Life On Mars - Part One

Or - with friends like this who needs enemies?

An extract sent to us by a comrade who thought we might need some " light relief"

From "Trade unionist and socialist coalition - Important step towards a new workers' party" By Clive Heemskirk

"TUSC HAS been established as a federal 'umbrella' coalition, with an agreed core policy statement but with participating candidates and organisations accountable for their own campaigns. The steering committee welcomed the support of a number of socialist groups, including the Walsall-based Democratic Labour Party and its councillor, Peter Smith. Amongst the first tranche of TUSC candidates approved, are members of four different socialist organisations, including Socialist Resistance and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP).

The admission of the SWP to the coalition was not automatic, however. TUSC is a federal coalition but each component, its candidates and participating organisations, will be scrutinised, certainly by New Labour opponents inside the trade unions. With this in mind the record of the SWP was questioned.

Bob Crow, reflecting the response of RMT militants as last year's Lindsey strike unfolded, immediately and rightly condemned those "misrepresenting the strikers as xenophobic - a posh word for racist" (in a letter to The Guardian, 6 February 2009). The SWP, on the other hand, criticised the strikes as 'nationalist'.

The SWP took a similar stance towards No2EU, the electoral body which was supported not just by the union tops but a big majority of RMT activists. These and other political mistakes by the SWP will not make winning support for TUSC easier inside the RMT, and other unions too.

Moreover, there is also suspicion amongst many activists of the methods of the SWP when working in broad coalitions. The SWP rejected a federal approach in the Socialist Alliance, for example, using its weight of numbers to dominate, which compelled the Socialist Party to leave and led to the eventual demise of that organisation in 2003.

On the other hand, it was argued, the SWP's record will not be known particularly to workers moving into struggle for the first time. They could be attracted to TUSC and would naturally want to see the widest possible unity. It is necessary not to do anything that could be a potential barrier to them.

On balance then, it was felt that the potential drawbacks of the SWP's involvement could be overcome. So, after assurances that they would accept the federal character of TUSC, the SWP have been invited onto the coalition steering committee."


To read the whole tale http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/8762

More from Trot Central soon......