Liam redux

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Left challenge in GLA elections? Let’s hope so!

This is the front page story in this week’s edition of the East London Advertiser. One or two details need to be fleshed out but it is consistent with the strategic thinking of a significant number of Respect Renewal supporters and this is precisely the orientation that was signalled at the launch conference.    Now…

Liam
1–2 minutes

This is the front page story in this week’s edition of the East London Advertiser. One or two details need to be fleshed out but it is consistent with the strategic thinking of a significant number of Respect Renewal supporters and this is precisely the orientation that was signalled at the launch conference. 

 

Now MP Galloway goes for a seat on London Assembly

 LEFT-wing MP George Galloway is to run for election to the London Assembly, the Advertiser can reveal.

But he won’t stand as a candidate for his Respect party.

Galloway has decided to run in May’s City Hall polls to be one of the 11 pan-London members of the 25-seat assembly.

He needs just five per cent of the cross-London vote to take a seat at City Hall and pit his wits against the likes of Labour’s John Biggs, Tory Brain Coleman and Labour’s London mayor Ken Livingstone… if they retain their seats in May.

But the current split inside Respect and blazing rows over who can use the organisation’s name has meant the Bethnal Green and Bow MP will be standing for a new Left anti-war collective.

The group which is hoping to attract prominent Left wingers will be registered as an official party under a new name, suggesting the possible end of Respect.

Sources close to Galloway have told the Advertiser that the new party will be “more radical” than any other outfit currently on the London Assembly.

It will campaign on an anti-privatisation, anti-Islamophobia and pro-trade unionist platform, while raising concerns about London’s 2012 Olympics.

Galloway’s decision is expected to be formally ratified and announced next month.

 

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24 responses to “Left challenge in GLA elections? Let’s hope so!”

  1. ks Avatar
    ks

    is this a new party or an alliance?

    what individuals and forces are involved?

    ks

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  2. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    Galloway never turns up to Westminster. What are the chances London voters will queue up to be represented by an absentee politician? Galloway manages to become the fifth highest “earming” MP without participating in debates, and voting. Willl he take an additional salary? Or will even he be too embarrased to do that? Why is Galloway not standing as a Respect candidate? Has he thrown in the towel? Does he have no commitment to the name? Could he not entice (possibly with with a cash incentive) elected-for-life Respect nominating officer to allow him to stand on the Respect ticket? What is it going to take to get Linda Smith to allow anyone to stand? If Galloway did not bother to consult any Respect member (or Respect Renewal member) before putting his name forward, who exactly did he consult? Or does being George Galloway mean never having to be accountable to anyone? Answers on a postcard, please.

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  3. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    It speaks volumes about his alleged democratic credentials that Galloway’s decision to stand has yet to be ratified. By whom? Who will be blessed with the honour of rubber stamping Galloway’s decision to be their candidate? Galloway’s announcement that he has gotten himself selected (actually selected himself) to stand without allowing the entire Respect membership a vote on this ratifies what has been obvious to everyone: Galloway split from Respect long ago; on the day he launched his anti-conference rally, to be precise. The fact that Galloway has admitted that he is registering a new party to fight elections also confirms the obvious. Galloway can no longer pretend to be a member of Respect. Grounds for his expulsion were there long ago. All those who rally to Galloway simultaneously announce the end of their own membership of Respect. Good riddance.

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  4. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    Liam can you tell me if this decision was discussed and voted on at the RR National Exec meeting?

    I

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  5. tonyc Avatar
    tonyc

    As I’ve said elsewhere, the Respect national council voted to *tell* George to go ahead and make approaches to other organisations.

    OMG that’s like totally opposite to the propaganda!

    George argued for a broad slate, others put other positions. The meeting strongly supported George’s argument, and voted to go further and get him to start contacting people.

    In terms of “ratifying”, that’s just newspaper-speak for “keep the situation under review”.

    “Galloway’s announcement that he has gotten himself selected (actually selected himself) to stand without allowing the entire Respect membership a vote on this”

    George has made no such announcement. Good that the spirit of making shit up and then expecting people to argue against it is alive and well.

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  6. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    Respect Renewal really needs to get its public communications act sorted out. Info coming this way just looks bad, top-down, undemocratic.Let’s pray it isn’t so.

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  7. andy newman Avatar
    andy newman

    Matthew we do need to improve communistaions, but the decisions about London elections have been heavily driven by the activists from Wst London in particular.

    At the NC it was great to see so many committed members, young and old, men and women from East London. mostly Asian who are extremely committed to these elections, and contrary to all the rubbish steroetypes being bandied about are clearly left wing, and not a “communalist” or “businessman’” in sight.

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  8. andy newman Avatar
    andy newman

    Wst London- my typing is so bad, that should be East London obv.

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  9. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    When will Andy Newman leak the internal documents of those who persuaded Galloway to stand candidates without going through the proper channels of his party? When will tell us who attended this meeting? We need access to the attendence sheet. Then we will know precisely who to expell from Respect. Was Newman one of these people? What about Linda Smith? And how come Galloway has told the BBC that he has not resigned from Respect, although he has decided to contest elections without consulting the membership of fhis party, nevermind giving them a chance to get themselves selected as the official Respect candidate? Will Galloway stand as Respect Renewal? Or has he already outgrown that party? Will those who launched a conference without delegates simply bypass all those who thought they had taken out a standing order to a party called Respect Renewal discover that their leader has deserted them for something new and exciting? We are told these people are Old Labour. What does that mean? Will there be a commitment to the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange? Or is Old Labour defined in a way that would welcome on board Galloway’s socialist hero, John Smith? If it is criminal for Lindsey German to stand against Livingstone, in case she splits the anti-Tory vote, why is it not similarly criminal for Galloway and his new party to stand to the GLA, threatening to split the anti-Tory vote? Won’t Galloway’s campaign against New Labour not risk undermining the campaign to defeat the Tories, BNP, UKIP etc?

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  10. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Paul, as may have been mentioned more than once on this site, the old Respect is dead. Some of us have got over the anger and denial phases of the bereavement process and are now re-building our lives. But if there are to be expulsions let’s hope that there is a bit more of a formal process than happened in some organisations last year.

    The ELA journalist has conflated a couple of things. There was a discussion on the NC to approach other groups and individuals with a view to presenting a left slate. That’s what this is about and it commands wide support. As for GG’s candidacy there will have to be some sort of nomination and selection process. My experience of reading the ELA is that it prefers eyecatching headlines to detailed explanations of organisational process.

    As for a detailed argument on the rights and wrongs of standing against Livingstone et al watch this space. There will be a posting in the next few days.

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  11. Phil Avatar
    Phil

    We need access to the attendence sheet. Then we will know precisely who to expell from Respect.

    Well, that’s quite an incentive.

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  12. modernity Avatar
    modernity

    I am curious, when and where exactly were discussions held within Respect Renewal for the latest development ?

    or was it the case that the RR National Committee gave George Galloway a blank cheque to go and sort out whatever he could?

    and was this another top down decision or did the RR London membership have a chance to debate the pro and cons before Galloway’s recent actions?

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  13. Ian Donovan Avatar
    Ian Donovan

    ” We need access to the attendence sheet. Then we will know precisely who to expell from Respect.”

    Is that the royal “we”, Tom?

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  14. ks Avatar
    ks

    maybe gg will present renewal nc / london committee members with a proposal for a broad slate with him at position number one, and then it will be debated and voted on?

    that would be the correct way to proceed.

    a broad left-wing slate for the gla is a good idea though. the question is who it includes / excludes and what programme it runs on, and where it develops after the election.

    best wishes,

    ks

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  15. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Intriguing. But who else is part of the PL?

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  16. Adamski Avatar
    Adamski

    So Liam: You and the ISG are marginalised.

    Read the Respect Renewal website, RR has officially endorsed Ken Livingstone in the most slavish terms and is attacking the idea of standing a candidate against Ken, even though this was the position agreed by ALL of Respect (including George Galloway who wrote to the Morning Star to defend a left candidate against Respect).

    I actually think that many of the issues raised by Socialist Resistance about Respect in the last couple of years were very valid – but the trouble is that Respect Renewal it is becoming more and more clear with every statement the leadership make is moving to the right of the original vision of Respect.

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  17. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    I have searched Andy Newman’s Socialist Unity Network for reference to this statement. In vain. I can’t find a single post on this. Nor on the threatening letter Galloway sent to the Independent. Galloway has threatened to take action against the Independent for interpreting this statement as de facto recognition that he is no longer a member of Respect. Galloway insists that this statement of the bleeding obvious is withdrawn, and an apology issued. He is going to be disappointed. John Rees responded with a quote to the effect that Galloway and his supporters effectively split when they held their spoiling rally on the day of conference. He added (although this was hardly necessary, Galloway’s declaration that he will stand to the GLA without reference to the wishes of all Respect members, proves that he has split. It is simply bizarre that Galloway thinks that setting up an alternative electoral alliance specifically designed to exclude the majority of Respect members is compatible with membership of Respect. His threat to the Independent makes Galloway appear slightly unhinged. And that is not going to help his electoral prospects one little bit. He comes across as a spoilt child who cannot abide it when he does not get his way. Galloway behaves like this because he has always surrounded himself by yes-men. And that is why John Rees, Lindsey German and the rest of Respect should be careful they don’t express too much regret at losing Galloway. Bringing him on board, on the only terms he was prepared to accept, was a disasterous mistake. It is time for the SWP leadership to publicly recognise this. Workers need to be represented at Westminster, the Welsh Assembly, Holyrood, Brussels, the GLA and every council chamber by those who don’t only tollerate democratic accountability, but who insist upon it, for themselves and everyone else.

    The ISG will live to regret their decision to attach themselves to this maverick. It is simply not good enough for them to advocate a first preference vote for Lindsey and a second for Livingstone. In the specific circumstances we find ourselves in (in particular the right-wing smear campaign against Livingstone), that is clearly the right thing to do. However, Galloway’s support for Livingstone has hardly gone down well with his own supporters. “Kiss of death” is how it is being described on the Guardian on-line. Additionally, Galloway’s supporters who stand in the GLA will have their criticisms of Lindsey German tossed back at them: “Galloway’s new electoral alliance risks splitting the anti-Tory vote to the GLA. How dare these ultra-left upstarts behave this way?” Thirdly, now that Galloway’s supporters have come out of the closet in a way that makes their expulsion legally unchallengable, and have conceded they will dispense with the Respect name in the GLA elections, there is no good reason for the Electoral Commission to stand in the way of the other group that claims this name. The majority of the British section of this particular Fourth International are unlikely for much longer to tollerate Thornett’s having mortgaged their future to Galloway and, via him, Livingstone. I would not be in the least surprised to discover the LCR and others demand the ISG come to their senses, that they reapply for membership of Respect. If it is deemed to humiliating to go cap in hand before May’s elections, it is likely that the ISG will wash their hands of Galloway when the dust settles.

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  18. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Paul, you might be right but I spent most of today’s daylight hours at a national meeting of SR. We rented Wembley Stadium for the event. It’s a pity you didn’t come because there were one or two seats at the back and we could have squeezed you in.

    I’ll be posting the documents we agreed over the next couple of days but here is the short version:

    *We are committed to building RR and making it succeed.
    * We will continue to function as a revolutionary Marxist current.
    *We will begin production of a quarterly ecosocialist journal.
    *None of us miss the old Respect.
    *On s’engage et puis on voit.

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  19. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Three days on, the word waits with baited breath about the other components of this ‘list’. Are there in fact any, or this the political equivalent of the office loner who invents a fictitious girlf/boyf to avoid looking like a weirdo?

    I admit that I have no concrete grounds whatsoever for making such a scurillous assertion. But unless substantial other players are unveiled soon, I am starting to suspect a publicity stunt. Perish the thought!

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  20. johng Avatar
    johng

    There was a promise of a chris bambery article in international viewpoint. did i misread that?

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  21. Adamski Avatar
    Adamski

    . they made a mistake, they said Chris Bambery but it was actually the ISJ Chris Harman article they were printing.

    Apparently it is rumoured that some of the French section of the 4th International have been quite critical of the ISG for splitting from Respect and within the ISG their is a section who don’t like the way that Alan Thornett played it.

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  22. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Rouge carried an article by Chris Bambery. You can find it at

    http://orta.dynalias.org/archivesrouge/article-rouge?id=7347

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  23. Fleabite Avatar
    Fleabite

    What is Galloway playing at excatly ? We know he is complete law unto himself, but chopping and changing this way and that . Well, it doesnt go down well with voters or potential voters whether in his consistuency or not. I cant imagine it´s gone down well with memmbers of Respect Renewal, who, no doubt were never consulted by “the leader ” in the first place

    So, he´s standing as a candidate for the GLA but not as a member of Respect Renewal……..this is completely MAD !!

    Is Galloway now dumping his involvement with Respect Renewal or what ? Not long ago he was gpoing on a bout having more Respect MP´s in Parliament.

    Where is his real comitment to Respect Renewal as it is now called. Is Respect Renewal now going through a split or what?

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  24. tony collins Avatar
    tony collins

    Fleabite, you’re commenting on a post that’s 2 years old. Respect hasn’t even been called “Respect Renewal” for over a year 🙂

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