The importance of listening

Recently I have had several discussions with people who should really know better, people who call themselves Marxists but have advocated a vote for the Labour Party in the forthcoming General Election. A position which I cannot understand for any socialist to hold, to advocate a vote for the neo-liberal agenda of New Labour, a party which has lost all the democratic structures which means there is no hope of reclaiming the party. Nevertheless these points seem to have fallen on deaf ears amongst many so I thought I would blog from a different angle.

Earlier today I spend several hours outside to different Job Centres in Cardiff leafleting for the Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) demonstration on Wednesday at the Welsh Assembly. As such a had the opportunity to discuss politics with a lot of people as they were hanging around waiting for their appointments in the job centre. I heard the same thing from each person I spoke to. The anger was most certainly there but so was the demoralisation.

Everyone I spoke to agreed that labour doesn't care about ordinary people any more. Particularly amongst the youth but not exclusively the people I spoke saw no difference between Labour, Tory or Lib Dem and rightfully so. The problem was that they were all extremely demoralised and saw noway forward. Nobody I spoke to said this but one or two did display the potential of voting for the BNP because of how disenfranchised they have been by the main parties and of course because of the media scapegoating as well.

But it exactly for these reasons that Socialists should not call for a Labour vote because this will increase the disenfranchisement and the feeling that nothing can e done which on one hand could lead to political apathy and on the other hand it could lead to the kind of rise in the BNP vote which we have already seen so far.

When we spoke to people about both the YFJ demonstration and the TUSC electoral challenge the conversation took a turn, it significantly changed their outlook and many said they would come along on Wednesday. The Labour Party has already hung itself which is evident by the outlook by many people who rightfully so no difference between Labour and the other main parties. Instead of offering them more rope we should pull the noose shut, refuse to offer them any support. It is important now that we support candidates of the left and where there are not any agate for abstentions and the urgent need to build an alternative

VOTE TUSC AT THE ELECTION AND COME TO THE YOUTH FIGHT FOR JOBS DEMO ON WEDNESDAY

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

With a General Election approaching we are face with a bizarre situation where all the main parties have promised to dish out huge and savage cuts to us. The only arguments are over where the cuts will be and who can be the most serious about it. This is in the background of the MPs expenses scandal where all the parties were shown to be as corrupt as can be. Where we have seen public purse handed over to the banks to do with as they please whilst we suffer job losses, education cutbacks and losses in vital public services. Ir doesn't take a genius to work out that all the main parties are out for themselves and their rich friends.

But there is an alternative now, The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) will be standing in various constituencies in the Election, for a full list of candidates click here. The Coalition is a federal one and as such each candidate has the right to set there own policy but a basic programme which has been agreed by all candidates and supporting organisations can be found here.

This is definitely a welcome turn, I entered political activism at the age of 17 and started campaigning for Socialist candidates even before I was able to vote. I didn't then nor do I now see an fundamental difference between all of the main parties. They all just treat the symptoms in ever so slightly different ways and never address the real problems facing us. It is clear that whoever wins the General Election we will face wide scale attacks on almost everything the working class has fought for and won over the years, that's why we need an alternative now.

TUSC was born out of an electoral alliance for last years European Elections, the coalition involves several left organisations including the Socialist Party, Socialist Workers' Party, Socialist Resistance & the Socialist Alliance, as well as the support of the 'Hazel Blears must go campaign' and many regions and branches of the RMT (Rail Workers Union) including the General Secretary Bob Crow, and support is growing it has been reported that a group called independent Socialists in Wellingborough is also considering participating and for a more in depth look and those supporting TUSC out can find a list here.

This is obviously a positive step in Cardiff I will be out campaigning in Cardiff Central for Ross Saunders, TUSC candidate and Socialist Party member, who if elected will only take the average wage of a skilled worker, a far cry from the average MPs wage isn't it. But it is clear at this stage that this is just the beginning, we need to fightback after the election as well against the cuts we will be facing, and that starts now, well on Wednesday outside the Welsh Assembly at 2pm for a Youth Fight for Jobs demonstration where we will fight for our future.

An intro on why Socialists shouldn't call for a Labour Vote

A recent article by Workers' Liberty has caught my attention so much so that I thought it worth commenting on. I find it extremely difficult to grasp the reality in which they are living. I find it is extremely difficult how a Marxist organisation can at the present time can advocate a vote for the Labour Party. The do add stipulations though, The slogan is 'Vote Labour, Prepare to Fight'.

What does this actually mean though? To say 'Vote Labour', however you say it is to say 'Vote Labour'. Throughout the article it is many clear how bad the Tories are and of course this is all true, in reality the article completely misses the point. Born in 1985 I have spent the whole of my life under tory policies because there is no real difference between Labour and tories these days, in fact in many sectors Labour have gone even further than the Tories dared. The article goes out of the way to point of some of the progressive reforms of Labour such as Tax credits but fails to mention that what Labour has given with one hand has been taken away with the other and the gap between rich and poor is greater than before 1997! Without much democratic structures left in Labour there is not a route to 'reclaim it' so this is simply leading towards a dead end.

The AWL make a point of the trade union link with Labour and the importance of it. Whilst this is a valid point the trade union link can not be ignored. But one only has to look at the TU's which are not affiliated to Labour and those that are. Even amongst those that are it is easy to see a huge mood for braking that link amongst the rank and file and the bureaucracy is hanging on. So really with this as the background the position of 'Vote Labour, Prepare to Fight' plays the role off holding back the the most militant Trade Unionists and giving the bureaucracy left cover. I do not see how the trade union link can be seen as a reason for voting for labour. Whilst there was no official affiliation between TU's and the Liberal Party, but it clear that the Liberals were not a workers party. In the United States the TU's give huge some of money to the Democrats but they again are not seen as a workers party. In Germany we have seen the rise of Die Linke which is supported by socialists internationally yet most of the TU's remain affiliated to the SPD. In consequence the TU affiliation to Labour is nothing more than a historical hangover but not a reflection of Labour's aims. It is what Labour has done which counts.

The actions of the Labour Party of the last 13 years has resulted in pushing away the working class on mass. Membership has more than halved, the only youth to join are Blairites, often even constituency meetings can't get quoracy. At the Welsh Labour Party hustings there was only MP's, AM's, councillors and a handful of others present. The Labour Party is a shell of its former self and the working class generally no longer see it as their party any more. I certainly don't and never have, my first political activities began campaigning against the Labour Party and have done so now for over 7 years. A whole generation of working class youth have only ever known a right-wing Labour party. This is why the tories are likely to win the election despite the working class hatred that exists for them,this is why the BNP is able to gain ground in ex-labour heartlands, because there are countless voters, amongst the older voters who have always voted labour but say they will never vote Labour again because of the betrayals.

So with huge anger of working class people towards the Labour Party, where even the LRC go as far as to say that people are looking for a new party. To say vote Labour in this situation is to say that working class people can not build there own alternative they can only resist the cuts when they come. More importantly though it is a way to drive a wedge between yourselves and anyone you try to convince to vote Labour. Instead socialists should support TUSC or other left candidates where they are standing and where there are none, with a possible few exceptions, Socialists should call for spoilt ballots as a protest and link that to the need to build a real alternative.