Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Tony Blair does not support Labour candidates. Labour members don't care.


Tony Blair (a war criminal who formerly held political office) has expressed his support for the Parliamentarians who have run away from our Labour Party rather than be held to account. With friends like those who needs enemies?

Nevertheless, this is not something which should come as a shock to any observer of political events in our (currently) sad little country.

The stability of a capitalist nation state depends – among other things – upon the debate within its workers’ movement between those who are determined upon genuine change and those who are prepared to settle for modest amendments to the status quo.

Capitalism can accommodate “social democracy” (when that means – in a Tom Watson sort of way – the modest changes which capitalists can afford to make to ameliorate the worst impacts of their economic system upon working people). What capitalism cannot accommodate is real socialism (as advocated by the current Labour Party leadership).

It follows that, in line with interests of the ruling class, in the UK, there is the appearance (from the media) of a strong movement to undermine the socialist leadership of the Labour Party. There is no real basis for this. There is no strong opposition – within the workers’ movement – to the socialist leadership of the Labour Party.

The state (and the ruling class) may be able to rely upon the General Secretary of our third largest union (who was elected with the support of a little over 2.5% of his membership) but they can no longer hope to divide our Party and our movement to the point at which we have no purchase on events.

We now have a Party of the working class which can hope to form a Government and which stands in opposition to the policies of Tony Blair, David Cameron and Theresa May (and Margaret Thatcher).

The attempt of the ruling class to ensure that the leadership of the Party of the working class is not in socialist hands has failed. Tony Blair’s project of finishing Margaret Thatcher’s attempt to prevent our Party supporting socialism is no more.

Hope remains available to our class.

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