Unity leaflet

Submitted by Janine on 24 May, 2000 - 10:18

handed out at London asylum (SWP) rally, 24/05/00

On 4 May the London Socialist Alliance polled over 46,000 in the constituency ballots for the GLA. 2.9%, overall, is a useful start; the LSA votes for Theresa Bennett (6.2%) in Lambeth and for Cecilia Prosper (7%) are impressive votes for an organisation which has not contested an election before.

Moreover the left unity which held during the election campaign was a breath of fresh air.
The question is: what next?

The LSA needs permanent, rational structures so that both individuals and organisations can work together and have real control of their organisation. And clearly, the logic of standing against New Labour in these London elections should be followed through to the next general election. With a few riders - not standing against left-wing Labour candidates; avoiding, wherever possible, losing Labour seats to the Liberals and the Tories.
We should still be for a Labour government (Labour is still tied to the unions and the working class) and for a Labour vote where there is no better alternative.

Open, democratic structures must be expanded and spread round the country. The project should begin as soon as possible. If socialist candidates are to do well in the general election the campaigning must begin quickly.

And we should ask ourselves: if the far-left can conclude an agreement - and stick to it - to run an impressive campaign in the London elections, why can't the socialists forge such unity in other areas of campaigning and political life? For example, why can't we form a united campaign to defend the Health Service? Why can't the left form common rank and file groups in the unions?

An immediate proposal: the LSA should call meetings of its supporters in the trade unions to co-ordinate a long-term LSA campaigning presence - calling Livingstone to account, placing demands on the GLA, organising action across the movement. In the process we will increase our profile and respect in the unions - and so improve on the relatively small number of trade union organisations which backed the LSA in the recent campaign.

Beyond these immediate issues lies the questions of closer collaboration of the revolutionary left, and of revolutionary unity. The case for one, larger, multi-tendency revolutionary organisation is simple and rests on the same principle as the LSA: together we would be stronger than the sum of our parts.
Workers' Liberty is for revolutionary unity with two simple conditions:

  • A united, revolutionary organisation must be genuinely democratic - implying an active membership which is well-educated in Marxism and a tolerant party "regime" which treats political disputes as part of the lifeblood of a revolutionary organisation, rather than as an irritation or threat;
  • Revolutionary unity must rest on an orientation to the working class and on an activist orientation to transforming the labour movement into a movement which struggles in the interests of the working class as a whole.

Currently the left is littered with groupings which have leaderships permanently in place, ruling as intolerant dictatorships over their memberships. The political direction of groups such as the Socialist Party and the SWP are not determined by their memberships, but by small groups in London offices. Political education is low, questioning party directives is vigorously discouraged.

Workers' Liberty is for open debate and discussion between the various tendencies on the left and with the left organisations. It is something we practice ourselves - open debate on our differences; unity in action.

Moreover the left has a distant "outsider" attitude to the organisations of the working class with very little influence in the key unions. We must turn to the working class and its organisations building non-sectarian unity of the key issues of the day.

Work with us, discuss with us.

The Editorial Board of Workers' Liberty

PO Box 823 London SE15 4NA

office@workersliberty.org

www.workersliberty.org

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