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Socialist Party (England and Wales)
Encyclopedia
The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist party active in England and Wales.
It publishes the weekly newspaper The Socialist
and the monthly magazine Socialism Today. It is a section of the Committee for a Workers' International
.
, founded in 1964 as the "Marxist voice of Labour and Youth" and operating in the Labour Party. In the 1980s, the Militant tendency was dominant in the Labour group of Liverpool City Council
and the All-Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation. Militant supporting Labour MP Terry Fields
was jailed for refusing to pay the poll tax, and expelled, from the Labour Party
.
The Labour Party regarded Militant as an entryist group with a separate programme and organisation; Militant claimed to be nothing more than a newspaper.
In 1991, there was a debate within the Militant tendency as to whether or not to cease working within the Labour Party. At a special conference 93% of delegates voted for the "Open Turn
", although a minority around Ted Grant
broke away to form Socialist Appeal
and remain in the Labour Party; Ted Grant's supporters internationally formed the International Marxist Tendency
. This debate ran alongside a parallel debate on the future of Scottish politics. The result was that the experiment of operating as an "open party" was first undertaken in Scotland
under the name of Scottish Militant Labour
, standing Tommy Sheridan
for election from his jail cell.
Militant changed its name to Militant Labour
after leaving the Labour Party. In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party. The ownership of this name has been contested by the Socialist Party of Great Britain
founded in 1904. As a result, the new party is frequently known as "The Socialist Party of England and Wales". Due to the requirement to register party names with the Electoral Commission, the Socialist Party uses the description "Socialist Alternative" on ballot papers.
national organiser Sean Figg, argues that young people are likely to suffer 'permanent psychological scars' from unemployment. Figg calls for the right to a "decent job for all", with a "living wage" of at least £8 an hour, and an end to university fees. Figg demands that the government "bail out young people" as it had the banks, stating that "capitalist politicians" will claim the cost would be 'too high'.
The Socialist Party opposes the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, calling for the withdrawal of troops. It opposes both terrorism and also the war on terror
. It joins the protests against the Group of Eight (G8) meetings as part of the Committee for a Workers' International
.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center
in New York in September 2001, Peter Taaffe, the Socialist Party's general secretary, writing in the Socialist Party's newspaper The Socialist, states:
in February 2008. Previously simply calling for nationalisation, the Socialist Party now attempts to distinguish its demand for nationalisation from that carried out by the Labour government.
In the 'What we stand for' column of The Socialist, its weekly paper, the Socialist Party calls for "a socialist government to take into public ownership the top 150 companies and banks that dominate the British economy, and run them under democratic working-class control and management. Compensation to be paid only on the basis of proven need." The Socialist Party thus defines its "socialist" nationalisation to include at least three distinct features: no compensation except on the basis of proven need; democratic workers' control and management, and that the nationalised industries should be part of a "plan of production".
Banks
In an end of year statement on the December 2009 Pre-budget, an article under the name of the Socialist Party deputy general secretary, Hannah Sell, indicated the Socialist Party's response to the banking nationalisations. Sell argued that the trade unions should demand "nationalisation of all the major financial institutions", with compensation paid only to small shareholders and depositors on the basis of proven need. However Sell added that this should be just a first step to the "unification of all the banks into one democratically controlled financial system" and called for the introduction of a state monopoly of foreign trade.
On workers' control and management, Sell argues that a nationalised finance sector could be "run by and for the mass of the population". She suggests that this could be done through "majority representation" at all levels. Representatives are to be drawn from workers in the banking unions, "and the wider working class and labour movement", and some also the government.
The "socialist transformation" which the Socialist Party seeks would have to be international since:
was not socialist: "the regimes in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were not genuinely socialist, but a grotesque caricature." Its analysis follows that of Leon Trotsky
, who, with Vladimir Lenin and others, led the October 1917 Russian revolution.
The Socialist Party argues that neither Lenin nor Trotsky wished to establish an isolated socialist state. They argue that Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks defended and advanced the gains of the revolution of February 1917 by carrying through the October revolution. They emphasise Lenin and Trotsky's call on workers in the advanced capitalist countries to carry through the socialist transformation of society. This, they say, would have been a step towards the goal of a world socialist federation and would have seen those countries come to the aid of the economically and industrially underdeveloped Russia. However, this was not successful and the advanced capitalist countries invaded, blockaded and imposed trade sanctions on the young workers' state. Isolated, the Socialist Party argues, the Russian revolution inevitably "degenerated" under Stalin into a bureaucratic dictatorship. In this and many other ways, the Socialist Party's policies may therefore be termed orthodox Trotskyism.
me, and that this demand would lead to the socialist transformation of society, with a "socialist plan of production... to meet the needs of all" whilst "protecting our environment."
Critics from within the Trotskyist tradition have sometimes argued that the Socialist Party misunderstands Trotsky's Transitional Programme. Since 'transitional demands' are an attempt to link today's struggles with the struggle for socialism, critics argue that Trotsky's transitional demand regarding the need for strike committees should be raised, and that the Socialist Party should argue for these strike committees to take control of the workplaces. They argue that this is preferable to arguing for nationalisation since nationalisation does not show how workers would reach workers' control of the workplaces.
The Socialist Party argues that the sections of Trotsky's Transitional Programme which argue for the 'expropriation of separate groups of capitalists' and of the 'private banks' can be represented as nationalisation, as long the demand includes workers' control and management of the nationalised industries. For this reason, the Socialist Party's call for public ownership in the 'What We Stand For' column in 'The Socialist' newspaper, is followed by the demand for democratic working class control and management, as well as "Compensation to be paid on the basis of proven need", as judged by the workers once in control and management of the industry in question.
The Socialist Party criticises what it terms the "lavish" compensation given to the bosses of nationalised industries in the past, and links up the demand for nationalisation to demands for the workers to rely on their own control and management of the nationalised industries, and to the need for the socialist transformation of society itself. It argues that this is a valid modern interpretation of the Transitional Programme's conception.
At the outset of the 'Name change' debate which led to the establishment of the Socialist Party, Taaffe argued in 1995: "To merely repeat statements and formulas, drawn up at one period, but which events have overtaken, is clearly wrong" and that it would be fatal "to put forward abstract formulas as a substitute for concrete demands, clear slogans, which arise from the experiences of the masses themselves". Briefly discussing Trotsky's demands regarding factory committees, Taaffe comments that: "The shop stewards committees embody the very idea of 'factory committees' advocated by Trotsky."
(the forerunner of the Socialist Party) -Terry Fields
, Dave Nellist
and Pat Wall
- did in the 1980s.
In November 2005 at its annual 'Socialism' event, the Socialist Party formally launched the 'Campaign for a New Workers' Party
' along with other socialists, left activists and trade unionists with the aim of persuading individuals, campaigners and trade unions to help set up and back a new broad left alternative to New Labour that would fight for working class
people. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
(RMT union) held a conference in January 2006 to address what it calls 'The crisis in working class representation', in which Socialist Party councillor and Campaign for a New Workers' Party chair Dave Nellist
was invited to speak. Most of the speakers were in favour of a broad left alternative to New Labour. The remaining speakers, such as MP John McDonnell
, wished it well. The Campaign for a New Workers' Party held a conference on 19 March 2006, which was attended by around 1,000 people, to formally launch the Campaign for a New Workers' Party.
At the 2008 CNWP conference a discussion forum was hosted by the campaign which was addressed by RMT general secretary Bob Crow, PCS Vice-President John McInally, Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist, Labour left Simeon Andrew and RESPECT representative Rob Hoveman.
groups, but it left in 2001.
Since leaving the Socialist Alliance, the Socialist Party has run candidates in elections as Socialist Alternative. Following the local elections in 2007
, it had two councillor
s in St. Michael's
in Coventry
(including Dave Nellist), and two in Telegraph Hill
ward in Lewisham
, South London
. A member of the party was also elected in Huddersfield
but stood under the Save Huddersfield NHS
party banner. In the local elections of 2010
, however, the party lost one of the two councillors in Coventry and both councillors in Lewisham.
In February 2005, the Socialist Party announced plans to contest the 2005 parliamentary elections
as part of a new electoral alliance called the Socialist Green Unity Coalition
. Several former components of the Socialist Alliance that did not join Respect
also joined the SGUC. The Socialist Party only stood in a small number of constituencies, however, receiving a total of just over 9,000 votes.
In March 2009, the Socialist Party joined No to the EU – Yes to Democracy
, a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition led by RMT
union leader Bob Crow
, for the 2009 European Parliament elections
. No2EU received 153,236 votes or 1% of the national vote.
In January 2010, the Socialist Party announced the formation of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
(TUSC) to contest the 2010 general election. Unlike No2EU, the RMT is not formally backing the coalition but Bob Crow
, the RMT leader, will serve on its steering committee. The Scotsman newspaper names Bob Crow as the coalition's leader. According to the Scotsman, policies include: "commitment to public ownership of industry, banking and utilities; a promise not to implement cuts in public services; an end to public bail-outs of the banking industry; improved trade union rights; and an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq." The 38 TUSC candidates who ran in the elections pooled 12,275 votes. The four Socialist Party candidates who still stood under the name Socialist Alternative received an additional 3,298 votes.
positions, including PCS Assistant General Secretary Chris Baugh, POA General Secretary Brian Caton and UNISON NEC members Roger Bannister and Glenn Kelly amongst others. As of 2008, 24 Socialist Party members are elected members of trade union national executive committees. It is particularly influential in the Public and Commercial Services Union
(PCS).
A number of Socialist Party members have also held key positions in workplaces where disputes took place in 2009, such as Keith Gibbson who was elected to the Lindsey Oil Refinery strike
committee and Rob Williams who was trade union
convenor at the Linamar
car parts plant in Swansea.
At the annual congresses the national organisers have only a consultative vote, and must win support for new policies. The exit from the Labour Party in 1991, and the change of name of Militant Labour to Socialist Party, are two major debates in which a substantial exchange of views took place in a period of discussion and debate at branch, regional and national level, with a number of documents circulated, before a Congress at which the matter was concluded by a vote. After a conference decision, members are generally expected to abide by the views agreed upon, at least publicly, whilst discussion may continue, or be returned to later, within the party until all concerns are addressed.
Congress elects a National Committee, which in turn elects an Executive Committee of around a dozen or so members which runs the party on a day-to-day basis. Peter Taaffe
is general secretary, and Hannah Sell
deputy general secretary. In 2007 the Socialist Party Executive Committee of ten or eleven has a majority of women members. Areas of responsibility for the executive apart from the development of general policy matters are various campaigning roles, such as NHS, workplace and youth campaigns, together with editorial responsibilities for The Socialist, Socialism Today and other issues such as finance raising.
The Socialist Party argues that its method of elections to the National Committee does not promote individuals, but instead is conceived as the selection of a rounded-out team, including both experienced as well as young or less experienced but promising members, together with members from the trade unions and youth and other aspects of the Socialist Party's work. Each geographical region of the Socialist Party is felt to be in need of inclusion. In general, the Executive Committee, after a period of discussion with regional representatives, presents to the National Committee its "slate" or list of members selected from all aspects of work of the party. After any amendments from the National Committee, this list is proposed by the outgoing National Committee to the annual congress.
In general, in presenting the slate to annual congress, the proposed members are listed primarily by region of the country, with an additional list of trade union and youth members, along with other variations from time to time. A session of conference is usually set aside to discuss the slate, with an executive member explaining the reasoning behind the list, and outlining the proposed changes, followed by contributions to the discussion by delegates.
Congress can approve, amend or reject the list, proposing an alternative. From time to time in the history of the Militant, the forerunner of the Socialist Party, this list has been amended at conference, although in the view of the Socialist Party, the inclusive approach of the consultation process makes this rare, and has not happened at Socialist Party congresses so far.
The Socialist Party argues that this method is an example of aspects of genuine Democratic centralism
, where the widest democratic discussion and debate takes place to attempt to reach agreement before any formal meeting takes place, followed by a meeting and a vote, after which, especially in times of serious struggle, the party is expected to pull together in the direction agreed. In a document written by General Secretary Peter Taaffe in 1996 for the Socialist Party's predecessor Militant Labour, Taaffe suggests that the term 'Democratic centralism' has "Unfortunately... been partially discredited, the concept mangled and distorted by Stalinism in particular. It has come to mean, for uninformed people, something entirely opposite to its original meaning." Taaffe argues that the: "right-wing Labour leadership who usually hurl insults against the Marxists on the alleged undemocratic character of 'democratic centralism' themselves actually practice an extreme form of 'bureaucratic centralism', as the experience of the witch-hunt against Militant and others on the left in the Labour Party demonstrated."
Discussing the perceived 'dangers' of democratic centralism, Taaffe has argued that according to Leon Trotsky
there are no guarantees in any form of organisation which can guard against malpractice and the form of organisation that a party takes has a material origin that reflects the circumstances it finds itself in, as well as how it orientates to them.: "The regime of a party does not fall ready made from the sky but is formed gradually in the struggle. A political line predominates over the regime." Taaffe has also written, 'Trotsky then makes a fundamental point: "Only a correct policy can guarantee a healthy party regime."'.
It publishes the weekly newspaper The Socialist
The Socialist (UK)
The Socialist is the weekly paper of the Socialist Party of England and Wales. It is edited and written by the members and supporters of the political party publishing it....
and the monthly magazine Socialism Today. It is a section of the Committee for a Workers' International
Committee for a Workers' International
The Committee for a Workers' International is an international association of Trotskyist parties. Members include the Socialist Party of England and Wales, the Socialist Party , the Socialist Party the Democratic Socialist Movement in South Africa and Nigeria and groups using the name Socialist...
.
History
The Socialist Party was formerly part of the Militant tendencyMilitant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
, founded in 1964 as the "Marxist voice of Labour and Youth" and operating in the Labour Party. In the 1980s, the Militant tendency was dominant in the Labour group of Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
and the All-Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation. Militant supporting Labour MP Terry Fields
Terry Fields
Terence Fields was a British trades unionist and Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Broadgreen. He was a supporter of the Militant tendency.-Early life:...
was jailed for refusing to pay the poll tax, and expelled, from the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
The Labour Party regarded Militant as an entryist group with a separate programme and organisation; Militant claimed to be nothing more than a newspaper.
In 1991, there was a debate within the Militant tendency as to whether or not to cease working within the Labour Party. At a special conference 93% of delegates voted for the "Open Turn
Open Turn (politics)
The Open Turn debate took place in 1991, initially within the Militant Tendency. The essence of the debate was the ways of winning the support of Marxism within working masses in modern, changing, situation....
", although a minority around Ted Grant
Ted Grant
Edward "Ted" Grant , 9 July 1913 in Germiston, South Africa – 20 July 2006 in London) was a South African Trotskyist who spent most of his adult life in Britain...
broke away to form Socialist Appeal
Socialist Appeal
Socialist Appeal is the publication of a British Trotskyist organisation operating within the Labour Party which was founded by Ted Grant and Alan Woods after they were expelled from the Militant tendency. The organisation is popularly known as the Socialist Appeal group, and publishes a monthly...
and remain in the Labour Party; Ted Grant's supporters internationally formed the International Marxist Tendency
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency is an international socialist organisation based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. The late Ted Grant was its chief theoretician and the person who built the organisation since its beginning. Currently, Alan Woods and Lal Khan are its best known...
. This debate ran alongside a parallel debate on the future of Scottish politics. The result was that the experiment of operating as an "open party" was first undertaken in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
under the name of Scottish Militant Labour
Scottish Militant Labour
Scottish Militant Labour was a minor political party operating in Scotland in the 1990s and was part of the Committee for a Workers' International...
, standing Tommy Sheridan
Tommy Sheridan
Tommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
for election from his jail cell.
Militant changed its name to Militant Labour
Militant Labour
Militant Labour was the name of the political party openly formed by members of the Militant Tendency when they abandoned the Trotskyist tactic of entryism in 1990....
after leaving the Labour Party. In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party. The ownership of this name has been contested by the Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
founded in 1904. As a result, the new party is frequently known as "The Socialist Party of England and Wales". Due to the requirement to register party names with the Electoral Commission, the Socialist Party uses the description "Socialist Alternative" on ballot papers.
Unemployment and youth
The Socialist Party's first issue of 2010, headlined "Rage Against Unemployment" and written by Youth Fight for JobsYouth Fight for Jobs
Youth Fight for Jobs is a campaigning youth organisation based across England, Scotland and Wales backed by 7 national British trade unions the PCS, RMT, the CWU, Unite, UCU, TSSA and BECTU as well as individual trade union branches, student unions and labour movement figures.-Foundation:Youth...
national organiser Sean Figg, argues that young people are likely to suffer 'permanent psychological scars' from unemployment. Figg calls for the right to a "decent job for all", with a "living wage" of at least £8 an hour, and an end to university fees. Figg demands that the government "bail out young people" as it had the banks, stating that "capitalist politicians" will claim the cost would be 'too high'.
Environment
Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist calls climate change "the outcome of a gigantic market failure" citing a United Nations report. He places the blame for climate change on "big business". In an issue of The Socialist headlined "Climate change: 'gigantic market failure'", the Socialist Party calls for "green job creation", proposing that unemployed construction workers be employed to build "new and affordable housing, insulating existing properties and installing solar panels". It also suggests retooling the car industry for the production of lower emission vehicles and demands a "massive investment into renewable and sustainable energy sources" with the "profit motive eliminated".War and terrorism
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. It joins the protests against the Group of Eight (G8) meetings as part of the Committee for a Workers' International
Committee for a Workers' International
The Committee for a Workers' International is an international association of Trotskyist parties. Members include the Socialist Party of England and Wales, the Socialist Party , the Socialist Party the Democratic Socialist Movement in South Africa and Nigeria and groups using the name Socialist...
.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in New York in September 2001, Peter Taaffe, the Socialist Party's general secretary, writing in the Socialist Party's newspaper The Socialist, states:
Nationalisation
In December 2009, the Socialist Party demanded what it called "socialist nationalisation" as the only way to save the manufacturing industry. This marks a response by the Socialist Party to the nationalisation of major banks by the Labour Government, beginning with the nationalisation of Northern RockNorthern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
in February 2008. Previously simply calling for nationalisation, the Socialist Party now attempts to distinguish its demand for nationalisation from that carried out by the Labour government.
In the 'What we stand for' column of The Socialist, its weekly paper, the Socialist Party calls for "a socialist government to take into public ownership the top 150 companies and banks that dominate the British economy, and run them under democratic working-class control and management. Compensation to be paid only on the basis of proven need." The Socialist Party thus defines its "socialist" nationalisation to include at least three distinct features: no compensation except on the basis of proven need; democratic workers' control and management, and that the nationalised industries should be part of a "plan of production".
Banks
In an end of year statement on the December 2009 Pre-budget, an article under the name of the Socialist Party deputy general secretary, Hannah Sell, indicated the Socialist Party's response to the banking nationalisations. Sell argued that the trade unions should demand "nationalisation of all the major financial institutions", with compensation paid only to small shareholders and depositors on the basis of proven need. However Sell added that this should be just a first step to the "unification of all the banks into one democratically controlled financial system" and called for the introduction of a state monopoly of foreign trade.
On workers' control and management, Sell argues that a nationalised finance sector could be "run by and for the mass of the population". She suggests that this could be done through "majority representation" at all levels. Representatives are to be drawn from workers in the banking unions, "and the wider working class and labour movement", and some also the government.
Internationalism
Critique of the former Soviet Union
The Socialist Party argues that the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was not socialist: "the regimes in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were not genuinely socialist, but a grotesque caricature." Its analysis follows that of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
, who, with Vladimir Lenin and others, led the October 1917 Russian revolution.
The Socialist Party argues that neither Lenin nor Trotsky wished to establish an isolated socialist state. They argue that Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks defended and advanced the gains of the revolution of February 1917 by carrying through the October revolution. They emphasise Lenin and Trotsky's call on workers in the advanced capitalist countries to carry through the socialist transformation of society. This, they say, would have been a step towards the goal of a world socialist federation and would have seen those countries come to the aid of the economically and industrially underdeveloped Russia. However, this was not successful and the advanced capitalist countries invaded, blockaded and imposed trade sanctions on the young workers' state. Isolated, the Socialist Party argues, the Russian revolution inevitably "degenerated" under Stalin into a bureaucratic dictatorship. In this and many other ways, the Socialist Party's policies may therefore be termed orthodox Trotskyism.
Transitional demands
The Socialist Party's demand for nationalisation and its longstanding practice of running in elections, has led some critics to label the Socialist Party as reformist, though the party argues that its method is based on Trotsky's Transitional ProgramTransitional Program
The Transitional Program, the full name of which is The Death Agony of Capitalism and the Tasks of the Fourth International, is a political platform adopted by the 1938 founding congress of the Fourth International, the international Leninist organization founded by Leon Trotsky...
me, and that this demand would lead to the socialist transformation of society, with a "socialist plan of production... to meet the needs of all" whilst "protecting our environment."
Critics from within the Trotskyist tradition have sometimes argued that the Socialist Party misunderstands Trotsky's Transitional Programme. Since 'transitional demands' are an attempt to link today's struggles with the struggle for socialism, critics argue that Trotsky's transitional demand regarding the need for strike committees should be raised, and that the Socialist Party should argue for these strike committees to take control of the workplaces. They argue that this is preferable to arguing for nationalisation since nationalisation does not show how workers would reach workers' control of the workplaces.
The Socialist Party argues that the sections of Trotsky's Transitional Programme which argue for the 'expropriation of separate groups of capitalists' and of the 'private banks' can be represented as nationalisation, as long the demand includes workers' control and management of the nationalised industries. For this reason, the Socialist Party's call for public ownership in the 'What We Stand For' column in 'The Socialist' newspaper, is followed by the demand for democratic working class control and management, as well as "Compensation to be paid on the basis of proven need", as judged by the workers once in control and management of the industry in question.
The Socialist Party criticises what it terms the "lavish" compensation given to the bosses of nationalised industries in the past, and links up the demand for nationalisation to demands for the workers to rely on their own control and management of the nationalised industries, and to the need for the socialist transformation of society itself. It argues that this is a valid modern interpretation of the Transitional Programme's conception.
At the outset of the 'Name change' debate which led to the establishment of the Socialist Party, Taaffe argued in 1995: "To merely repeat statements and formulas, drawn up at one period, but which events have overtaken, is clearly wrong" and that it would be fatal "to put forward abstract formulas as a substitute for concrete demands, clear slogans, which arise from the experiences of the masses themselves". Briefly discussing Trotsky's demands regarding factory committees, Taaffe comments that: "The shop stewards committees embody the very idea of 'factory committees' advocated by Trotsky."
Campaign for a New Workers' Party
The Socialist Party argues that Labour Party leader Tony Blair "has deprived the working people in Britain of any kind of political representation" and campaigns for a new mass party of the working class based on the trade unions and the working class movement. It argues that political representatives such as Members of Parliament should only receive the "average workers wage", and its MPs will only take the average wage of a skilled worker in the same way that Labour MPs who supported the Militant tendencyMilitant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
(the forerunner of the Socialist Party) -Terry Fields
Terry Fields
Terence Fields was a British trades unionist and Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Broadgreen. He was a supporter of the Militant tendency.-Early life:...
, Dave Nellist
Dave Nellist
David John Nellist is a British Trotskyist activist and former Labour Member of Parliament for the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East...
and Pat Wall
Pat Wall
Charles Patrick Wall was an English Trotskyist political figure and Labour Party Member of Parliament for Bradford North from 1987 to 1990...
- did in the 1980s.
In November 2005 at its annual 'Socialism' event, the Socialist Party formally launched the 'Campaign for a New Workers' Party
Campaign for a New Workers' Party
The Campaign For A New Workers' Party is an initiative of the Socialist Party of England and Wales that argues for the establishment of a new mass workers' party, involving trade union activists, socialists, anti-capitalists, and community, anti-war and environmental activists. It was launched at...
' along with other socialists, left activists and trade unionists with the aim of persuading individuals, campaigners and trade unions to help set up and back a new broad left alternative to New Labour that would fight for working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
people. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
(RMT union) held a conference in January 2006 to address what it calls 'The crisis in working class representation', in which Socialist Party councillor and Campaign for a New Workers' Party chair Dave Nellist
Dave Nellist
David John Nellist is a British Trotskyist activist and former Labour Member of Parliament for the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East...
was invited to speak. Most of the speakers were in favour of a broad left alternative to New Labour. The remaining speakers, such as MP John McDonnell
John McDonnell (politician)
John Martin McDonnell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington since 1997; he serves as Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Labour Representation Committee, and the "Public Services Not Private Profit Group"...
, wished it well. The Campaign for a New Workers' Party held a conference on 19 March 2006, which was attended by around 1,000 people, to formally launch the Campaign for a New Workers' Party.
At the 2008 CNWP conference a discussion forum was hosted by the campaign which was addressed by RMT general secretary Bob Crow, PCS Vice-President John McInally, Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist, Labour left Simeon Andrew and RESPECT representative Rob Hoveman.
Electoral alliances
The Socialist Party was one of the founders of the local Socialist AllianceSocialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
groups, but it left in 2001.
Since leaving the Socialist Alliance, the Socialist Party has run candidates in elections as Socialist Alternative. Following the local elections in 2007
United Kingdom local elections, 2007
The 2007 UK local government elections were held on 3 May 2007. These elections took place in most of England and all of Scotland. There were no local government elections in Wales though the Welsh Assembly had a general election on the same day. There were no local government elections in Northern...
, it had two councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s in St. Michael's
St. Michael's, Coventry
St. Michael's is an electoral ward in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Its population is 19,863 . In 2001, its population was 56% white British and 23% Asian or Asian British, many of whom Bangladeshi. The ward includes many students, and 20- to 24-year-olds make up over 20% of the...
in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
(including Dave Nellist), and two in Telegraph Hill
Telegraph Hill, Lewisham
' is a place and electoral ward just south of New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham in southeast London, England.The hill rises to around 30 metres. It was formerly known as Plowed Garlic Hill. It gained its current name from a semaphore telegraph station which was constructed on the summit...
ward in Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
. A member of the party was also elected in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
but stood under the Save Huddersfield NHS
Save Huddersfield NHS
Save Huddersfield NHS is a minor British political party registered in 2006. The party campaigns against a proposed reorganisation of National Health Service facilities in the Huddersfield area and is led by Dr. Jackie Grunsell, a local general practitioner and member of the Socialist Party...
party banner. In the local elections of 2010
United Kingdom local elections, 2010
The 2010 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 6 May 2010, when the 2010 general election also took place. Direct elections were held to all 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 76 second-tier district authorities, 20 unitary authorities and various Mayoral posts, all in...
, however, the party lost one of the two councillors in Coventry and both councillors in Lewisham.
In February 2005, the Socialist Party announced plans to contest the 2005 parliamentary elections
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
as part of a new electoral alliance called the Socialist Green Unity Coalition
Socialist Green Unity Coalition
The Socialist Green Unity Coalition is an electoral alliance formed by leftist parties and political organisations in Great Britain prior to 2005 parliamentary election after the Respect Unity Coalition rejected requests to discuss an electoral arrangement to avoid clashes in...
. Several former components of the Socialist Alliance that did not join Respect
RESPECT The Unity Coalition
Respect is a socialist political party in England and Wales founded in 2004. Its name is a contrived acronym standing for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community and Trade Unionism.-Policies:...
also joined the SGUC. The Socialist Party only stood in a small number of constituencies, however, receiving a total of just over 9,000 votes.
In March 2009, the Socialist Party joined No to the EU – Yes to Democracy
No to the EU – Yes to Democracy
No2EU – Yes to Democracy is a left-wing electoral alliance which was initiated by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers to contest the June 2009 European elections in the United Kingdom. The party fielded candidates only in Great Britain...
, a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition led by RMT
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
union leader Bob Crow
Bob Crow
Robert Crow , who is better known as Bob Crow, is a British trade union leader, the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and a member of the General Council of the TUC...
, for the 2009 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
. No2EU received 153,236 votes or 1% of the national vote.
In January 2010, the Socialist Party announced the formation of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is a socialist electoral alliance launched in Britain for the 2010 General Election.The coalition was negotiated between groups which had taken part in the No2EU coalition that fought the June 2009 European elections...
(TUSC) to contest the 2010 general election. Unlike No2EU, the RMT is not formally backing the coalition but Bob Crow
Bob Crow
Robert Crow , who is better known as Bob Crow, is a British trade union leader, the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and a member of the General Council of the TUC...
, the RMT leader, will serve on its steering committee. The Scotsman newspaper names Bob Crow as the coalition's leader. According to the Scotsman, policies include: "commitment to public ownership of industry, banking and utilities; a promise not to implement cuts in public services; an end to public bail-outs of the banking industry; improved trade union rights; and an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq." The 38 TUSC candidates who ran in the elections pooled 12,275 votes. The four Socialist Party candidates who still stood under the name Socialist Alternative received an additional 3,298 votes.
Trade union work
Although The Socialist Party is a numerically smaller organisation than Militant was in the 1980s, it has a larger number of members in leading trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
positions, including PCS Assistant General Secretary Chris Baugh, POA General Secretary Brian Caton and UNISON NEC members Roger Bannister and Glenn Kelly amongst others. As of 2008, 24 Socialist Party members are elected members of trade union national executive committees. It is particularly influential in the Public and Commercial Services Union
Public and Commercial Services Union
The Public and Commercial Services Union is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in government departments and other public bodies although some work for private companies.- Membership and organisation :...
(PCS).
A number of Socialist Party members have also held key positions in workplaces where disputes took place in 2009, such as Keith Gibbson who was elected to the Lindsey Oil Refinery strike
2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes
The 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes were a series of wildcat strikes that affected the energy industry in the United Kingdom in 2009. The action involved workers at around a dozen energy sites across the UK who walked out in support of other British workers at the Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery...
committee and Rob Williams who was trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
convenor at the Linamar
Linamar
Based in Guelph, Ontario, Linamar Corporation is Canada's second largest automobile parts manufacturer after Magna International. Linamar manufactures and supplies automotive and industrial markets across the globe with numerous manufacturing centres across North America, Europe, and Asia.The...
car parts plant in Swansea.
International affiliation
The Socialist Party is affiliated to the Committee for a Workers International and is the largest of its forty members.Organisation
The Socialist Party is a membership based organisation, with branches in localities where it has members. The annual Conference or Congress is the decisive body of the party. Branches send delegates (the number of delegates per branch is proportional to the size of the branch), to regional and national bodies, conferences and decision making annual congresses.At the annual congresses the national organisers have only a consultative vote, and must win support for new policies. The exit from the Labour Party in 1991, and the change of name of Militant Labour to Socialist Party, are two major debates in which a substantial exchange of views took place in a period of discussion and debate at branch, regional and national level, with a number of documents circulated, before a Congress at which the matter was concluded by a vote. After a conference decision, members are generally expected to abide by the views agreed upon, at least publicly, whilst discussion may continue, or be returned to later, within the party until all concerns are addressed.
Congress elects a National Committee, which in turn elects an Executive Committee of around a dozen or so members which runs the party on a day-to-day basis. Peter Taaffe
Peter Taaffe
Peter Taaffe is the general secretary of the Socialist Party of England and Wales SPEW and member of the International Executive Committee of the Committee for a Workers International , which claims sections in over 35 countries around the world.Taaffe was founding editor of the Marxist Militant...
is general secretary, and Hannah Sell
Hannah Sell
Hannah Sell has been a leading member of the Socialist Party of England and Wales and its predecessor, the Militant tendency since the 1980s. She was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in 1988 and 1989 representing the Labour Party Young Socialists...
deputy general secretary. In 2007 the Socialist Party Executive Committee of ten or eleven has a majority of women members. Areas of responsibility for the executive apart from the development of general policy matters are various campaigning roles, such as NHS, workplace and youth campaigns, together with editorial responsibilities for The Socialist, Socialism Today and other issues such as finance raising.
The Socialist Party argues that its method of elections to the National Committee does not promote individuals, but instead is conceived as the selection of a rounded-out team, including both experienced as well as young or less experienced but promising members, together with members from the trade unions and youth and other aspects of the Socialist Party's work. Each geographical region of the Socialist Party is felt to be in need of inclusion. In general, the Executive Committee, after a period of discussion with regional representatives, presents to the National Committee its "slate" or list of members selected from all aspects of work of the party. After any amendments from the National Committee, this list is proposed by the outgoing National Committee to the annual congress.
In general, in presenting the slate to annual congress, the proposed members are listed primarily by region of the country, with an additional list of trade union and youth members, along with other variations from time to time. A session of conference is usually set aside to discuss the slate, with an executive member explaining the reasoning behind the list, and outlining the proposed changes, followed by contributions to the discussion by delegates.
Congress can approve, amend or reject the list, proposing an alternative. From time to time in the history of the Militant, the forerunner of the Socialist Party, this list has been amended at conference, although in the view of the Socialist Party, the inclusive approach of the consultation process makes this rare, and has not happened at Socialist Party congresses so far.
The Socialist Party argues that this method is an example of aspects of genuine Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
, where the widest democratic discussion and debate takes place to attempt to reach agreement before any formal meeting takes place, followed by a meeting and a vote, after which, especially in times of serious struggle, the party is expected to pull together in the direction agreed. In a document written by General Secretary Peter Taaffe in 1996 for the Socialist Party's predecessor Militant Labour, Taaffe suggests that the term 'Democratic centralism' has "Unfortunately... been partially discredited, the concept mangled and distorted by Stalinism in particular. It has come to mean, for uninformed people, something entirely opposite to its original meaning." Taaffe argues that the: "right-wing Labour leadership who usually hurl insults against the Marxists on the alleged undemocratic character of 'democratic centralism' themselves actually practice an extreme form of 'bureaucratic centralism', as the experience of the witch-hunt against Militant and others on the left in the Labour Party demonstrated."
Discussing the perceived 'dangers' of democratic centralism, Taaffe has argued that according to Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
there are no guarantees in any form of organisation which can guard against malpractice and the form of organisation that a party takes has a material origin that reflects the circumstances it finds itself in, as well as how it orientates to them.: "The regime of a party does not fall ready made from the sky but is formed gradually in the struggle. A political line predominates over the regime." Taaffe has also written, 'Trotsky then makes a fundamental point: "Only a correct policy can guarantee a healthy party regime."'.
See also
- Militant TendencyMilitant TendencyThe Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
- Socialist Party WalesSocialist Party WalesThe Socialist Party Wales or Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru is the Welsh regional organisation of the Socialist Party of England and Wales, a section of the CWI.The SPW is a Trotskyist organisation that previously organised under the name Militant Tendency....
- Socialist AlternativeSocialist AlternativeSocialist Alternative can refer to any of several Trotskyist political organizations, many affiliated to the Committee for a Workers International or Reunified Fourth International:-See also:...
- Trade Unionism
- TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
- Campaign for a new workers' partyCampaign for a New Workers' PartyThe Campaign For A New Workers' Party is an initiative of the Socialist Party of England and Wales that argues for the establishment of a new mass workers' party, involving trade union activists, socialists, anti-capitalists, and community, anti-war and environmental activists. It was launched at...
- Socialist AppealSocialist AppealSocialist Appeal is the publication of a British Trotskyist organisation operating within the Labour Party which was founded by Ted Grant and Alan Woods after they were expelled from the Militant tendency. The organisation is popularly known as the Socialist Appeal group, and publishes a monthly...