with 80% of the rest, then they are looking for a way to leave. It is patronising to suggest that they cannot accept some disagreements.
Sunday morning was started by George Galloway opening the debate on electoral strategy (see box).
The impressive session that followed saw many comrades talking about their experience on the ground - and illustrated that the SWP have obviously changed their view during the course of the
Initially they were arguing for 50 seats as distinct from Galloway's 25-30, but Galloway had clearly won the day. And it has to be said that his arguments come over as very convincing.
In this session too, we debated the question of publications. Socialist Resistance supporters had been instrumental in putting a series of motions on this question.
We hoped that the weaker candidates in the general election.
Conference then dealt with the other outstanding policy motions relatively quickly. Socialist had decided that there were a number of issues which we felt it was imperative for this conference adopt develop policy, and on most of these conference had supported our position. • Newspaper - agreed • Service Tax - agreed • Appeal to Labour Party and Socialist Party - agreed • Lesbian and Gay rights -Agreed • Abortion - half agreed
For a small organisation we had managed to have a significant effect.
The SWP leadership had been unnecessarily heavyhanded in dealing with resolutions like open borders and secularism, while also making accommodation to the groups they are in alliance with by In order for Respect
to be a broad pluralist democratic socialist alternative to the left of labour needs broad debates, which include many positions with which
we and others
disagree.
SOCI achieved.
Further, she suggested that the provision for self-organisation Resistance supporters were putting forward was more restrictive than the clause in the existing constitution, which allows for 20 members to organise - which it of course would not have replaced.
Maybe some of the oppressed groups will test out this clause as a way of beginning to organise over the months ahead?
The tone of most of these contributions was poisonous and left Respect weaker than it is or needs to be.
The SWP as the largest organisation in Respect has a huge responsibility for its development. The SWP have done many positive things in building the anti-war movement and in building Respect over the last years and months.
But it is particularly regrettable in a situation where they George Galloway, in opening the debate on Respect's election strategy, pointed out that at most we have six months to the general election.
He continued "the great majority of people in the coun try have not yet heard of Respect and we have to bear this in mind when we decide where to stand".
He also described how Respect had been "blacked" (sic) by the mainstream media in the run up to the European elections and argued that this would not change in the forthcoming general election.
Galloway went on to argue that we had to consider which seats to stand in on the basis of three concentric circles.
First, there are the seats where we have a real chance of winning. He indicated that in his opinion these included a number of seats in east London and several in Birmingham. a number of seats in which our intervention can be decisive in defeating the worst new Labour war-mongers and privateers.
Thirdly there are those seats where neither of the two factors above apply but where
there is a compelling strategic reason for standing in order to give our members in those localities a focus to campaign. Galloway told conference that officers were already doing detailed work to analyse which seats fell into which categories in order to move swiftly once conference had agreed the overall approach. He argued that the campaigns we had mounted so far, including where our results had been somewhat disappointing as in Hartlepool, had been exemplary in terms of the standards we had set. This was the model we needed to adhered to, to be the best campaigners with the best literature. This we had to "The great recognise takes seriNous resources both majority of financial and human people in the -and again limits the country have number of seats we
should contest. not yet heard Galloway also conof Respect and sidered our attitude we have to to other political
forces. "We do not bear this in
want to see Michael Secondly there are mind when we Howard as Prime decide where Minister", he argued.
to stand". He continued:
*We locate ourselves in the labour movement and we can only prosper and grow by winning the hearts and minds of people in the labour movementtrade unionists and traditional labour supporters. "My view is that, where we