Socialist Fight No. 22 Summer 2016 Price: Cons: £1, Waged: £2.50 (€3) Defend Gerry Downing, Tony Greenstein, Naz Shah, Ken Livingstone, Jackie Walker and the rest against the Tory/Blairite/ Zionist Witch Hunt! Page 2 Socialist Fight Where We Stand (extracts) Socialist Fight is a member of the Liaison 1. We stand with Karl Marx: ‘The emancipa- ist state to ban fascist marches or parties; these Committee for the Fourth International tion of the working classes must be conquered laws would inevitably primarily be used against with the Communist Workers Front, by the working classes themselves. The strug- workers’ organisations, as history has shown. Brasil gle for the emancipation of the working class 14. We oppose all immigration controls. Inter- Dördüncü Blok, Turkey means not a struggle for class privileges and national finance capital roams the planet in Tendencia Militante Bolchevique, Argen- monopolies but for equal rights and duties and search of profit and imperialist governments tina the abolition of all class rule’ (The Internation- disrupts the lives of workers and cause the The Editorial Board is: Gerry Downing, Ian Donovan, Carl al Workingmen’s Association 1864, General collapse of whole nations with their direct Zacharia, Ailish Dease, Chris Wil- Rules). The working class ‘cannot emancipate intervention in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghani- liams, and Clara Rosen. itself without emancipating itself from all other stan and their proxy wars in Somalia and the Socialist Fight PO Box 59188, London, sphere of society and thereby emancipating all Democratic Republic of the Congo, etc. Work- NW2 9LJ, other spheres of society’ (Marx, A Contribu- ers have the right to sell their labour interna- [email protected]. tion to a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of tionally wherever they get the best price. https://socialistfight.com/ Right, 1843). 19. As socialists living in Britain we take our Communist Workers Front—Brasil 9. We are completely opposed to man-made responsibilities to support the struggle against http://lcligacomunista.blogspot.co.uk/ climate change and the degradation of the British imperialism’s occupation of the six Tendencia Militante Bolchevique— biosphere which is caused by the anarchy of north-eastern counties of Ireland very serious- Argentina, http:// capitalist production for profits of transnation- ly. For this reason we have assisted in found- tmb1917.blogspot.co.uk/ al corporations. Ecological catastrophe is not ing the Irish Republican Prisoners Support Dördüncü Blok—Turkey ‘as crucial as imperialism’ but caused by impe- Group and we will campaign for political sta- http://dorduncublok.blogspot.co.uk/ rialism so to combat this threat we must re- tus these Irish prisoners of war and for a 32- http://tmb1917.blogspot.co.uk/ double our efforts to forward the world revo- county united Socialist Ireland. We reject ‘two Signed articles do not necessarily rep- lution. nations in Ireland’ theories. resent the views of Socialist Fight. 11. We also support the fight of all other spe- 21. We are for the re-creation of a World Party cially oppressed including lesbians and gay of Socialist Revolution, a revolutionary inter- men, bisexuals and transgender people and the national, based on the best traditions of the Subscribe to Socialist Fight disabled against discrimination in all its forms previous revolutionary internationals, critically Four Issues: UK: £15.00, EU: £18.00 and their right to organise separately in that understood, particularly the early Third and Rest of the World: £20.00 fight in society as a whole. In particular we Fourth Internationals, with their determination Send donations to help in their pro- defend their right to caucus inside trade unions to combat and overcome both reformism and duction Cheques and SOs to and in working class political parties. While centrism. It is by orienting to the ranks of Socialist Fight Account No. 1 supporting the latter right, we do not always workers in struggle, struggles against imperial- Unity Trust Bank, Sort Code advocate its exercise as in some forms it can ism, struggles of oppressed minorities against 08-60-01, Account. No. 20227368. reinforce illusions in identity politics and ob- varied all forms of social oppression, as well as In Defence of Trotskyism scure the need for class unity. political ferment among intellectual layers radi- Is now a small pamphlet since 13. We fight racism and fascism. We support calised through these struggles, that we will lay Issue No. 6, available at the right of people to fight back against racist the basis for regroupments with forces interna- Housmans Bookshop 5 Caledo- and fascist attacks by any means necessary. Self tionally breaking with reformism, centrism and various forms of radical populism/nationalism, nian Rd, London N1 9DX , on the -defence is no offence. It is a legitimate act of self-defence for the working class to ‘No Plat- and seeking to build a new revolutionary Website or by post. form’ fascists but we never call on the capital- Marxist international party. Michael McKevitt - Justice Denied……………...Page 16 Contents Hesitant Comrades: The Irish Revolution and the Brit- Editorial: Labour and and Working Class After the Elec- ish Labour Movement...………………….……..Page 17 tions………………………….……………..……Page.3 1916: Connolly and Permanent Revolution……...Page 18 Partial Tory back-down on Academies Bill……...Page. 5 On Optimism and Pessimism, On the 20th Century and Junior Hospital Doctors talks begins………..…. ..Page 6 on Many Other Issues ………….……………...Page 20 Momentum and Labour………………...……….page 7 The Dördüncü Blok and the COReP: some historical Defend Jackie Walker………..……………...…... Page 8 truths…………………………………………....Page 21 Gerry Downing: Letter to Labour Party NEC …...Page 9 Letter From America: Clinton, Trump and the American Hillsborough and a city that dared to fight ……..Page 12 Left……………………………………………...Page 22 Defend NUS President Malia Bouattia ………...Page 13 Brazil: A coup by imperialism against workers….Page 23 Women’s Rights under Attack …...……………..Page 14 British state repression against community centre in Occupy Now! Nationalise British Steel under work- London …………………………………..……..Page 26 ers’ control!...................................................................page 15 LRCI May Day Statement to the workers and the Op- Irish Republican Prisoners…………………..….Page 16 pressed………………………………………….Page 32 Leon Trotsky: I am confident of the victory of the Fourth International; Go Forward! Page 3 Editorial: Labour and the Working Class After the Elections he victory of Sadiq Khan in London, along There is a continuum T with the clean sweep that Labour have made of this with the vilifica- in the mayoralities of Bristol, Liverpool and Sal- tion of the tame pro- ford has boosted the leadership of Jeremy Cor- imperialist Sadiq Khan byn. Despite a lower percentage of the vote than as a cohort of pro-IS in 2012, at a higher point in the previous electoral ‘extremists’. The Tories cycle, Labour hung onto most of its council seats have been taking the in England and Wales, as well as key councils in piss knowing their Fifth both the North and South of England. This is far Column in Labour will from the disaster that the Blairite and Zionist back them up. Cameron saboteurs were hoping to bring about with their used Parliamentary collaboration with the Tories on the ‘anti- Privilege to libel Gerry semitism’ smear campaign. The working class was Downing as a ‘9-11 not fazed by the sound and fury of the traitors apologist’ and supporter and racists, and turned out to vote Labour any- of IS. He then libelled way. In fact as this article is being written, it looks Sadiq Khan and an like Tory losses were more than Labour, despite imam, Suliman Ghani, media hype about large imminent Labour losses who is so ‘radical’ he and Tory gains. once campaigned for Labour did marginally less well in Wales, and the Tories, the same the Scottish result was a disaster with Labour way. Khan was then There is a continuum of this witch-hunt with the vilification of the tame pro being pushed into third place in Holyrood. But denounced by Alan -imperialist Sadiq Khan as a cohort of pro-IS ‘extremists’. The Tories have the Scotland results were the product of a differ- Sugar, arch-capitalist, been taking the piss knowing their Fifth Column in Labour will back them ent dynamic; Scottish Labour is not led by the British Zionist analogue left, and the damage whereby Labour lost most of of Donald Trump and a devout Blairite, as a need to be removed from positions of responsi- its working class base to the SNP was done long “disaster” and a friend of “terrorist sympathisers bility where they can do harm. We need a united before Corbyn. The Tories in Scotland seem to and anti-Semites”. left bloc to defend the victims of the witchhunt have gained from a tactic of trying to appear not Talk about the biter being bit! Khan is an Ed and drive the Zionist racist outfits like the to be Tories and just opposing a second Inde- Miliband-type who postures a bit left sometimes ‘Friends of Israel’ and supporters of Israel’s racist pendence referendum. Given the dire state of while also grovelling to business interests, and ‘Labour’ Party, out of Labour. Scottish Labour confronting the task of recon- joined in the slander of opponents of Zionism as quering its working class base, it looks like the ‘anti-Semitic’. He distanced himself from Corbyn, Weak Reactionary Government Tories may have gained a bit at the SNP’s ex- though he nominated him for the leadership to When the Tories won the 2015 General Election pense; it just failed to keep its majority in Holy- avoid the danger that without Corbyn on the with a small majority, they were taken by surprise. rood. ballot the leadership election process would have They expected to renew their coalition with the However, there is a long way to go before La- been discredited.