What would a new mass party to the left of Labour look like? There is no readily available blueprint. There are models to aspire to - like the Scottish Socialist Party and Portugal's Left Bloc. But the political conditions cannot simply be replicated.
One starting point is to draw on the recent experience of the heyday of the Labour left in the 1980s. This is not because a new socialist party should look anything like "old Labour".
Far from it, the overall picture was one of declining membership, attacks on the left and a failure to deliver on progressive policies.
But in localities where the left was predominant, despite all it's weaknesses, this was a tradition which, at its best, brought tens of thousands of working class members into political activity.
There were three elements of this experience that we might we tap into: A vibrant, pluralist, democratic internal life
Leftwing Constituency Labour Parties - before the Blairite constitutional reforms that smashed the left - would have one to three thousand members. They met in monthly ward meetings which might each attract dozens of activists.
These would in turn elect delegates to the monthly constituency wide meeting at which hundreds might attend -including observers, union affiliates and visitors.
Each month would see a lively clash of political views across a full range of opinion which might stretch from right wing labour to revolutionary left on international and domestic issues from bread and butter policy to question of basic principle. A wide variety of speakers would be invited. And there would be resolutions, with several options Each debated out, amended
month and voted on after vigwould see orous discussion.
Typically there would a lively be locally produced
clash of bulletins from different currents and campaign political leaflets feeding into the Views discussion. This debate then filtered back out to the wards, affiliated unions and local campaigns as well "up" to the national executive and conference. Accountability
The best constituencies selected some socialist MPs and councillors of a type that Jeremy Corbyn MP is a rare surviving example. But irrespective of the political stripe of the elected representative, activists would use the party structures to call them to
account for the way they voted, acted and spoke in public. The principle of accountability of those elected was itself contested. The right wanted them to have complete freedom - the easier to avoid the close scrutiny of the rank and file. The left insisted they should be delivering on the manifestos they were elected on and accountable to those that put them there. The steady lurch to the right in the 1980s indicates how difficult this was to implement in practice. But the history of defeats that produced Blairism reinforces rather than diminishes the need for strong mechanisms to ensure elected councillors, MPs and party office holders are democratically and transparently accountable. Links to the community
The healthiest left local Labour Party structures built on all the diverse elements of their communities. Trade union affiliation was a vehicle for drawing local workplaces into the political life of the party. There were also links with tenants groups, anti-cuts and environmental
For a short while at least, the self organisation of the oppressed was a hall mark. Women's Sections and Black sections articulated the needs of those parts of the community, politicised the party and were at the forefront of the fight for democracy and accountability. Although not organised locally, lesbians and gay men were similarly an increasingly confident and visible group among local activists. And young people were self organised through the Young Socialists.
Of course in the 1980s, Labour was a party of hundreds of thousands that had recently been in government and still aspired to be.
Large parts of the country were far from this rosy picture - stultified by bureaucratic structures dominated by small groups of middle-aged white men. Even the best local examples were highly flawed.
But there is no reason why Respect shouldn't raise its sights and aspire to match and exceed the best of these experiences.