Former SWP Candidate In Big Brother House

international | arts and media | opinion/analysis Tuesday July 03, 2007 16:39 by Owen Bruton

Why are SWP so obsessed with entering BB?

After George Galloway's appearance another Respect member has joined the Big Brother house. Carole Vincent is a member of the Socialist Workers' Party and was a candidate in the 2006 local elections. She has entered the house as she "wants to bring important issues to the public"

SWP member Carole Vincent ran as a Respect candidate in the 2006 elections in the Markhouse ward of Whaltamstow Council in London. She won 471 votes.

Carole features on the Respect website and in the pages of Socialist Worker . In the edition of 11 November 2006 (issue 2026) the Socialist Worker reported on a rally for NHS services in Whaltam Forest: "Respect local election candidate Carole Vincent told the meeting to loud applause, “I don’t want to die in an ambulance on the A12”. She called for a mass campaign to save Whipps."

The SWP have an unclear position on Big Brother being used as a platform for activists. While initially opposing Galloway's entry to Big Brother, in the lead-up to the May 2006 local elections the SWP's line changed somewhat. In the Socailist Worker of 4 February 2006 (issue 1986) an interview was carried with MP George Galloway. In that interview the decision of Galloway to enter Big Brother was portrayed in a generally positive light - the word "effective" was even used as a subheadline in the article. The article attacked the TV producers for censoring political discussion.

According to the New Stateman (21 June 2007) the Socialist Workers' Party internal bulletin reported "At no point did Carole consult the SWP leadership about joining the programme, and it is not part of our strategy to enter BB in order to manipulate the media."

Seems to be one rule for George and another for Carole?