Labour Party

Which way for the unions and Labour?

What should socialists conclude from the debate at the Communication Workers’ Union conference on the union’s political relationship to the Labour Party (where no policy was passed)? The AWL’s National Committee favours disaffiliation moves where they are linked to positive moves for independent working class politics. We are also conducting a debate on this issue in the AWL ). Two responses. Activists should back working-class candidates By John Bloxam Events at the CWU Conference on Monday 8 June says much about the wretched state of the union leadership and the urgency of pushing the fight...

Unison leader says: fund only union-loyal Labour candidates

Dave Prentis, general secretary of the public services union Unison, declared at the union's conference in Brighton on 16 June that Labour MPs and candidates at the next election who backed further privatisation of public services would have funding withdrawn. According to the Unison website summary of his speech, "he called on the Labour Link [Unison's political arm] to suspend constituency payments [i.e. for "Constituency Development Plans" of local parties], ensure that the next manifesto does not continue privatisation of public services and 'ensure that our union only promotes and...

Socialists against New Labour

On 6-7 June members of the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty were on the streets of south east London campaigning for our candidate in the next general election. Jill Mountford will be standing against New Labour’s Harriet Harman in Camberwell and Peckham. Comrades and supporters ran stalls, leafleted, sold our paper, and canvassed the area around Camberwell. Like many inner London neighbourhoods, Camberwell has some well-off residents, but the big majority are working class. Canvassing and discussing on street corners is a very useful, interesting experience. Many people walk past without paying...

John McDonnell proposes new "Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory"

John McDonnell, the left Labour MP who challenged Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership in 2007, has made an appeal for a distinctive left "slate" within the Labour campaign at the coming general election. Writing in the Guardian, McDonnell declared: "The only responsible act in the long term interests of our movement would be to offer a real change in political direction by mounting a challenge to the political leadership of the party and letting the members of the party decide but this route would almost certainly be blocked again by MPs failing to nominate. Then the only alternative is...

FBU conference rejects Labour Party reaffiliation

The Fire Brigades Union conference in May rejected a motion from Durham for "a study" paving the way for reaffiliation to the Labour Party. The FBU disaffiliated from the Labour Party in 2004, disgusted by the Labour government's attitude in the FBU's 2002-3 pay dispute. At the 2007 FBU conference, the Executive proposed: "Concern has been expressed that disaffiliation has closed a number of doors... It is right that the Union should continue to debate its political direction and this will inevitably include the issue of possible re-affiliation to the Labour Party... The Executive Council will...

CWU conference ducks political questions

A delegate at the CWU conference in Bournemouth reports on the debate (Monday morning, 8 June) on the CWU's political activity. "Scrappy debate. Mainly support for [general secretary] Billy Hayes's approach, i.e. leave it to the leadership to do a deal with the Government. "At the same time Billy Hayes reaffirmed last year's policy of a ballot on support for the Labour Party at the general election [not, as often reported, on affiliation] if privatisation goes through. "Motion 99 [which called for no CWU financial or physical support to Labour MPs who refuse to back the union on Royal Mail...

As the BNP fascists win two Euro-seats: Unions should call the Labour Party to order

The fascist BNP has won two Euro-MPs. Labour has hit a record low in the Euro-elections. New Labour is crumbling - to the advantage of the fascist BNP, of the right-wing and xenophobic UKIP, and of the Tories. The affiliated unions should call the Labour Party to order. John McDonnell, who ran as a left candidate against Gordon Brown for leader in 2007, has called for "a recall Labour party conference - one that is properly open to all our members, supporters and progressives - at which we can debate the policies, democratically agree a new way forward and motivate our supporters once again...

Combatting the BNP on the doorsteps

Activists from Nottinghamshire Stop the BNP returned to the streets in their campaign against the British National Party. Leafleting door-to-door in the Beeston area of Nottingham, a small group of anti-fascists found themselves on the same front steps as the BNP, who’d covered the area a short time before. The BNP material — a combination of glossy leaflets and a photocopied local newsletter — repeated the fascists core themes for the coming European and local elections: “Say to to EU rule”, “oppose mass immigration”, “house British people first”, “help pensioners not banks”. Wayne Shelbourn...

Labour activists demand reselection proceedings against MPs who fiddle expenses

By 19 May, 200 mainstream Labour Party figures had signed a letter to the National Executive urging it to “support the immediate removal of the whip from individual MPs who have brought the party into disrepute over this issue and allow CLPs [constituency Labour party] to trigger reselection ballots against them”. The National Executive that day decided to set up “a panel of NEC members... to interview any Labour MPs where there appears to be evidence against them. The panel will have the power to recommend to the NEC that MPs are not allowed to stand as Labour candidates at the next General...

Keeping our options open

In Solidarity 3/151 Sean Matgamna started a discussion on perspectives for the labour movement in the economic crisis. We continue the discussion in Solidarity with a (personal) reply to Sean’s articles by Cathy Nugent and a reply to Cathy by Martin Thomas. The other articles here are “observations” on issues of relevance to the discussion. Sean and other comrades have written other articles on this issue; these, a longer version of Cathy’s article and the policy in support of union disaffiliation from Labour passed by the current AWL National Committee can be found here . The issue will be...

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