An Open Letter to Sean Matgamna

Dear Mr Matgamna,

Good day

I am not sure that we have ever met. If we have it might have been during the failed attempt, in the mid 1990s, by your small sect (the Alliance for Workers Liberty) to control the left wing publication “Labour Briefing” (on the editorial board of which I served for a number of years).

I am not a person of any real significance in our Labour movement, which is something which you and I have in common. I held various offices in my trade union, UNISON, for a number of years, and am currently Chair of my Constituency Labour Party.

I note that you have written an “Open Letter to Jeremy Corbyn”.

I have read this letter, from which I have learned that you are verbose.

I have also learned that you believe that the Party of which I am a member (I do not know if you are?) is in the grips of a crisis concerning antisemitism.

I have therefore learned that you are capable of responding to the agenda set for you by the media.

I suppose when one writes an open letter one can choose one’s topic.

If I considered myself to be some sort of leading light of a group of socialists, and thought my opinions of sufficient weight that I should write an “open letter” to the Leader of the Labour Party, there are all sorts of topics which I could think about covering.

There is the question of whether the Labour Party should pledge to go beyond the repeal of the 2016 Trade Union Act to repeal all anti-union legislation for example.

Then again there is the question of whether the Labour Party should adopt a clear position in opposition to racist immigration controls, extending “freedom of movement” beyond the boundaries of the European Union.

Or, to take another topical example, there is the very live question of what the Labour Party, and its leadership, whilst in opposition, can and should do to address the problem of cuts in jobs and services being made by Labour Councils.

All of these questions correspond, I suggest, to the interests of working-class people in this country.

I can see why socialists might want to make representations to the Party Leader on these questions (and many others) – although Labour Party members have policy making machinery which we can use to shape the policy of our Party and don’t always have every debate out in public.

You seem to have picked your topic based entirely upon the headlines of newspapers hostile to our Party, and to the wider movement of which you presumably consider yourself to be a part.

I understand that you also write poetry.

Perhaps it would be more useful to the cause of socialism in this country (and internationally) if you stuck to poetry in future.

Limericks are quite fun.

All the best,

Jon