27.01.2011

Cameron's 'easy-peasy' compared to Thatcher

The Socialist Party has further divided the anti-cuts movement, reports Gerry Downing

The National Shop Stewards Network effectively split at its January 22 meeting to launch the NSSN All-Britain Anti-Cuts Campaign. At this very 'democratic' conference (the outcome was a foregone conclusion) of well over 500, the votes for the majority and minority resolutions were 305 and 89 respectively. The entire event was taken up with debating the two motions (apart from hearing appeals from representatives of workers currently on strike). The successful resolution proposed the setting up of a new anti-cuts campaign, while the second called for a fight to "build a single national anti-cuts organisation early in 2011". While the overwhelming majority of those voting for motion 1 were Socialist Party comrades, one of the first speakers in favour was Alex Gordon, president of the RMT union, who reported that he and Bob Crow had had a meeting with the SP's Linda Taaffe and Bill Mullins, and "agreed with the proposal of the NSSN steering committee on December 4 2010 to launch an anti-cuts campaign" around the slogan, 'No to all cuts in jobs and services'. Later Steve Hedley, long-time rank-and-file activist and critic of Bob Crow, in a complete political about-turn strongly defended the new RMT line.

Linda Taaffe moved the majority resolution. She invoked the glorious traditions of the Militant Tendency, from the heroic Liverpool 47 surcharged councillors to the All-Britain Poll Tax Federation, in her justification of the launch of the All-Britain Anti-Cuts Campaign - the third such organisation, now in competition with Right to Work and the Coalition of Resistance.

The main argument for striking out alone concerned the correct attitude to Labour councillors who were implementing the cuts, with Linda berating those in the NSSN who allegedly defended Labour councillors and "stroked their feathers to make them feel not so bad about making the cuts". In the face of the greatest cuts offensive since the 'Geddes axe' of 1921-22, the "enormous power of the working class must be unleashed to stop it". We needed to "push the TUC into action" by "a one-day public sector strike, followed up by a one-day general strike". But it is "not just against the bosses and the city we are fighting, but also Labour councillors in local campaigns."

In response to accusations of dividing the movement, she stated: "We don't want to do what others want us to do and dissolve ourselves. They call us splitters, but which organisation was here first? RTW split off from the NSSN and they call us splitters." Then came the reference to the great Liverpool 47 and how they had stood up to the vicious Thatcher government - "Cameron and his gang would be easy-peasy compared to Thatcher," she opined.

George Binette of Permanent Revolution moved the minority resolution. He pleaded for a "genuine, mass, non-sectarian organisation" and opposed the super-optimism of Linda Taaffe's "barnstorming" speech. The labour movement was "woefully unprepared" for this struggle. He pointed the finger at Unison's Dave Prentis, whose response to the 2,000 redundancies announced by Manchester council was that it was "a tragedy", but "we will continue to work alongside" those wielding the axe. There are very few strikes actually taking place and trade union density is far weaker today than it had been a few decades ago, so we must "stare reality in the face" and "work jointly to build a single, joint anti-cuts campaign".

Then we had innumerable three-minute alternate speeches for and against, where super-optimistic bluster was counterposed to some frankly defeatist contributions ("If the workers decide not to fight then there will be redundancies," said Bob Archer). A range of different positions were apparent in opposition to the SP, from Socialist Workers Party RTW defencism to syndicalist pleas for a return to the "network" conception of the NSSN, when it was an adjunct to the left bureaucrats in pledging not to intervene in the internal affairs of TUC-affiliated unions.

Over 70 'dissidents' met in the Cock Tavern after the meeting to decide the way forward. An-hour long discussion saw some agreement emerge on the need to hang together, with some comrades (Socialist Fight, Workers Power and others) arguing for a genuine rank-and-file opposition, as well as those upholding the old NSSN. It seems there may be space made for such a new body at RTW's People's Convention Against Cuts on February 12 and maybe at future COR events, but all were agreed that a separate meeting was necessary to discuss the way forward in such a diverse tendency.

The Socialist Party slate for the anti-cuts committee was elected unopposed, apart from the addition of Toby Abse, signalling the withdrawal of all the minority 'dissidents'. Apart from Alex Gordon, all the rest are either SP members or fellow-travellers in the Campaign for a New Workers' Party. So we have, among others, Rob Williams, sacked and reinstated Linamar convenor; Glenn Kelly, witch-hunted Unison NEC member; Dave Nellist, Socialist Party councillor; Terry Pearce, CNWP stalwart; and Nancy Taaffe (billed as coordinator of the Waltham Forest Anti-Cuts Union).

Meanwhile, we may be seeing some shift in the balance of forces within the trade unions. The more leftwing unions, such as the PCS, RMT, POA, FBU and CWU, may now be joined by Unite in a sort of alternative TUC, given the absolute craven stance of Brendan Barber to the cuts crisis. This prospect is what is giving such confidence to the SP leaders, who believe they are not striking out on their own, but have outmanoeuvred their rivals, the Socialist Workers Party, for the allegiance of the left bureaucracy.