Congratulations to Bristol SWP on its impressive turnout at this evening’s (Wednesday’s) Respect branch meeting. Out of the 42 people there 35 were SWP members. They’d come along to back the SWP’s resolution calling for the steering group, elected at a general meeting a couple of months ago, to stand down and allow itself to be replaced by one more in tune with the SWP’s world view. Of course you could make a case that the steering group should have welcomed this resurgence of interest in Respect and graciously offered to step aside. Or you could say that if it looks like a coup and smells like a coup then it’s an undemocratic farce. That was the conclusion of the non-SWP members, all but one of whom walked out. This leaves the SWP in a “unity coalition” with one other person in Bristol.
You would have to try pretty hard to find a more egregious example of cackhanded sectarianism. OK we’re talking about the British far left so maybe you don’t have to look that hard. What were they trying to achieve? The only thing they demonstrated is that they are able to pack a meeting and piss everyone off. As a route to building a mass, left of Labour party it’s probably not going to work. It also gives an ugly illustration why no one is likely to be willing to trust the SWP in any sort of regroupment project. It’s not possible to build a mutually trusting working relationship with an organisation while its leaders and many of its members see this type of student union buffoonery as acceptable socialist politics. Here is a description from someone who was there.
Well, I’ve just walked the dog round the block and have calmed down enough to write this post without too much foul language in it. There’ll be no more happy clappy unified meeting posts from me in Bristol, that’s for sure. I’ve just come from the shortest meeting I think I’ve ever been in – a Bristol Respect Members meeting – 47 people at it (the biggest we’ve ever had I think) – 36 of whom were SWP, most rarely at Respect meetings.
A bit of background (other than national stuff of course…) – two months ago, the Bristol Respect AGM democratically elected the new steering group for the year – 4 SWP, 5 independents. Since then two of the SWPers have left the SWP – one of course being Jerry Hicks. We had a fairly acrimonious pre-conferences meeting between the steering group and the delegates and observers – originally called to warn people who weren’t expecting it about some of the divisions in Respect and that the conference might be a bumpy ride. Of course by the time we had the meeting all that had gone out of the window, and some of the delegates had decided that the legitimacy of the SWP led conference was in doubt and that they would attend the Respect Renewal one. We were all still talking about unity and how to move forward together at this point – although I’m pretty sure no-one actually believed it even then.
Last week – oh what surprise – the day after the local SWP meeting – we received a motion to go to members for the members meeting today. This was the resolution:
This meeting resolves to:
1. Continue the work of building an effective electoral alternative to New Labour by recognising the decisions of 4th Respect annual conference held on the 17 November 2007 as the basis of ongoing work in the coming year.
This meeting instructs the Bristol RESPECT steering group to
1. Publicise this motion to all Bristol members.
2. Publicise, organise and build for a General Meeting for all RESPECT members on developing RESPECT along the lines outlined above, inviting the National Secretary to attend and outline current perspectives on Thursday 13 December.
3. Call for nominations for the Bristol steering group so as to take forward the RESPECT project. Nominations to be received by post or e mail to the secretary of Bristol RESPECT by no later than 4pm Tuesday 11 December and be proposed and seconded by registered members of RESPECT.
4. Hold the elections for the Steering group by a show of hands of members registered with the national office by 7 December 2007, at the meeting on the 13 December 2007.
5. Thereafter hold monthly meetings of RESPECT to which all members and supporters are welcomed.
I won’t share with you the expletives I used when I got this, you’re all people of the world, I’m sure you can think of some. Basically it was a direct attack on the steering group of two months standing.
So we’ve had the members meeting. Why was it so short? Because it was a coup and had no validity and so we walked out. In his role as convenor Jerry read a long statement, a bit of which I’ll include here –
Though its sets out that ’this meeting believes in a broad, inclusive and pluralistic Respect’, the real reason for this motion is quite different. It seeks to legitimise (shore up) the conference held on the 17rth November. It is no coincidence that it came just 24hrs after (yet another) Bristol SWP meeting addressed by a leading SWP national figure to discuss Respect The motion may well have been scribed not in Bristol but in SWP offices in London. It was moved and seconded by SWP members. It notes the election at conference of a local SWP member to the National Committee. It invites the National Secretary to Bristol – John Rees SWP. It calls for nominations and elections to the steering committee only two months after the properly constituted AGM. It is nothing more than a coup, scriptedby, moved by, seconded by and already decided by the SWP.
It is however inextricably linked to conference and that means that along with the now disputed conference it is not valid.
When we walked out there were people shouting –‘Don’t go Jerry’ ‘stay and have the discussion’ – what are they on? What discussion? They had packed the meeting – what discussion were they intending to have? We left them to discuss with themselves. As far as most of the current steering group and non SWP supporters are concerned the status quo stands – the steering group of Bristol Respect is as was elected in September.
And what have they wrecked here in Bristol? In 2006 Jerry Hicks came second in the local elections having come from nowhere, a much vaunted triumph, proof that Respect could win votes in white working class areas. Whilst we could have been accused of communalism – Jer’s mum still lives in Lockleaze and most of the people down her street had Respect posters up by the time of the election – it was a fantastic campaign, SWP candidate, SWP campaign manager working alongside the mixed steering group and many others. It bought in new members, the Lockleaze ones are currently involved in a vibrant campaign about new housing developments in the area.
In 2007 Paulette North came third in Easton, our campaign forced the labour candidate to fight on Respects terms against the war and privatisation of public services, and the much loathed liberal grandee who had held the ward lost his seat. But it’s not all about elections, the Bristol Respect banner has been at every major demonstration in the city, and quite few minor ones. Our members, SWP and non-SWP have gained city wide respect for our involvement in local education, health and public services campaigns amongst others. I don’t want to sound like one of those ‘talk it up’ SWP rewritings of history, but we did some good stuff together that made a difference to people’s lives in this city. That’s what they’ve wrecked, because you can be pretty sure that won’t happen with the SWP controlled version of Respect we left behind in that meeting tonight. How long before the next sterile meeting on gun crime with SWP talking to SWP and the one bewildered person that walked in off the street. How will that make a difference?
Well – f**k them. We
are going to sit back and wait to see the outcome of the Electoral Commission or whoever it is that is deciding who owns the name. I hope we win, then we can continue the work that we have been doing – of building a truly democratic and left organisation that will challenge the mainstream parties at every nasty twisted turn and give people in Bristol something to vote for that has some meaning and some hope. We will meet informally in the meantime…..
Gadget Queen, Bristol
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