Over three hundred members from a wide spread of active local Alliances attended the Socialist Alliance Annual General Meeting on May 10. It was a working conference, with a heavy agenda and a wide participadebates on the war; anti-racism, women's resTine tion of speakers from the floor. It took representation, the method of election of t its Executive Committee, and the future of the Alliance itself.
The key debate was on the future of the Socialist Alliance, and the decisions taken open up the possibility of the most important stage of development since the Alliance was founded. The resolution, which I moved, advocated a twin-track approach: build the Alliance - break it out of the marking time period it has been through in recent months - and at the same time launch a new initiative for a realignment of the left in the aftermath of the war and the very positive experience of the anti-war movement.
The issue at stake is whether the SA can respond to new challenges on the left and turn outwards towards those forces in the movement that can be won to building a
Socialist political alternative to Blairism.
The potential partners for such realignment are clear. The proposal is aimed at the anti-war activists, including Muslim activists who have moved to the left during the campaign. It wants to engage with those who have left the Labour Party in disgust at Blairism and the war and those on the left who are still in it.
It aims for a close dialogue with the left in the trade unions - particularly the new radical leaders who have been elected in recent years. They directly face the crisis of representation and the issue of paying the union political levy to New Labour. It also seks closer alignment with those on the far left who are not currently inside the Alliance such as the Communist Party of Britain the SA at the end of 2001. London Assembly and European Elections. Ahmed. the local imam who worked
date in every constituency. ents. (CPB) and the Socialist Party (SP), which left
As a result of this decision, discussions can be opened up with all these potential partners in preparation for the 2004
... Beyond that lies the next general election -where the aim will be for a socialist candi- Galloway.
This is not simply an appeal to people to join the Alliance. The resolution called for an open agenda on the organisational form that any new realignment on the left might take. It could be the Alliance as it is, a relaunched Alliance, or a new organisation. The Socialist Alliance would insist only that whatever does develop is open, inclusive, democratic, and of course socialist.
It the conference, the debate on the future of the Alliance centred around two resolutions. My reso. lution (as outlined above) was supported by the SWP, the ISG, and Resistance supporters along with a number of independOpposing it was the 'campaign for a workers' party group with a resolution supported by the AWL, the RDG and some of the independents. Workers Power took a similar line, but with a separate resolution. The CPB voted for both resolutions. The AWL opposed my resolution and the turn towards a new left alignment on the basis that George Galloway could well join it, and for them it is a matter of principle not to be
•••• up' and 'brewery' seem very approprimembers of the same political grouping as
In Resistance, we are strong advocates of a new broad party on the lines of the Scottish Socialist Party. But the SA with its current composition is not in a position to become such a party
To make further moves towards a party requires both building the Alliance and reaching out to build a broader alignment in the trade unions and the left. That is the task now in front of the Alliance.
The AGM elected a new 36-person executive committee, considerable bigger than the out-going committee. The movers of the only slate put forward did not want to propose the removal of those members of the outgoing EC who had been active on it through a difficult year.
The SWP wanted a bigger representation, which seemed reasonable given their numerical predominance in the Alliance, and which could be positive in developing a sense of belonging to the Alliance nationally in a wider layer of their members.
The last Executive was too dominated by London people so there was a need to improve regional representation. I think in the circumstances, it was the right decision given the tasks we face in the coming year.
In the event the process of the election could have been handled better; for exam-