Socialism 2009

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It must be that time of year again. Last weekend saw one of my rare trips down to London (malfunctioning public transport plus expensive pints does not make this one of my top UK destinations) for the Socialist Party’s annual event Socialism 2009.

Unfortunately, I can’t provide you with a comprehensive report this year as I was only down for the Sunday. If your are looking for reports and impressions, Phil’s got a round up and there’s now a full report on the main site.

Still, I got to a couple of sessions and the final rally.

Unsurprisingly, the first session I went along to was “How to defeat the BNP?” (it’s a bit of a hobby). In previous year’s attendance at the Sunday morning sessions has tended to be a little thin on the ground after people have enjoyed a few refreshment’s the previous night but there was a decent turnout.

We first heard from a lad from the Socialist Party in Northern Ireland about the series of racist attacks which had taken place against Roma people earlier this year, the total disinterest of this police and how they’d organised a campaign to defend people having their windows bricked in as they eat their dinner. Engaging stuff and the work they’ve been doing is commendable but it’s (thankfully!) a very different political situation to the one we face here.

Dave Reid from Socialist Party Wales then gave a brief overview of the Socialist Party’s approach to tackling the far right which regular readers of this blog will be familiar with. He stressed the need for a political alternative and the necessity of propaganda which demonstrated the utter, utter failure of the BNP to act in the interests of the people they see as their core constituency (the white working-class).

All good stuff and I hoped we talk about this in more detail. However, I made the first contribution from the floor to pick up on something he’d said about No Platform, a less concise version of the argument I put forward here. The next person to speak opined that No Platform was working just fine and what needed was more of it and so the discussion ended up focusing primarily on this issue for the rest of the session. Should have kept my mouth shut!

The first session was a bit of a wasted opportunity so I did keep quiet during the afternoon session: “Lessons of Lindsey: what the construction workers’ struggle is really about”. Having written so much on this site during the strikes this was a cracking opportunity to hear first hand what had happened from some of the strikers. Keith Gibson, a member of the strike committee, spoke along with Bill Mullins, Industrial Organiser for the Socialist Party and veteran of the strikes in the car industry during the 70’s and 80’s.

Keith spoke on the difficulties that have long plagued attempts at organising in the construction industry. When jobs only last a few months before the workforce disperses to other sites around the country it’s hard to take long-term action about specific greivances. Balloting the entire workforce, then waiting for a cooling off period before an official strike can be launched means that the site can be built before a strike can take place.

This is what made the dispute at Lindsey so significant, strikes there sparked a walkout at sites nationwide in solidarity. They were successful as well. A concerted attempt by management was defeated in two big waves of wildcat strikes and this has important implications for what will happen in the sector in the future.

Anyway, it’s a shame I wasn’t there for the whole weekend. Left-wing groups are famed for inflating attendance numbers at meetings and marches but I think there is good evidence this was the most successful Socialism weekend yet. The fact we’ve moved the final rally from a room at the University of London union, to a lecture theatre to the Friend’s Meeting House opposite Euston Station.

It’s difficult to relate the experiences of what it’s like being at rally so I won’t bore you with my attempts though I will pick up on one point made at the rally.

Over the course of the weekend we apparently managed to raise £25 grand. However, there’s a General Election coming up next year and along with plans to stand in a number of parliamentary seats four Socialist Party councillors are up for re-election.

Socialist Party members reading this will already have heard this and I don’t expect any of my regular readers from the BNP to put their hands in their pocket (though I’ve they’ve temporarily taken leave of their senses…) but what we’ve already raised isn’t enough. You can see what I’m getting at.

What do you get for your money? Nothing, we get it.

Seriously though, I know a fair few of my readers are independent minded socialists or from other radical political traditions (the three groups of people I’ve mentioned above cover, I think, about 90% of my readership).

I don’t expect you to suspend the political criticisms you have of our politics or our approach or ignore any mistakes you think we’ve made in the past or are likely to make again in the future. Whatever criticisms people have, individuals from the sensible left can appreciate that we are one of the few socialist organisations who talk about things which ordinary working-class people actually care about and have put down roots in a small number of areas round the country following years of patient, consistent political work.

If we can’t defend our council seats after years of serious grassroots community work there and poll a crap vote in the General Election the future doesn’t look bright for any of us.

1000 people listening intently, count ‘em.

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Tags: Socialism, Socialism 09, Socialist Party