MARLACE DON Respect must reach beyond the anti-war movement If Is to build a base for the period ahead NOT
MY
AME
NO ON taken towards Respect during the election campaign.
Although no one expected them to change, it was felt that given the showing of Respect in the election would be worth approaching them again to investigate the possibility of at least a nonaggression pact in future elections. Maybe political reality or crude self-interest would change their position.
The missing factor in the discussion, as John Lister pointed out, was the issue of a Respect newspaper or other national publication.
This had been agreed in principle by the Respect conference last year, but not progressed since for various reasons.
How it could be possible, he asked, to have. an effective mass-membership party without a party publication? How could it be a campaigning organisation without a publication in which to advance its
The lack of a publication has meant that Respect has not even been able to present its election results in an accessible form for members in many parts of the country.
The upshot was that arrangements were made for a sub-committee to meet to discuss the implementation ofthe conference decision for a paper - which everyone said they were not opposed to in principle.
However, there is not so much agreement on what a publication should be.
political life and a campaigning profile, they will
not last very long.
John is arguing to begin with something on the scale of a regular, monthly or bimonthly, eight or twelve page tabloid publication, whilst leading members of the SWP appeared to be arguing for an occasional four page broadsheet, or a "magazine".
Leading SWPers have questioned whether Respect could sustain a monthly. No doubt the issue will come back to the next National Council.
Another important discussion was on next year's local elections. It is the intention of Respect to stand a substantial number of candidates in targeted constituencie in those elections - particularly where it did well in the general election.
There is the possibility that in East London Respect could win substantial groups of councillors - or even win outright control in Tower Hamlets, although the real possibility of this is hard to assess.
John Rees stressed that this
having ColncHor who will be prepared to take part in mass campa gull, against the government and in the end (as he said in the London Respect rally the previous week) being prepared to go to prison in the course of the struggle.
He argued that the preparation for these elections has to begin now if we are to get the kind of results we got in the general election.