AS THIS issue of Socialist Resistance was preparing to go to press one huge issue has been dominating the domestic news agenda, giving some other discussions a slight air ot unrealitv: will «TOTOON Brown, Prime Minister for just on three months, opt for an early elechon, November 1 or 8?
Everything appears to be being done to give the impression that Brown will indeed go for it, to take advantage of New Labour's current strong showing in the polls, exploit the weakness and disarray of the two main opposition parties, and get the voting in now, before any further bad news on the economic tront after the traumatic Northern Rock fiasco triggered the first run on a British bank for 140 years.
Brown has therefore been running his new government pretty much in pre-election mode since the summer. In recent weeks we have seen further preparatory steps:
• A tub-thumping "law and order" platform was established from the Labour conference, with Jack "Have A Go" Straw shamelessly stealing yel anotner 1OгУ policy.
• Brown has been photographed meeting soldiers in Iraq and telling them another
could be home by Christmas,
culuvanng une impression that a total withdrawal is on the way.
• Lord Darzi, the charismatic new health minister, has been pressed to bring forward the interim report trom his England-wide review of the NHS to give the impression that the government is implementing dynamic and popular changes.
• And trade union leaders,
exception of the wild le postal workers, have been largely neutered or neutralised, and have connived at Brown's brutal exclusion of their voice and votes at Labour conference and are reportedly digging deep to pay up next year's political fund advance.
Brown has effectively concealed removed reminders of the discredited Blalr era. bul a number or issues seem set to undermine New Labour's popularity in lne penoa ancad, reminang voters that Brown is just as hard-line a neoliberal as Blair. Among tnem..
The economy seems set for more problems, with the possibillly ol lurtner bank crises which could be more embarrassing for the government and less easy for them to escape from than Northern Rock.
The military situation in Afghanistan and Iraq again seems set to worsen over the coming winter: the longer troops remain fighting, the more Brown takes on the Blair image of warmonger in Cher
The NHS is poised in many parts of England to carry through wave ot highly unpopular hospital closures and reorganisation -some of which were postponed in the face of mass protest and pressure in 2006, but are now driven by cash pressures.
All of these factors press Brown towards a "cut and run" election, which would also have the beneficial sideeffect of catching other parties less well prepared and hugely disadvantaging smaller parties which cannot resort to large scale corporale donations or trade political funds.
However there are disadvantages, too, and it is by no means guaranteed that Brown would necessarily strengthen his position.
And there are some indications that David Cameron's Tories, after a disastrous six months of sliding poll ratings may have been able to use the threat of a swift election as the focus to reunite the party and The economy seems set for more problems, with the possibility of further bank crises which could be more embarrassing for the government and less easy for them to escape from than Northern Rock. regroup.
Interestingly some of the same factors also apply to Brown's principal (sole serious) challenge from the left, Respect. Respect carries the banner of the opposition to neoliberalism, and has demonstrated an ability to transcend the limits of the tiny hard-core left vote and secure the election of George Galloway all MP and around two dozen councilLOTS
But (as we argued in last month's Socialist Resistance) much of Respect, too, had been in the doldrums toi some time, and has only been snaken our ola rauer conser vative and blinkered complacency and decline by a critical letter from George Galloway to the National Council, supplemented by a strong statement from Salma Yaqoob.
The initial defensive reaction from the Socialist Workers Party brought sharp words and a near-split at a National Council meeting in mid-September, but, with an election looming, this was followed by an apparent process of reuniting the organisation aroue unamous modons
The organisational and political concessions made by the SWP enable Respect to grow and develop politically as a broad coalition to the left of Brown.
There was also agreement that if there is an immediate election, Respect will again focus most of its resources on a limited number of target seats where a firm base has already been established, rather than spreading its limited thinly
resources LOO around a large number of seats where little groundwork has yet been done.
We can hope that now peace has broken out - at least on paper - Respect can begin to match its potential in what remains generally favourable situation.
For our part we urge Socialist
readers and to work
SUDDULLCIS actively to promote Respect campaigns in their local area or to support the local efforts of branches where there is no local candidate standing to build a national fund to support the effort in the target seats
page 4 of the scan
Just when the need for a party like Respect is clearer than ever, with the arrival of Brown and the snuffing out of the last vestiges of democracy in the Labour Party, Respect has been passing through the biggest crisis in its three-anda-half year history. Alan Thornett reports on the events and decisions of Respect's September National Council meetings. Just when the need for a party like Respect is clearer than ever, with the arrival of Brown and the snuffing out of the last vestiges of democracy in the Labour Party, Respect has
the veell passilg biggest crisis in its three-anda-half year history.
Atter a series of statements and resolutions and two National Council meetings, the jury is out on whether enough has been done to relaunch Respect on a broader and more inclusive basis.
It 1s also pondering on whether _The political will exists in the SWP leadership to positively implement the decisions adopted, which could take the organisation forward.
The crisis came to a head around two critical meetings OT The National Council, one on September 22, which failed to complete its agenda, and another the following week on September 29 to complete the business.
At the centre of the crisis was a serious rift between some of Respect's major components, the SW on the one Salma Yagoob. and some of the East London councillors on the other. It was described by George Galloway 'breakdown of trust', and it clearly was and is These events were triggered by from George Galloway to the NC which raised a number of legitimate issues. It argued that Respect has not fulfilled its potential either in terms of votes or membership and that in some areas Respect is effectively moribund. It implicitly criticisea ine metnoa usea by tne SWP regarding decisionmaking and priorities. It also implicitly challenged the SWP approach to Kespect which is to treat it as an electoral unitea Iront (ol a special kind).
There did not have to be a crisis over such crucisms. et however, a number of which some of us have been raising for a long time.
However the SWP leadership grossly over-reacted -seeing the letter as an attack on the SWP itself, and John Rees in particular, and responding in that vein.
A positive response and an undertaking to make some changes (even some concessions) and tackle some of the issues Galloway was raising could have created a very ditferent situation.
By the time of the September 22 NC therefore, instead of compromise, the debate was ratcheted up. In internal meetings of the SWP (the contents of which leaked into the public domain) Inlammatory charges or communalism had been levelled at George Galloway, Salma Yaqoob and some of the East London councillors.
The clash was presented as a left versus right issue or the socialists versus the communalists. ( These accusations