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Change 4nd Religion Greg Tucker They were turning people away at the RMT's conference on the crisis of working class representation.
Yes the RMT had booked the small hall at Friends Meeting House but it was still peonle packed into the ball i impressive. Three hundred whilst another hundred were Those who did Be in meet left outside. able to take part in a useful, if Jimited discussion the future of the left in Britain.
The failure to renationalise the railways, the part-privatiLondon Underground and Labour's continuation of the Tories' anti-trade union legislation have long caused RMI members to question their relationship with the Labour Party.
Labour resolved the question by expelling the RMT because of its support for the Scottish Socialist Party. So at the last two RMT annual conferences delegates have agreed resolutions calling for a wider debate about the problem of political representation.
This conference was the result. Somewhat half-hearted in its implementation but nevertheless a historic step forward.
Committed to taking no decisions, the meeting was always going to be limited. A long list of platform speakers threatened to crowd out a real debate from the floor, but in the end an impressive number of people got to speak, and a real debate did take place. debate rejected tabourism hin Almost unanimously anv torm
Bob Crow opened up the meeting by refusing commit the RMT to launching a new political party but did argue for a new national so slewaras movelcul lu rebuild a fighting trade union movement.
By his logic the emergence of such a shop stewards movement would be a necessary prerequisite for the building of a serious new party to the left of Labour.
In contrast, SSP convenor Colin Fox, speaking next, outRMT's Bob Crow sets out the union's view at the January 21 conference Committed to taking no decisions, the meeting was always going to be limited. A long list of platform speakers threatened to crowd out a real debate from the floor, but in the end an impressive number of people got to speak, and a real debate did take place. lining the development of the Scottish Socialist Party showed that in practice it was possible to combine both strategic tasks - building a united left in struggle whilst building a new left party. The key was open comradely discussion.
Whilst John Marek from Forward Wales, Jean Lambert from the Greens and liz Greene from the SLP had little if anything to say, Dave Nellist from the Socialist Party argued for support for the SP's campaign for a new workers party.
Arguing for such a party to have a clear anti-war, anti-privatisation programme and plugging their conference in March his call seemed to have moved beyond mere self-serving propaganda to be something the SP see as practically uccessary.
However suspicious one might be based on their past record, it is clearly necessary to engage with their arguThe other platform speaker, Labour MP John McDonnell might have been expected to defend work through the Labour Party. He did not. Instead he talked of the need to build united fronts to confront capitalism. "organisational forms" he urged tnal we concentrate on working together in practical for further campaigns. New forms might emerge from the struggle, he argued - but you got the was allowed his space in parliament he would not be in a a process. hurry to create them himself.
There was a big vacuum on the platform - Respect had not been invited to speak. Whatever the reasons for this sectarian error the absence of a key Respect speaker was at least ameliorated by the choice of speakers from the floor.
Alongside a number of Socialist Party members who spoke of the need for the RMT to take the step in joining with them in calling a new party into being, a series of Respect members were called.
They were able to present Respect as the serious party of the left, going places after its breakthrough general election results.
Whilst John Rees was somewhat triumphalist and fell flat, other Respect speakers addressed the need to engage with Bob Crow's call to rebuild a rank and file movemenu the trade unions, whilst also actually building a new party of the left by building Respect.
The conference finished with a pledge from the RMT leadership that they would take seriously what had been said in considering whether to proceed with any other aculols.
Attendance on the day had mainly been drawn from the far left. RMT members were in a small minority and other independent trade unionists not present in large numbers. This meant among other Tones mar me duolence was largely white, ageing, and male.
Nevertheless, the event being called by a serious trade UTOm had disciplining effect on all speakers and the discussion, apart from a handful of veiled references to Big Brother, was conducted in a comradely fashion seriously Rubbishing debate about engaging each other's arguments.
There is clearly a potential address the problem of how to proceed to fill the vacuum left by Labour. RMT activists will impression that as long as he be calling on the union's Executive to set in train such
But if we are to go forward the RMT leadership needs to be more serious - getting commitments from other union forces, preparing itself before hand - involving all forces including Respect.
If it were to do so then it would be possible to progress to a higher level than has been possible up to now.