SOCIALIST UNITY

Loyalist terrorists in collusion with the state, corrupt union bosses, a truly repellent lefty Terry Shields from Socialist Advance, a plain speaking hero, the CIA, Earth First!ers, golf, Zoe Wanamaker, it was all packed in.

Well there were elements that lost us all but still a stunning piece of work and a monument to the dark side of Thatcherism and the corporate dominated world within which we now live.

Not everything about the Mel Gibson version is rubbish, it has some of the old team involved but Mel as the late great Bob Peck I don’t think so.

The opening shots of the 1985 original , which I have yet to locate on the web, show a left green political meeting with that stalwart of the Bennite left of the Labour Party Michael Meacher, playing himself.

If you were around and watching BBC in Britain in the 1980s give your self a treat, if you did not have this dubious pleasure, take a look at the DVD of the original Edge of Darkness, an utter classic.

Bit too deep ecology for me but hey, its the plot, the filming and the script that count.

More here

I am genuinely unsure what the best way is for the left to respond to the English Defence League.

In the most recent issue of the Welsh left magazine, Celyn, there is a fascinating article by Colin Nosworthy, who works as a communications officer for Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg, and is Plaid Cymru candidate in Brecon and Radnorshire.

Colin writes about the EDL protest in Swansea, ostensibly by the “Welsh Defence League”, but almost all those there were from England, with English flags and banners. (the height of this absurdity was the EDL protest in the Welsh town of Wrecsam/Wrexham where football fans from Bolton unfurled an English flag and started shouting “we want our country back”).

There is a great deal of honesty and self-awareness in Colin’s report. he describes how the counter protest to the EDL in Swansea succeeded in bringing together the left, the Green,s Plaid Cymru, labour party members and anarchists, and was supported by trade unions like PCS and NAPO; there were four Assembly members there Huw Lewis, Bethan Jenkins, Leanne Wood and Andrew Davies, as well as Sian james MP. The protest was young, lively and confident.

This is Colin’s appraisal:

We gathered in Castle Square in the centre of Swansea where the EDL had organised to be. Ours was a deliberate attempt to prevent the fascists’ protest taking place. … After about three hours the word spread that they ahd arrived. We rushed to the police lines on the road above the square. Anti-fascists started shouting at the drunk nazi-saluting EDL protesters who had tried to march on the square.

Around 50 of them were pinned against a wall by hundreds of police then there was a stand off for half an hour, which ended with a chant from us as the police led them away.

The ‘victory’ was euphoric. Drums played and kids danced. A success? No, I’m afraid not.

When I saw the TV coverage I realised the fascists had won a partial victory. The depressing facts were these. they got coverage; we looked as though we were on their level and spoiling for a fight.

In contrast, the recent EDL march in Wootton Bassett on 10th January was subject to an almost total media blackout, except for one article in the Daily Telegraph, which pooh poohed the EDL’s claims that Anjem Choudrey had been on his way to Bassett. The EDL travelled across the country, were ignored by locals, contained by Wiltshire police stood around in the cold, and then went home again without anyone playing them any attention. A demoralising waste of time.

There are undoubtedly BNP members, and fascist involved in EDL, trying to increase the level of politicisation. Nevertheless, it seems to me that this is still a phenomenon of violent and largely unpolitical hooligans reflecting the background level of Islamophobia and racism in wider society.

They should not be dignified with the label of being a political movement holding a democratic demonstration; they are violent hoodlums out for confrontation, and using the pretext of Islamophobia seeking to provoke a reaction. As such I am still minded to believe that the best way to deal with them is to demand that the police treat them as a simple threat to public order, to ban their gatherings, and if they turn up anyway, then kettle them in a side street for a few hours. The rampage by the EDl in Stoke where they fought with the police should make it easier to argue for their events being banned, and robustly policed.

My worry is that the left mobilising for counter demonstrations feeds them with both the publicity and adrenalin buzz they are after; and even runs the risk of accelerating their politicisation.

I am however, certainly open to the counter arguments; I was talking in the pub last night to two members of the UAF steering committee, who definitely disagree with me on this.

I enjoyed yesterday’s Progressive London event hugely.

Apparently. over 700 people registered for the conference which was billed under the title, “A Progressive Agenda to Stop the Right in 2010” and hosted by Ken Livingstone. The event was supported and sponsored by SERTUC, Unite the Union, GMB, CWU, ASLEF, GMB, and BECTU. The turn-out is almost double what the conference organisers expected.

Speaking of the conference’s success Ken Livingstone said:

“Progressive political forces in London have shown through the tremendous turn-out at this conference and the serious level of discussion and debate that they are determined to move forward as well as resist the possibility of a Tory government.

“We need to harness the enthusiasm and unity seen today at the conference and take this forward to do what we can to prevent the Tories coming to government with Thatcherism Mark II. Today’s tight opinion polls show that this is possible.

“The Progressive London conference aims to tap into the progressive majority in London. We need to build on this and continue to have an open engagement and dialogue in the run-up to the general election. Tory policy is for the minority. Their policies favour the privileged better off and punish those on average incomes and the least well off.”

The session I was speaking at was on “new media and winning the argument”, alongside Clifford Singer, Alex Smith and Helen Gardner and Sunny Hundal, whose report of the event is here. The chair was Kevin Mcguire of the daily Mirror. It was good to meet people in the flesh. I didn’t get a chance to chat with Clifford or Helen, both of whom spoke well; but Sunny discussed with me afterwards how the left bloggers need to be more mutually supportive; and I was very impressed with Alex. Laurie Penny spoke from the floor, raising the complex issues of how women bloggers get overlooked and patronised.

The purpose of the conference, as Ken Livingstone explains is to

“develop and implement a progressive alternative to the Tories. Progressive policies, to be effective, must support both those on middle incomes and the less advantaged. These together constitute a large majority of the electorate. That’s quite different from concentrating on attempting to win over the best-off.

“The key terrain on which the election must be fought is the need to protect those on middle incomes and the least advantaged against the Tories who would transfer resources from the average elector to the well-off.”

by Patrick Black
The General election looms large on the horizon with New Labour flundering around trying to appeal to right, left and centre alike in competition with the not so New Tories.

What then for those parties to the Left of New Labour and for those who really cant stomach the idea of voting for four more years of New Labour deciept, neo liberal capitalist policies and never ending imperialist wars, however much we are told it is “progressive” and “social democrat” or for Cameron´s not so new tory bastards,the wishy washy lib dems or the racist fascist BNP.

To the Left of New Labour is Respect, the Green party, the Scottish Socialist party, Plaid Cymru ,Wigan People´s alliance and Arthur Scargill´s Socialist Labour party. Well ! Now, with no great expense spared …….from the creators of No2EUyes2 democracy is the launch of TRADE UNIONIST AND SOCIALIST COALITION (TUSC).TUSC is brought to you, with no great fanfare or flurry of media interest and barely a murmur in  Left cyber space  other than in workers weekly and a few other haunts.

How this new electoral coalition will impact, respond and relate to other such Left political actors (as above) and vice versa remains to be seen. According to the Scotsman newspaper (if we are to believe anything that is written in it´s pages), Bob Crow, Secretary General of the RMT union, is convening a meeting this coming weekend  in Scotland in an attempt to bring together the Scottish Socialist party and Tommy Sheridan´s Solidarity…..brave man or completely insane or what !!That´s Bob Crow I am referring to. Dont hold your breath now!

Likewise,to what extent the launch of TUSC indicates that definte lessons have been learnt from the experience of it´s dubious forerunner and  might even be seen as a step forward or backwards on the road to creating an urgently needed new united Left party again remains to be seen.

In the interests of socialist unity and wanting to generate a healthy and constructive discussion and debate  on the Left and hopefully beyond , below is printed the TUSC launch summary description and outline , which recently appeared on the website of the Coventry socialist and likewise can be found on the website of the socialist party and it´s campaign for a New workers party which can be found at www.cnwp.org.uk/

What do people think about it ?

Electoral coalition to challenge bosses’ parties in general election

Last week saw the culmination of a series of discussions by participants in the ‘No2EU-Yes to Democracy’ European election coalition in Britain to see whether another alliance could be constructed for the forthcoming general election.  The result is that there will now be an election challenge, under the newly-registered electoral banner, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

No2EU was an alliance for a specific election, registered as a party as required by electoral law, involving the RMT transport workers’ union, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party of Britain, Solidarity - Scotland’s Socialist Movement, and others. This time the RMT is not formally backing the coalition. However, RMT branches and regional councils will be able to apply to the union’s national executive to support, politically and financially, individual candidates in their area. And Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, is supporting TUSC in a personal capacity, and will serve on its steering committee.

Places have been reserved on the committee for the core organisations which participated in No2EU, who will now decide on their involvement in the new coalition. Also involved in a personal capacity are other prominent trade unionists, including Brian Caton, the general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), and leading national officers of the PCS civil servants’ union. While there is no formal involvement of a national trade union, this is still an important coalescing, on the political plane, of the most fighting trade union leaders in Britain today.

A number of local RMT branches, and other trade unionists too, have already declared that they intend to stand candidates in the general election but have not registered a ‘party name’. Now, if they wish, such candidates will be able to appear on the ballot paper as Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, rather than as ‘Independent’. Candidates from community campaigns, and other socialist organisations that have not been involved in the discussions to date, will also be able to stand under the TUSC banner.

The coalition has agreed a core policy statement which prospective candidates will be asked to endorse. As a federal ‘umbrella’ organisation, however, coalition candidates and participating organisations will also be able to produce their own supporting material. This was the approach successfully adopted by the No2EU campaign, which allowed the different organisations involved to collaborate under a common banner.

The core policy statement reflects the differing perspectives of those involved in the discussions leading to TUSC’s formation. It recognises that amongst potential coalition supporters there will be “different strategic views about the way forward for the left in Britain, whether the Labour Party can be reclaimed by the labour movement, or whether a new workers’ party needs to be established”, the latter being the position of the Socialist Party (CWI in England & Wales).

But with the coming ferocious attacks on public spending, wages, living standards and workers’ rights, regardless of which party (Tory (conservative) or New Labour) forms the next government, the coalition aims to bring home the urgent need for “mass resistance to the ruling class offensive, and for an alternative programme of left-wing policies to help inspire and direct such resistance”.

The core policies include, amongst others, opposition to public spending cuts and privatisation, calls for investment in publicly owned and controlled renewable energy, the repeal of the anti-trade union laws, and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

The statement makes a clear socialist commitment to “bringing into democratic public ownership the major companies and banks that dominate the economy, so that production and services can be planned to meet the needs of all and to protect the environment”.

Coalition candidates will offer a credible challenge to New Labour, for example, in the contest between Socialist Party councillor and former MP, Dave Nellist, and the defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, in Coventry North East. But while in some cases its vote may be squeezed, in the context of a polarised election the coalition will still have a significant impact particularly inside the trade unions in forcing a debate on the crisis of working class political representation. This itself is important preparation for the events to come.  The lack of formal endorsement of the coalition from even left-wing trade unions like the RMT, the POA, the PCS or the Fire Brigades Union will be a disappointment for many workers.

The trade union leaders involved in the coalition, who enthusiastically back it in a personal capacity, felt that more time is needed to convince a broader layer of their memberships to take such an important step at this stage. This is a reflection of the ambivalent consciousness of many workers about the coming election, with a deep hatred of New Labour but also fear at the prospect of a Tory government. But we can be confident that big events, both before the election and after, will at some point compel the unions to move decisively onto the political arena.

What is clear is that without a qualitative change in the situation in Britain, through the development of independent working class political organisation to initially at least check the pro-capitalist parties, the ruling class will have a freer hand to impose their austerity policies. Many commentators have referred to the 2010 election as a ‘turning point’ contest and for the working class it will indeed herald the onset of a new age of ’savage cuts’, whichever establishment party wins.

The launch of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is a modest but important step in the development of a movement of resistance.

See also the Socialist Party statement, Action needed to bring election coalition into shape, in The Socialist (Paper of the Socialist Party, No.600, 4 November 2009.)

To sign up as a launch sponsor of TUSC, in a personal capacity, send the necessary details (name, address, trade union/position, etc) to TUSC, 17 Colebert House, Colebert Avenue, London E1 4JP or e-mail the electioncoalition@btinternet.com

To visit / join the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition Facebook group click here

I haven’t much time to write anything today, so I thought instead I would just point you in the direction of one of my favourite blogs, which is always worth reading, and which has a distinct viewpoint from a section of the blogosphere we rarely here from, African women. I recommend that you add Black Looks to your lists of favourites, RSS feeds, and blogrolls.

Recent posts include a discussion of the politics behind aid for Haiti, and the patronising and racist preconceptions sometimes exhibited. A useful roundup of articles about Haiti is here; also check out this great documentary “when we voted for freedom” by Kevin Pina, who has been involved with Haitian politics for several years, and lives in Port au Prince.

Responses to homophobia in Africa, that stresses the active role of Africans themselves in challenging discrimination and bigotry

And a really inter4esting film here about how women are being empowered in Rwanda

Letter in today’s Guardian.

by George Galloway MP 

The timing of a conference this weekend outlining policies and action to bring about a more progressive London could scarcely be better. This week the official figures confirm what those of us in east London can see with our own eyes: that class inequality has increased to Victorian levels even as tens of billions of pounds of public money has gone into banks which remain in private hands.

The result is gold-dripping Croesus characters in Canary Wharf and the City eyeing every council estate and bit of spare land in the East End as a possible development or pied-a-terre, with the current inhabitants an encumbrance to be uprooted and dumped further east. This class gulf is combined with racial inequalities, poor health and other forms of deprivation into a toxic cocktail.

It is set to get worse – and much, much worse if the Old Etonians of the Tory party are to get the chance, as they did in the early 1980s, to unleash their Thatcherite dogmas. And no one should forget – as one representative after another of Blair’s war camarilla is hauled before the Iraq inquiry – that Cameron and the Tories backed each and every one of those bloody adventures.

Yet despite the deadening consensus in parliament, on many issues there is a progressive majority – particularly in London. At one point there appeared to be flickers of realisation in the Brown circle that this is so. They flirted with the idea of fighting an election contrasting Tory cuts to necessary public investment. But a peashooter across the bows from the Blairites in the New Year put paid to that.

Now we are to face an election with the three parties pushing various permutations of cuts that threaten to plunge the economy into a second slump even as it flatlines from the first. My party, Respect, will be standing in carefully targeted seats in opposition to that. And we will be working with those who also seek to promote a progressive answer to class inequality, war and racism. If we can win in the three seats where we are best placed – Poplar & Limehouse and Bethnal Green & Bow in east London, and Hall Green in Birmingham – we believe we can make a major contribution to shifting the terms of political debate.

We know, of course, that that will not be enough. That’s why we are engaging across the board with those who want to defend traditional Labour values. The argument is overwhelming. We are told that the state needs to be cut back. But it is only thanks to the largest ever state peacetime state intervention in the economy that the world has avoided a greater slump than the 1930s, at least for now.

We are told by one general after another that we will have to be in Afghanistan for five, 10, or even 15 years. Yet scepticism about the war has grown and is set, along with Iraq, to provide a backdrop to this year’s general election as it did in 2005. The shrill cries of racism, bigotry and Islamophobia are amplified by the media and all too many politicians, giving credence to the hate-mongers of the BNP. Yet more and more people are living and mixing alongside one another in council wards, schools and workplaces across Britain.

The London elections in 2008 saw a progressive coalition emerge. But it was defeated, not because it was too radical, but because it was dragged down by the failure of New Labour in office. As I said to those on the left who appeared indifferent, or even hostile, as to whether Ken Livingstone would remain mayor of London, quoting Joni Mitchell, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone.” How many people must now bitterly realise that now that Boris Johnson is busy paving, if not paradise, then certainly over one poor community after another in the capital.

The same should not be allowed to happen now nationally. Those who want a fairer and more just society need to band together and stand on principle. We can do that it movements for peace, social justice and against racism. But we should do it where we can at the ballot box too.

• George Galloway is speaking at the Progressive London conference on 30 January at Congress House, Great Russell Street WC1H, 10am-5:30pm. To register in advance go to www.progressivelondon.org.uk

first published on Guardian CiF

FROM PHILOSOPHY FOOTBALL All profits from Philosophy Football’s ‘Aidez Hait’ T-shirt will go to the appeal launched by the TUC towards emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of the victims of the earthquake. Details from here >

The Philosophy Football Aidez Haiti shirt is available from here 

Photographer Jess Hurd is someone Philosophy Football has worked with in the past year, collaborating on exhibitions. Recently returned from the earthquake zone, she warns that her photos should be viewed with caution, they are extremely harrowing, 

Two outstanding articles on Haiti have in the past week have made points  Philosophy Football entirely endorse. Seumas Milne wrote “Whlie last week’s earthquake was a natural disaster, the scale of the human catastrophe it has unleashed is man-made. It is uncontested that poverty is the main cause of the horrific death toll: the product of teeming shacks and the absence of health and public infrastructure. But Haiti’s poverty is treated as some baffling quirk of history or culture, when in reality it is the direct consequence of a uniquely brutal relationship with the outside world — notably the US, France and Britain — stretching back centuries.” Full article here > 

And Andy Kershaw has pointed out how an apparently sympathetic media has often served to misrepresent the ordinary Haitians  ”Too much energy in the last week has been expended on bickering the fetish about “security”. This assumption that there is a security threat has gone completely unchallenged by an army of foreign press, unfamiliar with Haiti and the character of the Haitians. Indeed, TV reporters particularly, having exhausted the televisual possibilities of rubble, have been talking up “security”, “unrest” and “violence” when all available evidence would indicate anything but.” Full article here

We intend to hand our first donation over at next Wednesday’s TUC  Concert For Haiti, details here  Do help us raise the funds as quickly as possible, and do please spread the word via facebook, blogs, emails, twitter etc.