30.07.2008

Convention: Mistake repeated

Organisers of the Convention of the Left claim it will be very different from most left events. Chris Strafford begs to differ

The recent history of the left can only be described as a disaster. The defeats of the 80s and 90s have left the workers’ movement disorientated and fragmented. The Marxist left has consistently failed to unite and to provide a principled way forward for the movement. Instead it has gone down one dead end after another.

The Convention of the Left (CL), to be held in Manchester from September 20-25 as a ‘counter-conference’ to the Labour Party annual gathering, gives us an opportunity to clearly state the case for Marxism as the only viable basis for such unity.

Sponsors include trade union leaders Jeremy Dear (NUJ), Bill Greenshields (NUT), Mark Serwotka (PCS) and Matt Wrack (FBU); MPs Jeremy Corbyn, George Galloway and John McDonnell; and individuals prominent on the left (broadly defined) ranging from Tariq Ali, Tony Benn and Ken Loach to Robert Griffiths (Communist Party of Britain), Hilary Wainwright and Derek Wall (Green Party).

The CL claims it will be entirely different from most left events. Platform speakers will be limited and will not be treated as something special, the organisers say. Serious debate is essential if we are to move beyond the current state of affairs. Although the promised open nature of the event would give Marxists a chance to state the case for principled left unity and organise common action on that basis, the lack of any decision-making structure (no motions, no votes) and the lack of any common intent to move in the direction of a party means that the convention can only be a talking shop.

In addition, a repeat of past mistakes is also very much on the cards. Respect Renewal is the big  mover in the organisation of the CL and has ambitious hopes for it as the basis from which to conjure up a bigger Respect-type popular front. Well, it worked so well last time, didn’t it?

The Socialist Party in England and Wales has refused to get involved in the CL at all - while we were meeting to plan the event, SPEW was holding its own meeting in the next room. When invited to participate, the comrades called on everyone to join the moribund Campaign for a New Workers’ Party instead.

The Socialist Workers Party got involved as soon as it was clear it was going to be the biggest left event in Manchester this year. But the SWP has been unable to dominate it, which must have come as a bit of a shock to the comrades, as the SWP has been in the majority in every Manchester single-issue campaign for years. While the SWP is formally supporting the CL, it is not exactly enthusiastic. At a Stop the War Coalition organising meeting the SWP refused to allow a vote on whether the STWC should support the CL. It argued that the anti-war movement is broader than the left and that supporting a left event would alienate the STWC’s rightwing supporters.

Iran has become an issue of great contention on the left over the last year. Hands Off the People of Iran has been reasonably successful in spreading an anti-imperialist message, whilst also building practical and essential links with the Iranian working class and the social movements in that country. Organisers of the convention’s peace ‘stream’ were at first very wary of having a meeting on Iran, as it could be “disruptive” or even descend into a “bun fight” - an indicator of the attitude of many to serious moves to unity, which cannot be achieved by pretending differences do not exist.

However, after much discussion it has been agreed there will be a debate between Hopi and Campaign Iran - interestingly SWP members in the organising meeting offered no opposition to Hopi’s participation. The organisation that has slandered Hopi in union, student and political gatherings across the country did not make a murmur of criticism. Unless there is a last-minute change of heart, this debate will give Hopi a chance to state the case for principled internationalism.