A paper of Marxist polemic and Marxist unity weekly Political disorientation: n Letters and debate workern SWP and Labour Party SPEW and the unMarxist n From Powell to Brexit slogan of the 1% vs the 99% n Turkey after the coup No 1117 Thursday July 28 2016 Towards a Communist Party of the European Union £1/€1.10 Labour right’s floundering coup attempt 2 weekly July 28 2016 1117 worker LETTERS Letters may have been into membership or affiliation, but an incumbent they’re not subject to far less obvious forces within our working together to undermine Corbo shortened because of fundamentally this has to be decided by nomination: the nomination procedure own state who wish to suppress any at every turn. It was shocking to hear space. Some names the Labour Party itself, not any outside, is only for aspiring challengers. disobedience, rebelliousness or other that he had been throwing stones at the may have been changed factional, hostile, poisonous sectlets. Correspondingly the incumbent is not such ‘insurrectionist’ potential from offices of Westminster champion, the I personally thought it was strange eligible to take part in that procedure freethinking and largely undefeated honourable Angela Eagle MP, in the Two cheeks and undermining to allow potentially - they’re excluded from it by the rules. citizens, such as myself. middle of the night. I was very disappointed with Dave Lynch’s transient ‘supporters’ the same weight in In his letter Andrew mistakenly slides This entire life experience of mine It was reported that Corbo had article, ‘Which side are you on?’ (July electing the leader as fully paid-up and the two cases together: “[t]he very rule has been nearly as bad as having been ‘allowed’ a culture of bullying. Tearful 21), which is a pretty scurrilous piece often longstanding members. I agreed Mike quotes states that ‘any nomination’ ‘shouted at’ by someone, or having women MPs were seen on telly and 44 of journalism. with the aim of making the Labour must be supported by 20%, which been informed that a brick was thrown Labour women MPs signed a petition I am assuming the Robert Griffiths leadership more attuned, sensitive and surely means any candidate. If it was through the window of completely against Corbo because “rape threats, letter is genuine, as you appear to outward-looking to both traditional intended to mean potential challengers empty premises! death threats, smashed cars and bricks be quoting it from the 21st Century and potentially newer constituencies of only, it would surely have said that, and Bruno Kretzschmar through windows are disgusting and Manifesto website. The position of voters, but thought this element should that the incumbent could go through email totally unacceptable”. This was part of the Communist Party of Britain on the be capped at perhaps 10% or 20% of the automatically”. Perhaps it’s going too the big build-up for a feminist challenge question of its members not registering total result, to protect the sovereignty of far to call this an amalgam. Vacant wit to male-dominated Corbynism. as either supporters or members is the membership base. But then a few months ago Andrew If Corbyn loses are you going to run the Ms Eagle led from the front. Yet this crystal-clear, and it appears Robert is I very much agree with trade asserted that “the publicly stated bases following ad? challenge collapsed when she stood simply putting that on a wider record and union political levy-payers becoming of the four key Moscow trials between “Situations vacant: messiah for the down for Owen Smith, a real man with for clear political and principled reasons. individual members of the Labour Party, 1936 and 1938 were in fact broadly left. The successful candidate must a family. The Westminster brand of Nothing to do with “scabbing” - a but what about the voice of the affiliated correct ... [the] arguments set out by the be able to elicit fawning, bordering feminism crashed onto the rocks of New disgusting allegation. trade unions and socialist organisations prosecution and supported by the trial on delusional, from those that should Labour political expediency. This was When the 2015 Labour leadership as collective bodies? How far should judges that former leading members know better. They must be able to talk exposed as another Westminster game, election opened, there was some non-Labour Party members be able of the party [had perpetrated heinous a good fight about ending Tory austerity, a weapon which Labour politicians ambiguity on the Labour Party website to influence Labour leadership and crime after dastardly crime] seem to be renationalisation and increasing NHS were exploiting, not least in supplying as to what a ‘registered supporter’ was policies? How far should the Labour supported by the facts now available to spending. Experience is not essential; Cameron and May with ammunition to really signing up to. The terms and Party seek to be a ‘parliament’ of the us” (Letters, March 3). And Andrew’s in fact it is a crucial requirement that taunt Corbyn. conditions implied that if one was not whole organised labour movement? middle name probably isn’t even Grover. the candidate has done nothing concrete. Next came ‘Corbogate’, when Corbo a member of an organisation ‘opposed’ Lynch attacks the Morning Star in Jara Handala Shameless hypocrisy is a requirement sent a gang of desperados to break to the Labour Party, and agreed with the not vigorously opposing Neil Kinnock’s email as the candidate must call for unity, into the Westminster office of another Labour Party’s aims and values, they assault on Militant in the late 1980s. but never have shown any in their past. Westminster MP, Seema Malhorata. My were eligible to sign up. I well remember, as a member of the Abused References from Dennis Skinner and the own theory is that Corbo wanted to bug As the CPB is not ‘opposed’ to CPGB at the time, hearing on the radio Taking my cue from those Labour MPs SWP are a must. But he or she must be her office, like tricky Nixon had done in the Labour Party, as per its political Kinnock’s extraordinarily, electrifying who recently have suffered the deeply able to lead the Labour Party to electoral the 1970s. He should have realised that programme and strategy, Britain’s excoriation of the Militant Tendency in disturbing upset of being ‘shouted at’ oblivion.” MI5 had already bugged all the offices, road to socialism, that could have Liverpool. during meetings, or even the sheer and Steven Johnston and simply asked Theresa May at PMQs led members to think they could and The “grotesque spectacle, of a abject horror of having had a brick email for a transcript of what the plotters have ought to sign up. However, on June 16 Labour council, a Labour council, thrown through the window of their been up to. It would have saved time. 2015, the CPB wrote to all members scuttling around the city in taxis handing (empty and locked) local offices, I wish Close it down Instead of being pinned down in advising that in fact the Labour Party out redundancy notices”, resonated to make a complaint. Again, precisely as The whole Westminster system is a a hail of Westminster bullets, Corbo has a different and tighter interpretation with huge sections of the genuine with those abused and vulnerable souls, complete farce and a national disgrace. should go on the offensive. These MPs of what constitutes ‘opposition’ to the left, who were disgusted at the total it’s a complaint that I intend to make Nothing more epitomises this waste of hate democracy and fear nothing more Labour Party, and made it absolutely depths and depravity Trotskyism in available to our corporately controlled time than prime minister’s questions. We than being held accountable by their clear that its members must not sign up practice had sunk to and, frankly, mass media outlets, as well as report may have seen Corbyn asking serious party members or their electorates. to the Labour Party or, if they did, they welcomed and supported their political for urgent investigation by the police. questions, sometimes from the public. And The people have to take matters into should leave the CPB. destruction in the Labour and working For whatever mixture of reasons, the prime minister gives a non-answer, their own hands. We need a revolution At that time and indeed since, there class movement. We knew Kinnock I am someone who has absolutely no with statistics about how they did better in democracy. The people are crying were wide allegations that ‘far left’ would use this to marginalise the left wish to comply with the ideology, let than the previous lot. out for it. groups, ‘Trotskyists’ and members of in general, but that did not mean the alone enable the practices, of capitalism. All this comes amid baying, cat- This is the message from the other political parties were joining as attack on Militant was not correct in Nevertheless, over the course of my calling, shouting and barracking. The Scottish referendum in 2014 and the Labour supporters, and this was being and of itself. lifetime I have suffered repeated and prime minister always ends up with EU referendum in 2016. Corbo must used to discredit and undermine Jeremy Communists, from Lenin in his indeed relentless harassment by our the last laugh, along the lines that my address the democratic deficit and offer Corbyn’s subsequent election as Labour Leftwing communism: an infantile various governments precisely to do party is better than yours. Bullying real solutions.