13.04.1995

Candidates for communism

Dominic Handley, who has recently joined the CPGB, stood for the first time as a Communist candidate in Lochee West, Dundee - a new ward for us. He stood in a safe Labour seat where the sitting councillor was Dundee’s lord provost (mayor), but his votes were hard won votes for revolution. We spoke to him about the campaign

When did you first become a supporter?

I joined a year ago during the European elections. I saw the CPGB shop and read the literature in the window. I had heard that Mary Ward had left the Labour Party and thought that was good.

I had always felt that Labour was just like the Tories. Now it all became clearer - like a veil had been torn away and I could see through them all.

The Weekly Worker was the first paper I had seen which unambiguously told the truth about the Labour Party - that it was not our party and we needed to rebuild our Communist Party.

I took part in the European election campaign and started to go to Dundee branch meetings.

How did you feel when asked to stand as a candidate?

Terrified! I expected some abuse from ‘settler watch’ (mad nationalists) or fascists. I was nervous about displaying my politics openly on the street.

However, although I expected the campaign to be hard work, I was sure I would enjoy it because of my previous experience during the European elections. I really wanted to give people a choice.

The campaign was well organised and all our comrades enjoyed it. It brought us together more and made us stronger.

What was the response on the door?

We had a good warm response in Lochee.

There was a lot of disillusionment with the established parties but although most people intended to vote Labour, having a Communist standing was like a breath of fresh air to many people. The idea was “Let’s get the Tories out first and see what happens from there.”

It was good to try to convince them that Labour was a capitalist party, just as bad as the Tories.

What was the aim of the campaign and what do you think we achieved?

It was important to get our propaganda through to people. To challenge accepted ideas, to make people think and politicise themselves. To get them to ask questions about the failure of the entire system. To point out the sham of electoral democracy.

In Lochee parochialism and patronage seemed to go hand in hand. Tom McDonald is a well known and well liked individual on the right of the Labour Party. But the council itself cuts as ruthlessly as the rest.

We stood to put over our message and attract supporters - and we did that. It is now important to go back to folk and build on what we have achieved.

Will you stand as a candidate again?

Yes, definitely!

Other left results

Scottish Militant Labour:

Communist Party of Britain:

Govan 45; Cairns 77

Communist Party of Scotland:

Willie Clarke retained his seat with 1,271 votes