Liam redux

Scary moment

One of the golden rules of electioneering is never do it by yourself. It makes you look like a pathetic loner rather than the representative of a lively and dynamic organisation. It also means that there’s no one to protect you from the mad people, especially the ones who have a balcony over which they…

Liam
1–2 minutes

One of the golden rules of electioneering is never do it by yourself. It makes you look like a pathetic loner rather than the representative of a lively and dynamic organisation. It also means that there’s no one to protect you from the mad people, especially the ones who have a balcony over which they can throw you. Here’s one conversation from this afternoon.

“What are you doing throwing your fucking rubbish through my door?”
“It’s a leaflet about the elections.”
“Not from you cunts, it ain’t. Fuck off you fucking parasites.”

I thanked him for his time and took his advice. This was not mad person angry. This was “I hate Respect from the bottom of my heart angry.” There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some of the white Labour voters have developed a real antipathy to Respect.

Having spoken to a number of comrades who have been electioneering in Tower Hamlets it seems that not everything is plain sailing. A number have said that the Big Brother effect is still there. It’s true that you can talk to people in more depth about the issues but that only brings you into contact with pretty small numbers. On top of this the numbers out campaigning are still relatively modest in many wards. However it’s unlikely that the other parties’ operations are much slicker at this stage.

7 responses to “Scary moment”

  1. Louise Whittle Avatar
    Louise Whittle

    Though I can empathise with the canvassing I am not surprised about the responses you are getting. In relation to Big Brother, what do you expect? Galloway behaved extremely stupidly and arrogantly by showing two fingers to the electorate. As an ex-ISGer I rejoined the LP (still an entryist deep down but did dabble with the Socialist Alliance). Respect is a no-brainer and lacks the links to the labour movement. And dare I say it, the views on a woman’s right to choose etc wouldn’t encourage me to join either.Louise

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  2. Mark P Avatar
    Mark P

    Louise, I’d be a bit more impressed by your criticisms of Respect if your alternative was something other than joining New Labour! I mean Galloway may be a loose cannon but I’d take him over Blair any day.As for the original post, canvassing can be a strange experience for many left activists. Most socialist groups concentrate on things like public meetings, protests and stalls as the core of their political activity. That has a kind of filtering effect, only bringing activists into contact with people who either agree with them or are at least interested. Canvassing, like any kind of door to door activity, brings you face to face with a more random sample of society. You never know, maybe some practice at it will knock some of the demented optimism out of the likes of the SWP.

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  3. Louise Whittle Avatar
    Louise Whittle

    So, Mark what is your alternative? At least with the LP it has roots in the Labour movement. What has Respect got? I mean, fantsatic choice you are being between Respect and the Campaign for a New Workers Party. Out of interest, what do you say to active lefties in the LP? Leave and join some little sectarian sect under the notion it is democratic and open to discussion? Oh please……Btw: I dislike both Blair and Galloway equally.Louise

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  4. mark p Avatar
    mark p

    My alternative? I think that staying at home in a darkened room and doing nothing at all would be a step forward as compared to joining New Labour. It’s like being asked what’s my alternative to being in the Tories or the Lib Dems. I don’t need an alternative to such an obviously counterproductive strategy!As it happens I do have one though. I support the Campaign for a New Workers Party, which thus far at least has shown the sense not to launch a party or pretend to be anything other than a small contribution towards a large goal. So I’d say to the few remaining “active lefties” in New Labour that they should get involved in that. But even if they disagree with me about the potential of the CNWP they should get the hell out of New Labour and get down to some useful activism of any kind. Better to be an independent socialist than to join a right wing party out of some desperate urge for some kind of political shelter.On small socialist groups being democratic and open to discussion, my experience is that with the exceptions of the SWP and some of the truly bizarre Spart style sects most of them are a great deal more democratic than New Labour! As for dislikng Galloway and Blair equally, that shows a lack of proportion or political sense. Blair is the privatising warmonger at the head of the British capitalist state. Galloway is a deeply flawed and unpredictable anti-war leader. The other difference of course is that you will be doing your best to prop up Blair and his party.

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  5. Louise Whittle Avatar
    Louise Whittle

    Mark,Just because you are a member of the LP does not mean that you embrace the politics of “New Labour”. Do you think Blair will be quaking in his boots because of Respect or CNWP? Nope, more likely due to the pressure from the Campaign Group of Socialist MPs (which, incidentially Galloway was never a member of). You completely miss out the activism Labour Lefties engage in. What about Labour Against the War. It is a tad patronising to be told “that they should get hell out of New Labour and get down to some useful activism”. I am an active socialist feminist and trade unionist and am engaged in political activism. Frankly, I could say the same to you and stop messing around on the periphery and get stuck in the LP. I think Mark, it may be you who needs to sit in a darkened room with a cool flannel on your forehead and rethink your strategies. Louise Whittle

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  6. Mark P Avatar
    Mark P

    Being a member of New Labour doesn’t mean that you embrace New Labour politics, I quite agree. But it does mean that you help finance New Labour, bulk up its collapsing membership numbers and work for its candidates. All that’s quite enough to make doing nothing at all a political step forward.You ask me what I think of the useful activism done by Labour lefties. The response to that itself comes in the form of two questions: What useful activism? And for that matter what Labour left?Many years ago the Labour left was a living movement involving tens of thousands of activists. Its banners, those of party branches, LPYS branches, committees of al sorts would dominate any protest march and in particular any anti-war march. Now it is for all intents and purposes dead. Its last supposed strongholds, the Labour Representation Committee and the Campaign Group can barely get a couple of hundred to their open conference. You’d be more likely to stumble over a Lib Dem member than a Labour left activist on anti-war demonstration. The Labour left isn’t so much a political movement as it is a memory. There are a few bewildered MPs and individuals, standing around and blinking and wondering where everyone went. And as the MPs retire they are replaced by New Labour clones and as the individuals disappear they are replaced by nothing at all. There’s nothing patronising about telling people that they are wasting their time. It’s just being honest. It’s much more patronising to do as some left groups insist on doing, and give the few remaining Labour lefts a pat on the head and a bit of encouragement to continue doing something we know to be utterly futile.

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  7. George Avatar
    George

    Louise speaks of the LP having ‘roots in the labour movement’ – more like sharp stakes. The Labour Government is robbing workers of pensions, sacking health workers and civil servants, privatising education, and shooting international workers. The next London Socialist Resistance meeting is this Wednesday 19th April at Indian YMCA 7.30 will be on Labour and RESPECT.

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