The end of the Labour-CWU link?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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It was the story that has been pretty much missed by the mainstream press and mainstream blogs, the London branch of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) has voted to no longer supply funds to the Labour Party after the results of an ‘indicative ballot.’ Only Bethan Jenkins AM has picked up the story.

Next week CWU will announce plans for a ‘consultative ballot’ of members in relation to it’s affiliation with the Labour Party. It is not yet clear the exact proposition of the ballot but it is likely that it will be a direct ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on maintaining it’s affiliation to the Labour.

There have been rumours for some time that the Billy Hayes, General Secretary of the CWU, has been contemplating such a ballot of it’s membership. In some ways the ballot can be seen as a referendum on the direction of Hayes’ leadership of the union and his ousting of pro-Brown opinion inside the union.

There has been little in the way of rumour in how Billy Hayes would like to see CWU’s political fund allocated. It is unsure whether he would consider going down the same path as Bob Crow and establish some kind of British ‘Die Linke’, or instead go with the PCS and FBU option of supporting individual candidates.

For some time I have been of the impression that the CWU represents a major unifying force for any radical-left challenge to Labour in British politics. CWU has a giant political fund that could potentially sustain a left-of-Labour electoral challenge from the non-affiliated trade unions backed up by one or two soft-far-left parties. My personal preference would be to see CWU throw it’s weight behind the Greens in England and Plaid in Wales, but the Green-trade union link is weak in comparison to the links non-affiliated trade unions have to the non-mainstream left, despite the Greens pro-worker policies.

We could well be seeing the break-up of the Labour-CWU link soon.

[goinpostal]

Time to ditch labour and form a new anticapitalist party like in France! :mfo

The case for a new anti-capitalist party

Call for a new anticapitalist party
Add your name to the appeal by sending an email to anticapitalistparty@gmail.com

After more than 12 years in office, Labour has proved itself time and again to be a party that attacks workers' pay, conditions, jobs and rights. And now we face the worst capitalist economic crisis for decades, with a massacre of jobs sweeping the country.

The working class in Britain does not have a party of our own to organise and inspire resistance to the bosses’ crisis on a daily basis – on the streets and in the workplaces as well as at election times.

Without a new working class party, there is a danger that the racists and fascists will take advantage of the anger and anxiety caused by the crisis and scapegoat migrant workers, asylum seekers, and Black and Asian people.

A new party would fight to force the rich capitalists to pay for the crisis of their system, not the workers.

We appeal to all the trade unions and socialist organisations, to all activists fighting for resistance from below, to anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigners confronting the BNP, to the trade union leaders and members: let's unite and build a new anticapitalist party.

Many activists and groups are now discussing left unity. Conferences in the autumn will discuss challenging Labour at the next election.

We want to see a new anticapitalist workers' party take up that challenge.
We call for:

* An open conference - bringing together unions, socialist organisations, workers, youth and left campaigners - to launch a new anticapitalist party
* Local committees for a new party: start building roots in communities
* For a slate of candidates in the general election

[pickaname]

The red/communist slant is incredibly off putting.

I doubt any party that labels itself socialist has any hope of getting seats an election.

[IWW Fellow Worker]

Personally, I have little faith in political parties, but it seems to me that any new party is going to be dominated by some Marxist sect or other and within a short space of time there will be a split. A party which will represent the working class (including pensioners, students, the unemployed and school pupils) will have to have suitable politics for the present and not allow itself to be fenced in by the thoughts of a couple of middle-class Germans from the 1800s or a few Russian tyrants from early in the 1900s if it isn't to end up as just another sect.

[borders]

this is what happened in Respect, a split between the SWP members and George Galloway , with eventually the SWP leaving. there is too many divisions between all the left wing groups which make a united front almost impossible. IWW, i actually think Marxism goes some way to explaining the type of society we live in . it goes a long way in explaining the booms and busts of the capitalist system and the many contradictions and class divisions that accompany it. if you dont have any faith in any political party, how do you suggest we can change things ??

[dvbuk55]

As far as most of the rank and file are concerned the link has long gone - it is only the die hard labourites and the leadership that have any belief that the labour party is for the working man anymore. Like all organisations these days they lose sight of what the original raison d'etre was and over time they assume a life of their own.

[taxi4leighton]

your right as usual .Tony Blair killed the labour party

[borders]

if you are judging the Labour party as a working mans party ,i think you will find they were killed a long time before Tony Blair.

[The Jarvie Ward]

The sooner the better, with the Sun dumping Labour and jumping into bed with the Tories this is an ideal time to have this ballot coverage wise

[TrueBlueTerrier]

your right as usual .Tony Blair killed the labour party

and Browns Laying it to Rest

[goinpostal]

We need unions and strikes, we need a mass movement against the crisis,coordinations to bring unions together and coordinate our action etc but we also need a party. All these struggles are led by accountable leaders, stewards, reps, activists etc in reality, bringing these into a new party like in France would dynamise the situation. It could block the BNP in the polls, since many refuse to vote Labour, and could campaign 364 days a year for anti-capitalist solutions like nationalisation without compensation, workers control, sharing out work with no loss of jobs, a moratorium on foreclosures, occupations,general strikes etc.

Leaders could be held accountable if they were paid the average or at best a skilled workers wage, were recallable, accountable etc.

We don't have an accountable leadership in the CWU, but we're still in it. Why? because we need a union! The point is to build a rank and file movement to take it back and place it under members control, not to throw out the baby with the bath water. Same goes for a party.

Btw a solidarity commitee has been launched in Leeds for the bin strikers on all out strike, which could help us when we go on strike, is anything similar happening anywhere else? My branch rejected building a solidarity committee saying it was against the rules! Big mistake, how are we going to raise hardship funds and publicise our cause in a hard fought strike?

[IWW Fellow Worker]

I toyed around with the idea of a "New Workers party last year and after quite a bit of thought i had to chuck it out for me! We in the UK already have it and it failed. The USSR had it and it failed as well! as have Cuba China and all the rest and the reason why is because when you have a party they have the mindset of the strong will rule and the weak, well they are too stupid to worry about! The party system is based on anger violence and forcing others to bend to your will for profit and kudos. WHEN we as the people get true representation any and all mistakes will be our own and not people that set themselves up as leaders and pretend they are doing us a favour by standing for some cheap election where the result does not matter because the sh*t the working person gets is much the same differing only in levels of greed and punishment by a very few small points to how much they can control and make us suffer! I have faith in the mass of people to make the right choice for the mass of the people and will only ever have faith in someone that wishes to represent us as such and gains NOTHING over and above the people they represent other than carrying out the wish of those people as we want just for the sake of serving the people and their wishes. In the decades to come i believe we will all see a revolution and it will mostly be peaceful as people realise how irrelevant the party system we have endured and suffered under for hundreds of years is exposed for the sham it is. Sadly a "new workers party will only add to but not solve the problems we now enjoy. Still the formation of such a party in the UK will sadly bring the day of true representation closer and quicker at the cost of much bloodshed but thats the party system for you as i see it.

Great post! You would enjoy, if you haven't already come across them, the works of Malatesta.