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Workers� political representation: where now?

ON WINNING the recent Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie said: "Labour has taken the people up and down the country for granted for far too long, too much spin and not enough delivery � it is time that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown both got that message". Losing a majority of more than 11,500 votes in the time since the May 2005 general election is a serious blow for New Labour, especially in a constituency neighbouring that of the Chancellor, Gordon Brown.

While the government may blame this defeat on local issues, it is clear that many people have lost faith in the Labour Party, are either looking elsewhere for candidates they believe better represent them or, in increasing numbers, are not voting at all. Turnout in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election was down by 11.21% on the May 2005 figures.

This has occurred in the period leading up to the first local elections in London since the invasion of Iraq and there are widespread expectations that Labour will lose a significant number of council seats, and may even lose control of a number of councils. In a bizarre twist of fate, Blair is now at least partly relying on the relative popularity of the once-expelled Ken Livingstone. The mayor�s support for the government�s anti-social behaviour agenda and recently announced budget for increased police numbers are having an effect on the perception of crime in the capital � leading to some media speculation that this may translate into votes. Its effect, however, is likely to be very limited.

More important, is the anger that is building as Blair seeks to push more of his �legacy agenda� through parliament. The education reforms and introduction of city academies have provoked mass outcry and several local action groups have been established to organise a fight-back. Similarly, the increasing privatisation of the NHS has been extremely unpopular and this has been shown by the significant size of local demonstrations in affected areas.

Attempts to raise the retirement age and reduce public-sector pensions have come up against considerable opposition from workers, and the government is facing a huge battle with the trade unions on this issue.

The working class is increasingly looking for a political alternative and therefore it is becoming more and more urgent that steps are taken towards the establishment of a new mass workers� party in England and Wales. To this end, the Socialist Party launched the Campaign for a New Workers� Party at the Socialism 2005 event last November.

The move to the right of the Labour Party � a process started by Neil Kinnock and continued and accelerated by Blair � is well documented. The fight of the three mainstream parties is now for the so-called �centre ground� in politics.

The leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, recently said, that the "alternative to fighting for the centre ground is irrelevance, defeat and failure". The same could be attributed to the Liberal Democrats and acting leader, Sir Menzies (�Ming�) Campbell, who has praised the role of the private sector in delivering public services and ruled out increasing levels of public spending. The Economist magazine commented: "Sir Ming is as sure that there is no politically attractive space much to the left of Labour as Mr Cameron is that there is none much to the right".

However, this view is not shared by a growing number of workers, trade unionists, young people and environmental, anti-war and community activists. People who have been involved in fighting against the policies of this contested �centre ground� know its true nature and are looking for something new to emerge to fight in their interests.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) called a conference in January to discuss the crisis in working-class representation. This event was well attended by many sections of the labour movement and the idea of a new workers� party was warmly received. Unfortunately, the conference did not debate or vote on resolutions and a way forward was not agreed.

RMT general secretary, Bob Crow, spoke about the importance of rebuilding the shop stewards� movement. There is no doubt that this would be a very welcome development, but it is not a precondition for the establishment of a new party of the working class. A new party would be invaluable in raising the confidence of workers and, in turn, would almost certainly lead to a strengthening of the trade union and shop stewards� movements in general.

Significantly, there was no argument at the conference that reclaiming the Labour Party was the way forward or indeed possible, even from the left-wing Campaign Group Labour MP, John McDonnell, who spoke from the platform.

Now, the next step for the Campaign for a New Workers� Party is to build for the conference that has been called for Sunday 19 March at the University of London Union. This will be an opportunity for all those in favour of working towards a new party to discuss, debate and agree the next steps in the campaign. It will also be an important opportunity to bring together activists from different areas to plan how they can work together to build support for the idea of a new workers� party.

The aim of the 19 March conference should not be just to regroup the existing left under a new banner to create a �Socialist Alliance Mark II�. New forces must be drawn into the campaign in order to make the goal of a new mass workers� party achievable in the future. The conference should be seen as an initial first step towards this potential wider movement.

Trade union branches, community groups and other organisations are invited to send delegates to the conference and individuals are also welcome to attend.

A new party or even a �pre-party� formation, launched to represent the working class, would be a substantial step forward at this time. This is true even though its programme, as decided through democratic discussion, may not initially provide a thoroughly worked-out plan on how demands could be won and achievements sustained in the long run. Such a new formation would draw workers and others into struggle, and Marxists will undoubtedly engage, discuss, debate and explain the necessary tactics and methods needed to establish a socialist society that would benefit the majority of people instead of a rich minority. The 19 March conference is the next step on this road.

Fiona Pashazadeh

For more information on the Campaign for a New Workers� Party and the 19 March conference, go to www.cnwp.org.uk, email info@cnwp.org.uk or write to CNWP, PO Box 858, London E11 1YG