The
European election results were published last Monday, following on
from the local election results of a few days earlier. They showed
Labour behind not just the Tories, but even behind UKIP, a lunatic
fringe party, on just 15% of the vote. What does this mean? What should be done?
Further to our previous article the government has been defeated on their own attempt to stop a clear Labour Party manifesto commitment from gaining the force of law. On Friday 13th March a private member’s Bill moved by Lindsey Hoyle gained a second reading after being passed by 85 votes to 17. This is a small but significant victory, won against government skulduggery.
The political landscape in Britain is changing before our
very eyes. This morning’s prominent TV news is of the tanker drivers’ strike,
showing scenes of pickets with Red Flags turning away lorries at Shell
refineries. The next item is the deepening government crisis, followed by a
warning from Gazprom that oil prices could reach $250 a barrel. It was like a
typical news bulletin of the 1970s.
A recent poll of Labour Party members, published
in the Sunday Times shows why the New Labour clique around Gordon Brown were determined to keep
left challenger John McDonnell off the ballot paper.
The trade unions have the power to clear the Blairite clique from the Labour Party by putting their full weight behind John McDonnell instead of presiding over the coronation of Gordon Brown, who supports privatization, the anti-union laws, the sacking of 100,000 civil servants, wage cuts in the public sector and the war in Iraq.
John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, has announced
his intention to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party. He is
Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, the Labour Representation Committee,
and the 'Public Services Not Private Profit' anti-privatisation
campaign. He is also the national chair of Hands Off Venezuela and has
been at the forefront of the campaign to defend the Venezuelan
revolution. Socialist Appeal supports John's campaign as a real
opportunity to raise socialist ideas throughout the labour movement. We
asked John to tell us about his campaign and about the need to fight
for socialist policies inside the Labour Party.
The editorial of the September 2006 issue of Socialist Appeal looks at the climate of fear and Blair's dwindling support. The latest ICM poll for The Guardian shows that after three terms
of Labour government the Tories are now nine points ahead in the polls.
What an indictment of failure. Labour's support now stands at a
nineteen year low. This is Blair's legacy.
The Editorial of the latest issue of Socialist Appeal (July/August
2006) calls for a socialist candidate to oppose Brown in a Labour
leadership election. "The idea of a handover – with no election – that Blair and Brown had
imagined is clearly now dead in the water. There is a rising tide of
opposition to Brown’s succession.
What an ideal opportunity to raise socialist policies throughout the
labour movement!"