- Peace (2)
- People not profit (4)
- Planet (3)
- Planning (6)
- Power and politics (7)
- Statements (10)
- 23/06/2008: Transport Meeting at the Convention of The Left
- 06/06/2008: Working class people deserve a party to speak for them by Nick Wrack
- 03/06/2008: What is the true cost of Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan?
- 03/06/2008: John McDonnell MP: After Labour's electoral disaster - we need action on policies.
- 03/06/2008: Can Brown be beaten by John McDonnell’s Manifesto? by Mark Hoskisson
- 04/05/2008: First thoughts on the elections
- 17/04/2008: Towards The Convention of The Left: Progress so Far.
- 17/04/2008: The missing theme - trade unionsim at home and abroad
- 07/04/2008: What they're saying about the Convention of the Left
- 10/03/2008: A Socialist Vision of Health Care in a World Out of Balance
Blogroll
- Communist Party of Britain
- Communist Students
- Convention of The Left
- Greater Manchester Association of Trades Councils
- Greater Manchester Respect (renewal)
- Green Left
- Labour Briefing
- Labour Respresentation Committee
- Liverpool Trades Council
- Manchester Green Party
- North Manchester Against Wars
- Permanent Revolution
- red pepper
- Respect
- Scottish Socialist Party
- Socialist Workers Party
- Stop the War Coalition
Supporting blogs
Themes of the Convention of The Left
By Bill Jeffries
If Unity is Strength, then the Left is very weak, not only has it suffered from three decades of defeat, but since the late 1990s has systematically failed to take advantage of the many opportunities for it to substantially extend its influence.
Most notably out of the enormous stop the war movement it failed to build a mass alternative to New Labour, rather the opposite, the anti-war movement, in spite of its many awe inspiring achievements, consolidated the Left’s fragmentation, its general retreat from class politics and overall decline.
Faced with this situation it is a good time to re-think where the Left has gone wrong, what are the lessons and the next concrete steps we can take together to re-build the movement. There are obviously many different answers to these questions, but first among them must be, in a general sense, an appreciation of the situation and the tasks that it posed activists.
Notwithstanding the scale of the anti war movement, and growth of climate change activism, the anti-capitalist movement, ESF/WSF and so on, the overall level of class struggle remains weak. Strike figures are lower than the 1950s. Trade union organisation is down when compared with the 1970s/80s.
The Labour Party left is a shadow of its former self, while the various left regroupment initiatives, the SLP, SSP, Socialist Alliance, CNWP, Solidarity, Respect, Respect Renewal, LRC etc. without wanting to get into the specifics, have failed to unite the whole left within them.
Faced with this fragmentation, what can the Convention of the Left do?
Firstly it can provide a forum for the Left of all shades to discuss their differences and what unites them, their assessment of the world, where they think the priorities for struggle are, what are the key issues that face working people today.
Secondly it can start to co-ordinate activists within these areas to make their struggles more effective.
And finally in the light of its success with steps one and two it can consider future options.
04/03/2008 at 02:14 am
Don’t merely want a rally at one extreme of tedium or even some worthy workshops at the other extreme (although both inspiring speakers with big crowds and small detailed information sharing should have their place).
Be good to address difficult questions, with debates and different perspectives on them: including both sharp polemics to clarify differences between positions and also people who are building new synthesis of ideas and bridges between positions: Questions like:
*’Can Trades Unionists and Environmentalists Really Unite?’ As well as acknowledging the convergences between the two - we also need to acknowledge the difficulties and divergences between these twin anti-capitalist dynamics.
*’Can ‘the Left’ Really use the Electoral System?’ Acknowledging the real dangers and limits of electoralism - the elevation of individuals above the movement, their capture by reformist logics and the trap of administering capitalism, the dilution of principle - but at the same time understanding the real gains of bourgeois democracy and the platforms it can provide for uniting wider forces. Can political parties and electoral platforms ever serve and strengthen social movements?
Etc Etc.
Good to see the word ‘anarchist’ mentioned in the blurb, as well as green and socialist. There is a whole left beyond the left - consisting of a diffuse kind of soft or semi-anarchism, or loose ‘autonomism’ involved in local cultural politics, direct action, ecological struggles. One expression of this part of the left beyond the left will be found a month and a half before the Manchester Convention:
The Climate Camp 4th - 11th August
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/
The dynamic of the counter-summits can help - bringing together a movement of movements united in contesting a specific event, and occupying a specific space. It is a unity in movement and space, rather than a unity from a pre-scribed, pre-written programme - but hopefully can generate a series of programmatic unities itself. So the protest day of action is as important as the counter-conference of ideas.
And of course this differs from other counter-summits in that parts of the Trades Union movement are still inside, or at least looking to the Labour conference. It does not only consist of the ruling class apparatus but a section of the labour movement in ideological thrall to it. Of course, this will be the first Labour conference since the recent constitutional changes removed its last pretence of democracy.
Also, therefore some kind of mass accommodation will help. If the event is over a few days - taking in a counter-convention and a day of protest and action, then a physical connection between these needs to be built.
That would best be a camping space, or a big squatted convergence centre or a big rented space from an educational or sporting etc institution.
People sharing a space for a few days - cooking and eating together, and all the other day to day practical tasks - means they share ideas and experiences at many different and deeper levels. Much better at generating solidarity than hotels, individual crash pad provision or a daily commute.
Yes, I’m warming to the idea! Will start discussing it with activists in Northern Lancashire.
09/03/2008 at 08:34 pm
Good to see a blog up and running comrades! Are there any plans to produce a short graphic that could be added by supportive bloggers to their sites? I would do it, but I’m a bit of a failure when it comes to technical matters.
10/03/2008 at 08:13 pm
Graphics will be available from the main convention site at www.conventionoftheleft.org (resources section) very soon.
11/03/2008 at 10:01 am
I don’t think it is safe to have a big campsite in the centre of Manchester. There are quite a few chavs who will get drunk on Stella and kick off with people in the early hours. I have to get the night bus sometimes and its full of people who should be asbo’d.
Also I don’t think that having long workshops would be very interesting for youth.You can get a lot of small groups which no one has heard of making obscure points.I would however be interested in a talk on If we want to attract youth we need to do something a bit more on their level. Is it possible to be more interactive? Could we do a sort of Pop Idol/ Stars in their Eyes sort of competition where people chooses a hero from the past and then act out a famous speech or bit that they have read? We could have an ask the audience gadget and then people could vote.
Will there be food or do we bring sandwiches?
12/03/2008 at 10:41 pm
he he! I like that - left idol, I bagsy the young Arthur Scargill!
25/03/2008 at 01:42 pm
Dear John and friends involved in organising The Convention of the Left
RE Stop the War Demonstration at Labour’s Conference
I am writing to outline the plans Stop the War Coalition are making for Labour’s Manchester Conference
Subject to further discussion, agreement, and amendment from the Steering Committee of the Greater Manchester Stop the War Coalition which meets on 5th April we anticipate the following response to the proposals and initiatives of the Left Convention. Our chair of GMSTWC has discussed this matter with the national chair of the STWC, Andrew Murray.
Demonstrating against the ‘war on terror’ policies of this government, and lobbying Labour delegates going to their conferences has become a STWC ‘Manchester’ tradition. GMSTWC lobbied Labour’s Spring conference 3 years ago while they were bombing Iraq. A national STWC/CND march of 50,000 marched under the slogan ‘Time To Go!’ at Blair’s last conference, while Military Families Against the War held their peace camp. When Brown held his Leadership conference we marched for a demand to ‘Change the policy not just the leader’.
When Brown holds his conference this September, our members and partners in the STWC would expect the us to call a demonstration in opposition to Brown’s war. We would want our protest to be timed so that leading Labour Party members of STWC like Tony Benn, Walter Walfgang and MP’s like Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonald could attend the march.
The form and focus of our demands this September have not yet been decided or agreed. The cost of Brown’s War, Bring the troops home! Dont Attack Iran! Welfare not Warfare! Defend Civil Liberties! Oppose Islamophobia and other similar demands are possible. Of course as STWC we are not able to go beyond demands agreed at our annual conferences. Sections of the coalition and individuals do support wider demands such as against privatisation or for stronger trades unions but as STWC we cannot endorse such calls. However this has not stopped STWC acting as an overriding and open force for unity in the movement. So for example last year the strikers from Remploy held their own trades union sponsored lobby of Brown over factory closures, and then the strikers were welcomed onto the STWC demo which they joined as a contingent.
Subsequently, we will propose at our steering committee that the GMSTWC calls an anti war demonstration to coincide with the start of Labour’s September conference. This could now be called for the Saturday as they have brought the start of the conference forwards. Our national STWC steering committee meets in London on the 12th April and I am sure they will discuss our proposals.
Although the GM STWC are unable to take a direct part in shaping or building a Left Convention or similar project as it is wider than the agreed scope of our organisation and our aims, we would request that speakers from the STWC be considered to join platforms of speakers at Convention of the Left where appropriate. We would request STWC stalls also where appropriate.
There is likely to be a variety of protests and lobbies at Labour’s conference, some called by the Convention of the Left, and other bodies. In so far as they are of an anti war nature we are likely to publicise and/or support such initiatives.
Further, wherever it is possible for STWC to be invited to send speakers to organised Convention of the Left rallies meetings, or conferences we are keen to do so.
I hope this response will help clarify the approach from the GM STWC to those building the Convention of the Left so that all of us are able to effect the greatest possible pressure upon the Brown war cabinet.
Please do not hesitate to call if necessary to clarify things. Please send a Convention of the Left delegate to our steering committee.
Fraternally
Mark Krantz, convener GMSTWC 07765 122 829
Nahella Ashraf, chair and GM delegate to the national STWC steering Committee