RMT conference on representation
by Colin Fox
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) convened a conference earlier
this month in London to discuss ‘The Crisis in working class representation.’
Colin Fox attended on behalf of the SSP and reports.
THE conference arose out of a resolution passed at the RMT
AGM committing the union to bring together trades unionists
from across Britain to examine why the left is underperforming, weak
and divided and to see what could be done to turn this position
round and take the political fight to New Labour more effectively.
Around 150 trade union activists from various political parties participated
in the event and heard speeches from Labour MP John McDonnell,
Prison Officers Association leader Brian Caton, Communist Party academic
Mary Davies and Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT. Mark Serwotka
from the PCS and Matt Wrack of the Fire Brigades Union had been invited
to attend but were unable to do so, both unions are said to
support the initiative.
The Scottish Socialist Party has participated in several similar initiatives
like this one in recent months focusing on the need to recover the ground
the left has lost in recent years and start ‘punching above
our weight’.
A group of us attended the ‘Convention of the Left’ in Manchester in September for example and SSP members were also instrumental in puling together the Red/Green social forum which met in Edinburgh in October.
Equally we continue to support efforts by the Morning Star to bring
the various disparate strands of the left together to discuss what
progress can be made towards greater political collaboration and more
effective action against New Labour and the SNP.
Notwithstanding the splits in the left in recent years the fact remains
the SSP has done more than any party anywhere in Britain over the past
10 years to promote and develop left unity, It’s an integral
part of our DNA.
Splitting the socialist movement we leave to others.
It is self evident the left is more effective when it is united
and collaborative.
When it is divided and sectarian, putting narrow factional interests
ahead of the needs of the wider working class, it does not represent working
class people’s interests well and achieves little.
The RMT conference on ‘The Crisis In Working Class Representation’
was therefore charged with looking at these questions. In past gatherings
like this there has been a tendency to simply concentrate on attacking
the political stance of our opponents and not face up to the weakness
of the left itself. I am glad to say this conference avoided that mistake and
faced the difficulties head on. No one, either at the top table or
from the floor, was denying the left was weak, divided and missing opportunities
to defeat New Labour.
John McDonnell and Brian Caton put the view that Labour for all its
faults remains the least worst electoral option for working people.
The prospect of a Tory government at Westminster is increasingly likely
they argued and they did not see any opportunities for the left to
sufficiently mobilise public opinion to win elections.
This week’s decision by Gordon Brown to press ahead with the third
runway at Heathrow airport (which is in John McDonnell’s constituency) without
a Parliamentary vote and against enormous local and environmental
objection is surely a further gift to the Tories ahead of that
election.
Those not persuaded to support or remain inside the Labour Party had
to face our own difficult questions.
There is, for example, no clear, single, popular, left alternative
to new Labour in England, Wales or Scotland.
In the opportunity I had to speak on behalf of the SSP I welcomed the
RMT initiative and stressed our record in building the left, outlining the
many important successes we’d had over the years. I acknowledged the
position in Scotland, which had once been streets ahead of England,
was now arguably weaker.
I suggested the left might start by collaborating on a political analysis of the current economic crisis and the crisis on the left. I concluded by pledging our continued support to this RMT initiative including helping to gather one million signatures for a ‘Workers Charter’ which has been produced and further pledged our support for all genuine attempts to unite the left on a principled democratic and pluralist basis.