It was the AGM of my estate’s residents’ association on Thursday. I was re-elected chair by unanimous acclaim.That’s true. Mostly I think this is because most of the members agree with my view on the need for the construction of mass left parties which are pluralistic and democratic. They are also impressed with Socialist Resistance’s new emphasis on ecosocialism. Less important are the facts that no one else stood and when I chair the meetings always finish by 8pm. People seem to appreciate that.

This sort of political activity,which it is, brings you up sharply against what real people really think. Among the apologies I read out was one from George Galloway’s representative. Galloway has always been a divisive figure on the estate but he had established a real core of support due to his hard fought opposition to housing stock transfer. Click on the Tower Hamlets and Respect tabs to see how I documented this during last year’s election campaign. This is rapidly eroding.The apology was met with sustained jeering and references to his lack of visible presence in the constituency. The only Respect member in the room suggested that this was only people’s typical disappointment that their MP can’t change the world. To my ears it sounded more like contempt than disappointment.

Like any residents’ association on any estate in the country people have what we Marxists call “complex and contradictory” views. A representative of the borough’s youth services spoke about some plans for a new youth club. One of our more active members was quick to respond. “Them Pakis. Er I mean them Indians….” Her point was that rival gangs of teenagers try and exclude each othe from their “patch”. This is true and it happens everywhere. Ten years ago I doubt if she’d have felt the need to correct herself. The youth services rep dealt with the point well and I chose not to make an issue of it.

This is an utterly different type of political work and I’d strongly urge readers of a more activist bent to get involved in it. On one level it is straightforward reformism. You ask the councillor to sort out the parking or the broken paving stones. It also gives a glimpse of a participatory democracy. You get the local cops or the cleaning manager in to hear what people on the estate think needs to be done. More importantly it keeps alive a basic form of working class organisation and gives people a sense of the power of collective action. It also gives you a bit of credibility when you do have to deal with the racism.