AFP Unchanged: Labour's notso-wise monkeys, Bomber Blair, Budget Brown and Boxer Prescott The most forlorn website on the internet has to be that of Save the Labour Party. You just know it's not going to happen.
Labour Party membership is half of what it was in 1997, down to 215 000 (allegedly). Its percentage of the vote in the European elections was its lowest since the First World War.
It has managed to lose the affiliations of the RMT and FBU and can anyone doubt that these won't be the last unions to make the break?
Just as depressing is reading what John McDonnell MP has to say about the July launch of the Labour Representation Committee.
It was not as he claims "the most significant initiative on the Labour left for a generation.. to establish the organised resurgence of socialism within the Labour Party"
It's a complete waste of time. Blair got away with starting two wars, imposing tuition fees, trying to destroy the FBU, bragging about sacking 40 000 civil servants - and what could the Labour left do? Wait for Gordon Brown.
Labour Party conference this year will resemble one of those unwatchable Saturday evening light entertainment shows. Music, lights, glossy production values, heartwarming appearances from some plebs and a series of star LULLIS.
Jack Straw will reveal some great initiative involving the white man's burden in Africa, Brown will make another "I can be leader too" speech, and Blair will dole up his Cliff Richard version of Thatcherism.
How do you reclaim that? The recycling facilities just don't exist on this planet.
Resolutions hostile Blairism may get passed but they just get ignored. Most Labour Party members probably opposed the war. It didn't stop the war. It just meant that Ayad Allawi didn't get a trip to Brighton. Big victory! Yet the developments that we review in this issue give enormous hope for socialists. The German working class is showing that it wants to fight neo-liberalism. Closer to home, we look at how the FBU has seen off another attempt by "real Labour's" Nick Raynsford and John Blair got away with Prescott to starting two wars, smash their imposing tuition union.
A militant in fees, trying to the PCS union destroy the FBU, des-cribes that bragging about union's fight sacking 40 000 against Gordon
Brown's job civil servants -cuts. and what could the We report Labour left do? from Millwall, Wait for Gordon which ten years
Brown. ago elected a
fascist councillor, how Respect is consolidating its success in London. A new working class party is being created around us. This is not the time to waste energy on "reviving", "reclaiming", regenerating" "resurrecting" Labour. These days Respect has more socialists than the Labour Party. Tony Woodley of the TGWU may have claimed that Blair's promises mean "we have got our respect back within the Party" but he will have a job convincing many of his members and other trade union activists. For Resistance supporters building Respect is the best opportunity their has been to build a political alternative to Blairism in a very long time and its somewhere we intend to put our resources.