Swansea election campaign
This is the year Swansea Branch has felt strong enough to contest its first election. Since a number of the branch members are concentrated in one particular ward of the city — Uplands — we decided, at the end of 1986, to field a candidate in the May 1987 local elections. The branch elected Gareth Thomas as candidate and I was elected to act as his agent.
In early February, with the aid of the new Print facility at Head Office, we produced 5.000 copies of a preliminary leaflet and put this through every letter-box in the ward. The leaflet, which is reproduced below, outlined the Party’s ideas in a way that we hoped would be clear to people hearing them for the first time. We wanted to give it some local interest as well so we mentioned the Singleton Hospital issue — the transfer of the local hospital’s casualty service to a hospital many miles away and the protest and outrage this has provoked throughout the community. The leaflet related this to the lack of real everyday democracy in present-day society.
Leafleting was harder work and took longer than we thought. But in the end we covered the lot down to the last multiple occupation and all 10½ thousand voters in Uplands Ward would have had the chance to read what we’re about.
We’d already approached the local paper and they’d shown an interest. Brian Walters, one of their reporters, interviewed Gareth and was very cooperative. He did a pretty fair write-up a couple of days later together with a photo of Gareth he’d insisted on taking. Gareth had made the point to him that we didn’t go in for personalities; it was the ideas that counted and we only wanted people to vote for us if they understood and agreed with the socialist case. He seemed to get the message and did mention it in his report but he still included a fair amount about Gareth himself. Like any journalist, he was anxious for a bit of what’s supposed to make newspapers sell — “human interest”. He told Gareth to keep in touch with him and suggested to him that the Labour Party wouldn’t be too pleased to have its “socialist” thunder stolen in the ward.
He turned out to be right. After we’d written round for debates to the other parties in the ward (Labour. Tory. Liberal. SDP, Plaid Cymru), we heard through a reliable inside source that our letter had been discussed at a meeting of the Uplands ward Labour Party and that an angry Militant member had suggested that they take up our challenge to debate and “expose” us. Our source, who knows our case well, replied that they couldn’t expose the Socialist Party as we had nothing to hide. Apparently his counsel prevailed since we’ve heard nothing. But there were, so it seems, further mutterings about trying to get us for breaking election law by spending too much money on our campaign (that’s a joke) or starting it too early. If they’ve taken the trouble to look into it. they’ll have found out by now that we did our homework before we started.
So far. the only written reply we’ve had from our opponents has been a letter from the Conservatives (they usually win the seat) who were lukewarm about a debate but said we should ask them again nearer the time. But even if none of them take up the challenge. we’re still going to hold our own election meetings in a local school and a community centre in the days leading up to the election.
We’ve had a certain amount of feedback from our first drop of leaflets, part good and part bad. A few phone and letter requests asking for information and literature, a woman enquiring what our attitude is to homosexual men living together as married couples and one of our leaflets sent back with unpleasant things written on it.
Our next task is to deliver to houses 5,000 free back copies of the Socialist Standard with a handbill stapled to the front of each. The handbill reminds people of the previous leaflet and invites them to read the magazine. In bold black letters it’s headed TO READ OR NOT TO READ? THAT IS THE QUESTION and it ends with the slogan we’ve adopted for the whole of our election campaign “Vote For Yourself For a Change – For a Real Change”. A group of members from Bristol Branch are coming over to help us give out the Standards since their bulk and weight will make it a bigger job than the leaflets. We’re also hoping for help from other branches for the doorstep canvassing we’ll be doing and for the final drop of literature — our election manifestos. We’ll be putting out the manifestos in the last week to remind people — if they didn’t know already — that a Socialist Party candidate is standing, that he’s arguing for something quite different from the other candidates and that they should vote for themselves for a change — for a real change.
HOWARD MOSS
In Uplands Ward in the Swansea Council Elections (May 7), there will be a candidate representing the Socialist Party of Great Britain.
Our candidate, Gareth Thomas, will be putting forward the case for a society of free access, a society without buying and selling, money and wages, employers and employees. This is what Socialism really means. Over the years it has been changed and distorted in many different ways so that in most people’s minds Socialism now means either the kind of dictatorial society that exists in Russia, or state intervention in industry and housing, or the promises of social reform, full employment, higher wages, etc. that come from the Labour Party.
But Socialism means none of these things. It means a society in which everything is owned in common and in which people democratically take all the decisions that affect their lives. The situation at present is that these decisions are left to a government which, whether right or left wing, can only act in the interests of the profit system and of that small minority of the population (about 10 per cent according to official statistics) who own most of the wealth and who, through the profits they make, don’t need to work for a wage or salary in order to live.
Local issues and wider issues
We realise of course that this is a local election and that the other parties will be fighting it on “local issues” or on the “personality” of their candidates. But this is not our way. Our candidate is solely there to represent our ideas. He will not be kissing babies or making vain promises. He will be pointing out that “local issues”, when looked at closely, are invariably wider ones. The Singleton Hospital issue, for example, may seem local but it is really an issue about whether people shall make their own decisions on matters that concern them or whether those decisions shall be made for them from on high for political or money-saving reasons.
Gareth Thomas will also be pointing out that most of the problems, whether local or wider, which most of us experience (poor public services, not enough money, dissatisfaction at work, anxiety and stress, etc.) derive from the fact that we have extremely little control over our own lives. We are made unable to exercise control both because our personal resources are limited (lack of money) and because important social decisions are out of our hands (lack of democracy).
Do you trust leaders?
The Socialist answer to this is for people not to put their trust in leaders but to take steps themselves, peacefully and democratically, to bring about a free access society without the use of money or any such thing where we all take freely what we need from the abundance of goods and services which with modern technology we are capable of producing. A society where we organise things for the benefit of all not in the interests of a wealthy few.
This is an entirely practical proposition once the majority of people want it. The Socialist Party exists to help spread the idea and to encourage people to establish a society which will put it into practice.
Our election campaign
Between now and May 7 you will be receiving further material from us through your letter box. In the near future we will deliver a free back copy of our monthly magazine, the Socialist Standard. We hope you will read it. And if you find you agree with our ideas (but only if you agree), we will be asking you to vote for Gareth Thomas on May 7. We also hope you will come to the public debates we shall be trying to arrange with the other political parties nearer the time of the election. We will keep you informed.