ALB
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stuartw2112 wrote:Left Unity has stood on a (currently) "unrealisable" set of socialist reforms, the SPGB stood on a platform of one big unrealisable socialist reform. I don't see the difference..
The difference is that socialism is unrealisable at the moment because people don't want it but will be realisable when a sufficient majority do, while the wish list of attractive reforms to capitalism put forward by the likes of LU and TUSC are mostly inherently unrealisable because of the nature of capitalism and wouldn't become realisable even if a majority wanted them (in fact strict Trotskyist strategy is based on this being so).And of course it was the workings of capitalism itself that opened the way for heightened anti-capitalist criticism not Owen Jones or Caroline Lucas. Anyway, why should we thank them when what both of them are proposing (state capitalism in the one case, small-scale capitalism in the other) is not the way-out?
We promised to scrutinise Left Unity's local election results. They stood 7 for Wigan Council, 2 in Norwich, 1 in Exeter and 1 in the London Borough of Barnet. Here are the results:Wigan: 85, 88, 252, 85, 78, 79, 129Norwich: 52, 44Exeter: 39Barnet: 107Their best results were in Wigan where one of their candidates got 8.8%, with the others averaging 3-4%. Elsewhere it was the same as us.For comparison (and the comparison can only be rough as the wards outside London are smaller and elect a single rather than 3 councillors) our results were:Lambeth: 81, 49, 46Islington: 90.Clearly LU are not a new force making a breakthrough but yet another small party in the bottom league, alongside us and TUSC. And of course they canvassed votes on the basis of a wish list of unrealisable reforms while we stood just for socialism.
The results for the three wards we contested in Lambeth can be found here:Clapham Town: http://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=112&RPID=24614579Ferndale: http://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=114&RPID=24615788Larkhall: http://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=118&RPID=24616396As it happens, the results in the two wards we contested both times (Ferndale and Larkhall) are almost exactly the same as last time in 2010.More later.
Letter from Rob Cox, another of our candidates, published in yesterday's East Kent Mercury (somewhat belatedly as yesterday was polling day):
As the Regional Returning Officer had supplied me with a document authorising me, as election agent, to visit any polling station in the South East Region I decided to exercise this right by visiting one in Long Ditton, Surrey. It was in a school annexed to a Liberal Jewish Synagogue (a change from the usual Christian Church halls). The polling clerks had never had such a visit before. There were no voters there. I chatted to them and then to the representatives of the Tories, Liberals and UKIP outside and gave each of these one of our leaflets though they were there for the local borough elections.As I was leaving two policemen entered the polling station. I wouldn't have thought they have the right to unless called. I hope not anyway as in some countries this would be regarded as intimidatory. I didn't challenge them as my car was partly parked on double yellow lines, but I will check with the Returning Officer.Earlier I had voted in London where the ballot paper was over 2 foot long. The one in the South East will be shorter as there are only 14 lists there compared with 17 in London.
robbo203 wrote:I know this might sound a little pedantic but I slightly winced at the sentence in the statement as follows"By producing what's needed and wanted, not just what can be sold"That seems to imply that production for sale will continue in socialism and will operate alongside production for what's needed and wanted, does it not?I see what you mean, but it's word for word what Gwynn says in the Party Election Broadcast and, grammatically, it doesn't have to be interpreted the way you suggest.
Early on in the election we were asked by the Powys County Times, published in Welshpool, Mid-Wales, to submit three 250-word statements for publication, with those of the other lists, in their issues of 2 May, 9 May and 16 May. We have managed to obtain copies of the paper for these three dates. Here is what they published on 9 May (based on the script of our election broadcast). Also added, for contrast, is the statement of the Scargill Labour Party blaiming the EU not capitalism for the problems workers face.It can be found in larger print size here:http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ILt2hoSvBU/U33zpOjnYdI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/Kv2zqNnGw8M/s1600/PCT0905SPSLP.jpgWhat was published from us on 2 May and 17 May will follow in due course.
ALB wrote:Even though we are not standing a list in the London Region we have been invited by Lewisham People before Profit to this European elections hustings this eveningThis turned out to be an introduction to Lewisham local politics for the two of us who went. Lewisham is a Labour stronghold with three other parties vying to take them on: Lewisham People before Profit, a sort of radical residents association who organised the hustings, the Greens and SPEW as TUSC. Although they may have informal agreements not to compete in certain wards, as Lewisham has an elected mayor these have to oppose each other in mayoral election. With Labour members present too the first part of the meeting was not always a polite exchange of viewsThe European election hustings took place after. Represented were the Greens, No2EU (by a SPEW member), the Animal Welfare Party, the National Health Action Party, us and UKIP. The local SWP turned up to protest about UKIP being invited and a scuffle broke out. What's wrong with these idiots?The UKIP representative, Paul Oakley, was a smooth operator who was not intimidated by the SWP disrupters. In fact, ironically in view of UKIP's political pitch, he was the only career politician there, dressed in a suit and tie (though the leader of the Animal Welfare Party, Vanessa Hudson, was also dressed like a professional politician even though she isn't). A former chairman of the Greater London Tories, he is No2 on the UKIP list for London and stands a good chance of getting elected a MEP and so moving further up the greasy pole.Anyway, we got a chance to put our case to an audience of 40 or more, talk to politically interested people and to give out our leaflets and advertise our election broadcast.
The organisers of the hustings at Southampton University on 1 May at which we were represented have sent us various other links about it than their video recording:http://www.surgeradio.co.uk/news/452/European_Hustings_Summary
http://www.wessexscene.co.uk/politics/2014/05/01/european-elections-hustings-liveblog/#comments
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.696412227086001.1073741882.180512555342640&type=3 In case anyone wants to check them (not looked at them myself).
The Brixtonblog have now published their own report of the hustings last Tuesday. It's a good report that accurately records what our representative said when he gave the socialist position on the various issues raised (housing, lecturers' strike, democracy, immigration and cuts).
Even though we are not standing a list in the London Region we have been invited by Lewisham People before Profit to this European elections hustings this evening:
Quote:Mon 19th May: Election Rally: Meet LPBP Candidates at Hill Station Licensed Cafe, Kitto Road, SE14 7.30pm. European Hustings with representatives from minor parties also invited. 8.30pm. Bus 484, 343 or train to Nunhead, Brockley or New Cross Gate (5 – 10 min walk)We shall be there with a literature stall and to answer questions on why we think those outside Wales and the South East Region who want socialism should cast a write-in vote for it by writing "WORLD SOCIALISM" across their ballot paper,
Yesterday we were out in the western part of the region, in Hampshire and in Oxfordshire.Six members (4 from West London branch and 2 from West Midlands) held a literature stall at the Levellers Daty event in Burford, which is in Cameron's safe Tory constituency of Witney. Besides giving our election leaflet to the 100 or so attending, we distributed some door-to-door in Burford and in Witney. A bit surprised to find quite a few Labour posters in Witney, where local elections are taking place, but then not everybody in the area can be toffs.When they sang the Red Flag (twice) at the Levellers event, we sang the version which starts "The people's flag is pinkest pink; it's not as red as you might think". The Internationale was no problem. Many of those at the Levellers Day event had already seen our leaflet, which Royal Mail had delivered in both Oxford constituencies. Some told us they had or would be voting for us even if only as the only "left" list standing in the South East. At the same time members of the Oxford Communist Corresponding Society had a stall in Oxford where they were handing out our election leaflet.Meanwhile, in Basingstoke, 3 members of South West Regional branch distributed some 1000 leaflets door-to-door.
Got a leaflet from another of our opponents "An Independence from Europe", a party set up by deselected UKIP MEP Mike Nattrass who, besides wanting to get re-elected an MEP for the West Midlands (strange how these anti-EU politicians are keen to stay in the European Parliament), is out to spoil UKIPs chances.His party name, beginning with an A, was chosen so as to be the first on the ballot paper and the variant of its name which will also be on the ballot paper is "UK Independence Now". It will be interesting to know who is behind and financing this spoiler party which is contesting all 8 English areas.Nothing interesting in his unreadable (too small print) manifesto except:
Quote:We support closure of the Welsh Assembly.with no explanation why. But it could explain why AIP is not standing in Wales.
