Whatever Happened to the ULA?

Kieran Allen

a failure to grasp the significance of what had occurred. A proposal to move the project forward towards creating a fully fledged party was shot down. The aim of the proposal was to create an opportu- nity for the many more to join and trans- form it from an organisation that was still rooted in the traditions of Irish Trotsky- ism to one which embraced other currents of opinion. Such a party, it was argued, could still give ‘tendency rights’ to indi- vidual groupings to promote their distinc- The United Left Alliance is in a co- tive positions. This argument was, how- matose state from which recovery, at the ever, rejected by the Socialist Party. They moment, appears unlikely. Its steering argued that the ‘objective conditions’ were committee has not met since December not ripe for such a development and that and some of its participants have left. At a more emphasis needed to be placed devel- time when thousands of people are looking oping the ‘correct programme’. for an alternative to the political establish- ment, the radical left has proved unable Second, and linked to the first, the to forge a viable, broad organisation that ULA was organised as a three block al- could win their allegiance. Its demise has liance where each component had a veto. allowed the mainstream media to struc- Even if a majority on the Steering Com- ture political debate in terms of the gov- mittee or at a national meeting voted in ernment versus the Fianna Fail-Sinn Fein a particular way, a minority block could opposition. It was not always like this. veto the development. The People Before The United Left Alliance was formed in Profit Alliance strongly objected to this the run up to the 2011 General election approach as it was fundamentally undemo- and was composed of three organisations cratic and gave ULA members who were the People Before Profit Alliance, the So- not in any block fewer rights to partici- cialist Party and the Tipperary Workers pate than they even received in their union. and Unemployed Action Group. Discus- The veto structure also created a frame- sions on left unity had been underway for work whereby different factions tended to some years previously but the approaching frame political discussion around their en- election was the decisive event that moved trenched positions. some of the more reluctant elements for- The underlying tensions within the ward. After the election when five TDs ULA came to a head around the Wallace were elected, a series of public meetings affair. The Wexford TD, Mick Wallace, were organised which drew in over one had not paid his VAT taxes for a company thousand people. However, two key prob- he controlled, M.J, Wallace Ltd. Wallace lems quickly emerged. was a classic populist who talked left in First, there was an inherent conser- the Dail but took his role as a capital- vatism in some sections of the alliance and ist seriously - even to the extent of en-

17 tering disputes with SIPTU. As soon as Left’. Their departure at the time of the the affair broke out, the People Before Wallace affair was really about seizing an Profit representatives called for an emer- opportune moment to leave. gency meeting of the ULA steering Com- The Socialist Party’s position was more mittee and pressed the ULA to call for influential within the alliance and their de- Wallace’s resignation from the Dail. It ar- parture shook other elements. The SP ar- gued that the left could not be associated gued that Clare Daly’s activities in main- with any hypocrisy when it came to attack- taining a political connection with Mick ing the tax dodging techniques of capital- Wallace and the specific manner in which ists. However, while every other compo- she fought on the abortion issue in the nent of the ULA supported this view, the Dail represented a form of political op- Socialist Party vetoed the call for his resig- portunism. They claimed that the failure nation. It later transpired that there were of others to condemn her activities meant major difficulties inside their own ranks, as that ‘ULA is compromised and cannot now one of their TDs - Clare Daly - was sup- be seen as an independent, principled Left portive of Wallace. alliance’. In departing, the SP suggested The manoeuvre, however, did not work that another vehicle could be found for as Clare Daly eventually left the SP. She their electoral ambitions. Their aim was to then sought a more active engagement in transform the Campaign Against House- the ULA but this in turn provoked the So- hold and Water Taxes into a quasi political cialist Party to lay down stringent con- party that would run candidates in elec- ditions about her role. When the ULA tions and thus create the basis for a ‘mass branch council voted down the SP’s con- workers party’. ditions, they decided to leave the ULA. Almost everything about this state- Shortly beforehand the Tipperary Workers ment represented the worst elements of and Unemployed Action Group also left, sectarianism on the Irish left. Other ac- citing the Wallace affair and the ‘recruit- tivists also had concerns about a polit- ing’ activities of both the SP and SWP. In ical association between Daly and Wal- reality, there was no justification for these lace, particularly as it led to a split on resignations and both, in their different the household charges campaign in Wex- ways, showed a myopic political approach ford. But while disagreeing with Clare that is unhelpful for constructing a broad Daly’s stance on this issue, we have ac- left alliance or a new party. The Workers cepted that she is a socialist with every and Unemployed Action group had a trou- right to be part of the ULA. Attacking blesome relationship with the alliance from her stance on the abortion struggle rep- the very start. They opposed, for exam- resented the worst form of political pos- ple, every demand to increase corporation turing. If a broad party cannot accommo- profits tax and even vetoed a proposal for date a Clare Daly, then it will never ac- the ULA to support a Financial Transac- commodate hundreds of workers who have tion Tax on speculation. Instead of help- not yet drawn fully revolutionary conclu- ing to construct an open broad based cam- sions. A broad party or alliance has to paign around household charges in Tip- allow for difference and disagreements pre- perary, they centred all activity on their cisely because it must be a space where TD, Seamus Healy. The WUAG were the people are allowed to develop. It needs to most right wing force in the ULA and had focus on the 90% agreement between so- a highly localist hostility to the ‘Dublin cialists of different tendencies in order to

18 draw in the thousands of workers who have ing. An internalised atmosphere per- started to question capitalism. Departing vaded many of its gatherings be- from the ULA on the basis of hostility to cause of this emphasis. The assump- Clare Daly revealed a total irresponsibility tion was that if agreement could be towards wider working class politics. reached on an extensive socialist pro- Moreover, the attempt to transform the gramme, this would inoculate the CAHWT into a quasi political formation ULA against any reformist devia- will create even more problems. Many tions. In reality, a broad left party joined a single issue campaign against the needs a fairly minimal programme household tax and have started to gener- that rules out coalition with the right alise their anger against austerity. But it and centres its work on promoting does not follow that they will take a clear, struggle. Bonds forged with work- ‘principled’ position on travellers’ rights or ers in real struggles create a far bet- a woman’s right to choose if they were ter dynamic than arid discussions of elected to parliament. Some may indeed who is more socialist than others. be a good deal less principled on these is- The tragedy of the ULA was that sues than the aforementioned Clare Daly. it did not engage in any real joint The unravelling of the ULA is undoubt- campaign. Even when its partici- edly a blow to the Irish left. There are pant groups helped to initiate the growing signs that Sinn Fein is preparing CAHWT, there was no shared dis- itself to enter a government with Fianna cussion on strategy. Bizarrely, this Fail after the next election and many ac- led elements of the ULA to argue tivists already sense this. They want a real against an emphasis on demonstra- left alternative. The departure of the ULA tions at the start of the household from the scene opens the road for other charges campaign - counter-posing it forces to fill that gap - including, unfortu- to a boycott. A modest proposal nately, right wing elements who can pose to end sectarian bickering between as a more militant opposition to the estab- ULA elements within that campaign lishment. Over the next period, the SWP was even voted down by those who will concentrate on building up the Peo- thought that ‘principled’ arguments ple Before Profit Alliance as a more open, were necessary to advance the cam- inclusive project that unites all who want paign. to fight. Our experience over the past few months has indicated that this project can 2. Elections are not the end goal of so- attain a high level of local success and we cialists. Traditionally key elements therefore see no need to fall into a sort of of the Irish far left have combined a navel gazing about ‘what is wrong with the terrible history of sectarianism with left’. Nevertheless some key lessons can be an obsession with elections. Winning learnt from the ULA experience. They can an extra seat becomes the focal point be summarised under four main headings. of ‘real politics’ and campaigns are often fought with this objective in 1. An ounce of struggle is worth a mind. However a Dail seat is only ton of political programmes. The useful when it provides a platform ULA spent a lot of time discussing a to encourage people to struggle for ‘principled socialist programme’ and themselves. The failure of the ULA far less time in actually campaign- to initiate real joint campaigns was

19 linked to this obsessive electoralism. itself in Greece. As they move closer Much of the suspicion and jockey- to government, the parliamentary ing for positions arose from the same representatives seek to pull these for- source. mations to the right. The Red-Green Alliance has begun to vote for auster- 3. Revolutionaries are not the problem ity measures while Syriza has begun - TDs need to be answerable. After to court elements of the Right with a the demise of the ULA a storyline ap- view to possible governmental part- peared that the problem was revolu- nership. tionary organisations like the SWP. These organisations either put peo- 4. Political modesty and an acceptance ple off or put too much emphasis on of difference are key to left unity. their own organisations. This attack Marxist politics has never given any- on revolutionary organisation has be- one the power of prophecy and so come a European wide phenomenon no one faction on the left can claim and has its own distinct agenda - to be 100 percent right on every- to clear the field so that a left re- thing. Moreover, the genuine libera- formist option like Syriza becomes tory content of Marxism is premised the model form of left organisation. on the self activity of workers. Po- However the storyline is not credi- litical activists have to both argue ble. The effort put in by the SWP with workers and learn from workers. and other revolutionaries into build- Activists have a duty to stand up ing the ULA vastly outweighed that against sexism or homophobia and of many critics. Moreover, no mat- challenge ideas that are promoted by ter how much more ‘effort’ was put the right wing press. But they also in, it could not rectify internal prob- have to learn from the creative ener- lems e.g. the veto system within the gies of workers and not presume that ULA. The narrative that the ‘revo- they know exactly how the wider lutionaries are to blame’ is intended working class will move into action. to re-construct a left unity project This elementary modesty is also a on a more conventional left social key to left unity. There needs to democratic ground. Revolution is off be a genuine spirit of engagement, the agenda for the 21st century, it willingness to learn and, where there is claimed, and so a drive to a left are disagreements, accepting them as reformist party is the only practical part of the diversity of the left. possibility. All of which raises a more fundamental This approach is invariably linked to question: what is the point of left unity? giving TDs more autonomy and cen- After all if individual left wing revolution- tring a party around their activities. ary organisations are growing - and the Far from being only the voice of the SWP is - why bother with a troublesome party in a hostile Dail, they become radical left? the ‘personalities’ around which a The answer is that it provides a mecha- party is built. The logic of this ap- nism for tens of thousands of new activists proach is already becoming evident to carry through a transition from a re- in parties like the Red-Green Al- formist consciousness which seeks to hu- liance in Denmark and indeed Syriza manise capitalism to one which decisively

20 challenges it. Of necessity, this means that liance argued for many of the above points a radical left must include left reformist during the discussions on the future of the elements as well as revolutionaries. But if ULA. Both PBPA, and the SWP, are still these can work together in joint struggles it willing, indeed keen, to engage with oth- can create a dynamic that assists the wider ers who wish to re-awaken the comatose construction of a mass party of the work- patient of left unity. ing class. The People Before Profit Al-

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