Latest SWP Party Notes

Tuesday June 14, 2005 20:49

by Masters Voice

Inside the tent

It can be most interesting to look into how the various parties on the left are dictated to from above. In the first of a series of reports Masters Voice gives you the reader an opportunity to examine at first hand the dictates of the SWP leadership in London. As these dictates are not readily available to those outside the SWP inner circle here or those as Harman would describe footsoldiers I give you the first installment.

PARTY NOTES 13 JUNE

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY
The deal announced by Brown over the weekend is pitiful. It involves the G8 'cancelling' only $1.2bn of debt per year. That is less than a quarter of what Britain alone has spent on the Iraq war. According to today's FT this money may all come from existing aid budgets and it only affects 18 countries - the ones that have pushed through privatisation.
The deal is designed to demobilise the protests. We should be saying we need to demand much more than this. But the crucial thing is that we need to make the war central and have a massive Stop the War coalition presence over the weekend and on the Wednesday.
The G8 protests will be huge. In many parts of the country the atmosphere is like the build up to February 15th. Activists at the Stop the War National Council reported that two trains from Leeds are already full, on top of this there are 5 coaches going from nearby town of Otley and some people are going by canal boat! Newcastle activists say 1,000 tickets have already been sold for their coaches. Visit the MPH and GR websites and you will see there are hundreds of coaches going from across the country.
Following Bob's call we can whip up a storm about the G8 in every school, college and workplace as well as getting everywhere anti war activists up to Scotland. This week council workers in Brent, Cambridge, Oxford, Camden and London Fire Brigade are organising film showings of the G8 film we advertised in Socialist Worker.
One teacher in North London sold 500 wristbands at her school. Rochdale NUT is paying for all members who want to go on their coach. In Devon one teacher has organised a coach jointly with the local UNISON branch to take teachers, pupils and parents to the Saturday demo. Many schools are now having 1, 2 or 3-day Make Poverty History events. One school in Oldham has an art project designing a new banner for the NUT on the theme of Fight Poverty Not War.

What is happening in Scotland:
1. Stop the War will be marching on the 2 July demo. It will have placards and green on white T-shirts saying FIGHT POVERTY NOT WAR. We want to make that the slogan that everyone remembers from the demo.
At the end of the demo StW has its own stage on the Meadows and will be putting on the best rally in town.
Groups are being asked to order the T-shirts in advance so that we have big numbers wearing them on the demo. They cost Â£7.00 or Â£5.00 for pre paid orders of 10 or more. Phone StW on 020 72786694.

2. On Sunday the alternative summit is bringing together leading activists from across the world including Fausto Bertinotti, Dita Sari, George Galloway, a member of Chavez's government, Lindsey German and many many more go to www.g8alternatives.org to book up.

3. On Sunday night Stop the War is organising a march through Edinburgh ending in a naming of the dead on Calton Hill. March assembles 6pm corner of Princes Street and the Mound. Stop the war will have a leaflet on the website in the next two days.

4. On Monday there is a protest to Faslane nuclear submarine base and on Tuesday a protest at Dungavel refugee camp.

5. Wednesday 6th is the first day of the G8 itself. The movement is uniting to march on Gleneagles. At present the Council is trying to stop the march. An open letter protesting this attack on the right to protest is available on GR and Stop the War's website. Use it to build your delegation.

How we respond to Geldof's call depends on what is happening and what is possible in your area. Wherever possible we need to be putting on extra transport and organising delegations from schools, colleges and workplaces for mass protests in Scotland on the 6 July. Tower Hamlets youth clubs are putting on coaches so we can build on that.
People who can't go up on the Wednesday should organise city centre protests where they are. School students against the war have called walkouts for the 6th (download their leaflet from Stop the War website). We should widen this call to colleges and union branches and try and have lunchtime protests every where which can build city centre protests. Make sure everything planned is reported in.

RESPECT
The Respect tour is now on the road and it has got off to a magnificent start. On Sunday over 750 people attended the Respect Rally in Birmingham. Helen from Birmingham reports:
All the speakers got a very enthusiastic reception, especially Salma, who got a standing ovation before she even spoke, and massive cheers when she called on people to demonstrate in Scotland. The audience was very mixed and just over 40 people joined Respect on the night and over £600 was collected at the meeting.
We also sold 60 copies of Socialist Worker at the meeting and one person signed up for Marxism
The Birmingham rally shows what is possible. Over the coming few weeks there are going to be a number of rallies all over the country. It is vital that we put every effort into building them as big as possible.
But the rallies are not a panacea for Respect. One off events are very important but we must make sure that every Respect group has a series of events lined up over the coming months. We have to make sure that these events are varied and imaginative.
80 people attended the first branch meeting of Bow Respect.
At very short notice around 65 people attended a local meeting in Walthamstow to discuss standing in a local council election. George Galloway addressed the meeting and got the campaign off to a flying start. The whole ward has now been leafleted. As Jo reports in Walthamstow, "There is a feeling that Respect can be a real party which it wasn't before."
It is also important that Respect plays a leading part in local campaigns, housing, protests against city academies and strikes.
Last Tuesday over 150 people came to a Respect picket of Bethnal Green fire station after the London Fire Department announced the removal of one fire engine in the heart of Galloway's constituency.
Recruitment: Wherever we are, be it at work, school, college or in our community organisations we need to be recruiting to Respect on a mass scale.
At last week's PCS conference around 200 delegates attended the Respect fringe meeting. This was by far the biggest fringe meeting at conference. George Galloway and Mark Serwotka both made brilliant contributions about the need to build a political alternative to New Labour. 17 delegates joined Respect
Four members of Stratford RMT branch signed up to Respect this week.
40 Joined Respect at the Birmingham George Galloway Rally.

SELLING SOCIALIST WORKER IN THE MOVEMENT
Sometimes it ain't what you do it's the way that you do it! We've talked a lot about the role that Socialist Worker can play inside the movement. The papers coverage of Respect and the anti war movement is second to none and we should be proud of the impact Socialist Worker has made. But we also have to think about how we
use the paper. In the old days it was simple. If there was a big event we'd stand outside a meeting or rally and sell. That was OK then but what happens now when in Stop the War, Respect etc we're helping to run the meeting?
Of course if there are big rallies we should still run stalls
outside (better that people see Socialist Worker than some loony tune rag)...but the key here isn't standing outside with the paper, the key is what we do inside a meeting. No trade unionist would ever finish a union meeting and go off and stand by the door waving a Socialist Worker around. As you chat to friends, finish off union business etc you'd sell Socialist Worker...one to one. That's exactly how we should use the paper inside movement events. We don't have to wonder round the room with Socialist Worker strapped to our chests, we wouldn't in a union meeting so why do it in the rest of the movement?
Just as Socialist Worker has changed to relate to the new
movement how we use Socialist Worker has to evolve too...we're inside the tent now not outside it and how we use Socialist Worker should reflect this. To get this right we have to break the separation between comrades who "sell" and comrades who are "in the movement". This method of selling only works if we really are all doing it. Just as we are all out to build Respect, not just a section of the party, we all need to have 4-5 papers on us to sell to activists we are working with.
And by the way...this works. At event after event we sell more copies of Socialist Worker to activists during the event than we do outside the front door.
£3 sub: Another way to make sure that every Respect activist is getting Socialist Worker (without worrying about whether you catch them at meetings or events) is getting them on the Â£3 subscription.
These subscriptions are coming into the centre at a rate of
knots...but we want to make sure that every SWP member and as many activists as possible "Never miss an issue".