win votes in north Wales because of it) that it is doing more than Plaid Cymru on the question of Welsh language rights, there was certainly a need for us to give a lead on the question.

Comrade Gordon Downie questioned whether or not there was a contradiction in the CPGB fighting for the right of self-determination and our position for a federal republic. I replied that the right of self-determination needed to be supported, but that it was important to fight for an outcome of that right that was different from that of the nationalists. We need to fight for the unity of workers across Britain. This point was emphasised by comrade Richards in his summing up. Not to take up the question of self-determination would be a disaster, he said.

The afternoon session was dedicated to the situation in the Middle East, and specifically to the question of Iran. The topic was introduced by comrade Azar Sheibani, from Hands Off the People of Iran. She began by giving a background to the Hopi campaign and emphasised the importance of adopting a different stance to the one that is currently found within the anti-war movement. That movement contained a wide spectrum of groups and individuals, some of whom were not explicitly anti-imperialist and certainly not against the theocracy in Iran. Hopi, by contrast, was founded on its opposition both to imperialism and to the Tehran regime. There had been important developments amongst students, workers and the women in Iran, which had increased their overall collective unity, she stated. These important movements were now creating a real force of opposition to the regime. The anti-war movement in this country had failed to emphasise their actions and, indeed, had seriously sidelined the class struggle in Iran.

Debate over the issue concentrated on the position to adopt should war against Iran occur imminently. The question of supporting the Iran regime as part of our anti-imperialism was raised by comrade Starr.

Comrade Fischer emphasised that, although he saw the Iranian regime as the lesser evil compared to imperialism, the importance of taking the side of the people of Iran, and not its regime, against imperialist attack was imperative. That position was also emphasised by comrade Azar, who spoke of the need to build opposition now to the regime and maintain that position if imperialism decided to attack the country.