Northern Ireland: 2011 Assembly elections – No solution for Catholic or Protestant workers

Stormount. Photo: SitomonThe
Stormont Assembly is a political dead end, which reflects a deeper
economic and political impasse. Things were bad enough before the onset
of the economic crisis but now the Assembly will be presiding over the
imposition of massive cuts, which NIC ICTU have estimated will result in
the loss of some 48,000 jobs.

The final tally in the election was as follows, with the 2007 figure in brackets:

DUP: 38 Seats (36)
SF: 29 Seats (28)
UUP: 16 Seats (18)
SDLP: 14 Seats (16)
Alliance Party: 8 Seats (7)
TUV: 1 Seat
Green Party: 1 Seat (1)
Independent: 1 Seat (1)
PUP: 0 Seats (1)

The
upshot of these very minor changes is that not a lot is likely to
change in the Assembly, which is to all intents and purposes a glorified
County Council. After 30 years of armed struggle and decades of
posturing and marching, SF and the DUP will divide up the ministerial
portfolios between them and return to business as usual. The Stormont
Assembly represents a blind alley that offers no solution to the
problems of either Catholic or Protestant workers.

The Northern
economy is overwhelmingly dependent on the state. There are more workers
on sick benefit now than are working in manufacturing. Huge swathes of
industry have been devastated and unemployment is rising once more. The
Con Dem government’s cuts are going to add further pressures to what is
already a very difficult situation. This economic and political impasse
also explains the development of groups like the Traditional Unionist
Voice trying to outdo the DUP. But it explains a series of breakaways
from SF also, as well as the recent increase in activity of the Real
IRA.

While
there were a great many candidates seeking election on Thursday, what
was clearly missing was mass working class representation. The impact of
the loss of 48,000 jobs in what is already a very small and weak
economy will be a disaster. Inevitably there will be growing pressure on
the trade unions to take the lead in fighting to defend jobs and
services. Some 6,000 workers demonstrated in Belfast on March 26, which
is a sign of the mood that will develop as the cuts begin to bite. But
the trade unions are effectively fighting with one (or both) hands tied
tightly behind their backs.

In the absence of a political lead
from the trade union movement, the political consequence is that there
is a huge vacuum that is filled by the SF and the DUP who present
themselves as the best and most reliable representatives of their
communities. But the truth is that the best representatives of working
class people tend to be themselves and the people they elect in their
own organizations such as shop stewards and trade union representatives.

The
left in the North is fragmented and weak; while Eamonn McCann got a
respectable 3128 votes in Derry the Workers’ Party received 1155 votes,
while the Socialist Party received a total of just 819 votes across
three Assembly seats. While the situation appears to be marginally
better in the local council elections the conclusion has to be that
there are no shortcuts.

The crisis in the North reflects the
impasse of capitalism throughout the island of Ireland, throughout the
advanced capitalist countries and the whole world. There is no way out
for capitalism other than by attacking workers’ living standards and
squeezing the working class. The main focus of a genuine Marxist
Tendency in the North has to be on the development of a mass, trade
union based, working class alternative fighting on class issues with a
Socialist programme. Such a mass alternative could cut across sectarian
divisions not through mere appeals for workers’ unity, but by
demonstrating in practice that the class interests of Catholic and
Protestant workers are more powerful than the efforts of the ruling
class and vested interests to divide them.

May 9, 2011

Source: Fightback (Ireland)