“The workers... battle-cry must be: 'The Permanent Revolution.'” — Marx and Engels, 1850

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Left unity: Obssessing about elections not action

The strength of the working class movement has never rested in parliament. Rather it lies in the workplaces and communities, and on the streets where working people can demonstrate their power by directly challenging the capitalists’ control of society, the state and economy.

Faced with the rise of fascism – the election of two British National Party MEPs and the massed thugs of the EDL – and the threat of a Tory electoral victory followed by an inevitable assault on the public services, it would seem obvious then that the left should seek to unite first where they are potentially strongest, on the streets, in workplaces and communities. But the various left unity initiatives proposed over the last months have done anything but that.

Instead of seeing how we as socialists can best fight together, to put socialist answers to the crisis of capitalism, they have sunk into a mire of electoral manoeuvres.

In June the Socialist Workers Party’s (SWP) Open Letter appealed for a get-together. Worried they were to be excluded from the son of No2EU, they begged to be included in whatever the Socialist Party (SP) and RMT union lashed up. Not, of course, a new party or anything like that. Not even a joint organisation. The SWP wanted an electoral deal where the various assorted organisations kept their own organisations intact, but agreed not to stand against each other. They suggested each group tag “Left Unity” onto whatever name they presented to the working class public.

A more pointless initiative it is difficult to imagine – it is merely going through the motions of providing an alternative to New Labour. To do nothing in the coming election, or have to fall back on a critical vote for Labour, would show how little relevance these socialist groups have within the working class movement. Therefore something has to be done.

At the RMT’s conference on Working Class Representation in the autumn, the Socialist Party, in conjunction with the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) and RMT leaders, demonstrated their ability to stitch up an event. All the contributors were chosen from a carefully selected approved list, there was no democratic debate and no decisions were made. Even trade unionists and militants actually in struggle hardly got a look in.

The steering group announced, on a leaflet distributed before the conference even met, that they would consider standing some candidates in the next election. But as Matt Wrack, the FBU general secretary explained, the left unions, RMT, FBU and PCS, had had their fingers burnt in various previous left electoral initiatives, and would not be rushing into any new one.

Elsewhere there have been calls to sign up to the People’s Charter. Local groups like the Wigan People’s Alliance, Lewisham’s People B4 Private Profit have been established, ostensibly as part of a call to work together to fight cuts in public services, privatisation and redundancies, but in fact to pursue first and foremost electoral initiatives.

A joint appeal from Respect, the Greens, parts of the Convention of the Left Steering Group and, incongruously, a member of Socialist Resistance, does not even bother with the pretence of building an organisation, but go straight out for an appeal to build a “progressive” electoral alternative made up of a motley crew of Greens, populists and left liberals.

Yet the Greens have shown again and again where they are elected, in Leeds, Lewisham and London, that they are a party who will ditch their principles and vote for cuts in order to retain their seats.

This year we have seen sporadic but militant trade union struggles at Lindsey, Visteon, Vestas, Prisme Packaging and Tower Hamlets College. Parents in Glasgow, Barrow, Lewisham and Greenwich have led militant campaigns against the closure or privatisation of their schools.

The CWU Royal Mail dispute saw several days of militant action but the possibility of an all-out strike to defend jobs, pensions and working conditions was put on hold by the bureaucracy.

These sparks of resistance show the real alternative to New Labour and the Tories. Victories at Lindsey, Linamar and Lewisham showed what a mass socialist led movement could do if it supported and based itself on such struggles. But instead of building on this, the left is busy chasing the chimera of electoral success. By focusing on the elections the left miss the real issue, which is that organisation and militancy in working class communities and amongst rank and file trade union activists is what needs to be built.

In the end these unity initiatives are focussed on the election next year, not on how the cuts and privatisations are going to be defeated. What is needed is an organisation to take socialist ideas and arguments into local and workplace communities. Standing as an electoral alternative to Labour, winning a risible vote and further marginalising socialism will not provide the answer to defeat these attacks.

The job of socialists is to spread the struggles when they erupt and in doing so extend the ideas of socialism. This obsession with electoralism merely pats activists on the head and says: thank you very much for your contribution – you can calm down and keep quiet now while we get on with the business of getting elected to represent you!

Eleanor Davies 

Fri 29, January 2010 @ 21:30

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discussion of this article

Sacha Ismail said…

Eleanor,

Much of the critique you make of the far left is correct, but you seem to be arguing, almost, that elections don't matter. They do.

You're right, however, that there will be very little in the way of a serious socialist challenge in the upcoming elections. That's why revolutionaries have to think about ways to relate to trade union support for Labour (as part of an integrated approach to class struggle in the crisis, yes).

Does PR still call for a Labour vote where there's no decent socialist candidate?

Sat 30, January 2010 @ 14:56

Duncan said…

"Parents in Barrow... have led militant campaigns against the closure or privatisation of their schools."

Interestingly, the main part of the campaign against Alfred Barrow Academy was the formation of a pressure group called Our Schools Are Not For Sale which stood in the local elections and got a few people elected as independent councillors.

Mon 01, February 2010 @ 16:40

Jason said…

Elections are important of course as they provide many opportunities for discussing politics, the results of elections can sometimes make a material difference to people's lives and the balance of class forces and they can be used to locate, mobilise and organise opposition to capitalism.

The last point is why socialists should consider standing in, or have a serious organised intervention of critical support in, elections where it can identify and rally people to a cause and help build a movement.

However, it is also very important to point out how profoundly undemocratic our system is with many decisions made in boardrooms in secret without any democratic accountability, with elections all too often being choices between different forms of window dressing and how what is really needed is direct action by the working class.

Standing and supporting militant class struggle candidates may well be a way to build such a movement- but it is not the only way and the obsession of many on the left about chasing votes does not build such campaigns at all- rather it hinders them.

Tue 02, February 2010 @ 18:54

Jason said…

The answer to Sacha's question at the end by the way is yes.

Tue 02, February 2010 @ 18:55

bill j said…

But I don't think we should support any random "socialist" candidate. Where they represent a real left regroupment or community campaign like in Salford against Hazel Blears or Lewisham or where they have implantation over many years like David Nellist in Coventry sure, but not where they are just the parachuted in representative of some left group - like the AWL, WP or SWP.

I do think we need to have a think about why we should vote Labour though, given their appalling neo-liberal record, its difficult to see how the argument that workers have "illusions" in them can be sustained.

Tue 02, February 2010 @ 21:53

Graham B said…

Looks like Karen Reissman is going to be standing in Manchester in May as a TUSC candidate.

Wed 03, February 2010 @ 10:17

Jason said…

I definitely agree with Bill that a candidate of struggle needs some implantation in the local labour movement or at least some kind of support from campaigns for it to make much sense that standing a candidate can help locate and mobilise workers' action and build a movement.

I also agree that the issue of voting Labour needs careful consideration in every election. A large number of people are very disillusioned and angry at Labour and certainly this is particularly true of many activists on the left, in campaigns and active trade unionists. For these simply saying 'vote Labour' won't cut and may even anger and alientate them.

That's why we should always emphasise that the main tasks are getting organised, assembling campaigns, building up the fighting strength of the working class and making links between different rank and file campaigns and organised workplaces. As part of this putting forward socialist ideas, agitating for them, having discussions and winning workers to socialism is crucial. But we shouldn't forget that many workers still see Labour as in some way their party, even when they quite rightly hate the leaders and their plicies the vast majority of workers have not broken with reformism- far from it.

That I think is why in the absence of socialist or class struggle candidates our message in the elections should be primarily for working class struggle and direct action, then secodnly that is why we need an active combat party of the working class to fight for direct working class power but that in the absnece of any such candidates we would still call for a vote for Labour.

Wed 03, February 2010 @ 18:30

Jason said…

I think there's a case for supporting TUSC candidates.

Thu 04, February 2010 @ 06:24

bill j said…

What is it?

Thu 04, February 2010 @ 09:32

Jason said…

Trade Union and Socialist Coalition

Where there is some activity such as local meeting sof trade unionists and links with active campaigns then I think there is a case for a critical vote for TUSC candidates.

Why? Because if these meetings and subsequent campaign can help locate and organiser people into actively building a movement to fight capitalism then this is a good thing.

It's a big ask and much less healthy than even ten years ago with the Socialist Alliance but I think we should go to such meetings and call for such movements to be built and at least consider the possibility of candidates. Our vote for people such as Nelliat would be highly critical- critcial of the reformist, electoralist nature of the campaign but where there is some labour movement support it is something socialists should intervene in. We should of course call for a movement based on direct action and for a socialist working class society based on the revolutionary power of workers' councils of action.

For a list of candidates see http://infantile-and-disorderly.com/2010/02/03/trade-union-and-socialist-coalition-candidates/

Sat 06, February 2010 @ 18:55

bill j said…

Fair enough but what about blanket support where there is no campaign?

Sun 07, February 2010 @ 10:59

Jason said…

Yeah probably not, partly because there is little to be gained from a paper campaign with no forces on the ground- if anything a critical vote for Labour using the union link to hold MPs and prospective candidates accountable and using such meetings to argue for and begin to organise a fightback would be a better tactic than a paper purely nominal 'socialist' candidate with no relationship to the working class, no organised forces and not even particularly good policies.

However, I wouldn't spend a lot of time arguing against someone wanting to vote TUSC even for a paper candidate but would be for putting energy and focus into organising resistance.

Wed 10, February 2010 @ 19:11

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