tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post4958731114427105435..comments2024-03-27T09:14:27.496+00:00Comments on All That Is Solid ...: Too Many Cooks?Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-48883732912231223682011-01-25T14:35:23.621+00:002011-01-25T14:35:23.621+00:00For interest, here's Pete McLaren's NSSN r...For interest, here's Pete McLaren's NSSN report:<br /><br />Nearly 600 people met on Saturday 22 January for the special anti- cuts conference of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN). The Conference debated two motions. Motion 'one', from a majority of the NSSN steering committee, proposed that the NSSN launches an "anti- cuts campaign, bringing trade unions and communities together to save<br />all jobs and services".<br /><br />Motion 'two', from a minority of the steering committee, proposed that the NSSN should not launch an anti-cuts campaign, and instead<br />should "do everything constructive, through discussions with Coalition of Resistance, Right to Work and other groups, to build and launch a single national anti-cuts organisation early in 2011" (see<br />appendix for the two motions). Two NSSN officers chaired the discussion, one from each side of the debate.<br /><br />In the vote after the debate, 305 trade union branch and workplace representatives voted for motion one, against 89 for motion two (NB: nearly 200 observers and anti-cuts campaign representatives also<br />attended the conference but were not part of this vote, to respect the democratic structure of the NSSN). A committee of eleven people, six from trade unions and five from community anti-cuts campaigns, was then elected unopposed, to lead the NSSN's new anti-cuts campaign – it includes the SA’s Toby Abse and independent socialist Terry Pearce.<br /><br />The proposers of Motion 1 made it clear that they will discuss with the other national anti-cuts organisations and explore the extent to which united work can be achieved.<br /><br />The debate largely centered around the extent to which the anti cuts movement should include Labour councilors who would be voting for cuts, and whether the trade unions were ready to take on the<br />government. Those supporting Motion 1, the majority position, included the following points:<br /><br />We should work with members of the Labour party opposed to cuts, but not with Labour councilors who are imposing the cuts. Labour councils should refuse to pass on government cuts, as Liverpool and Lambeth councils did in the 1980s. There is a need to co-ordinate anti cuts committees. The NSSN was set up a long time before Right to Work (RtW) and<br />Coalition of Resistance (CoR) If there was an established national anti-cuts organisation in<br />existence with a strategy for defeating the cuts, then the NSSN wouldn't need to be proposing another one. Some of the supporters of Motion 2 accept the need for some cuts The Socialist Party wants the leaders of all the anti-cuts campaigns to meet together to discuss how the anti-cuts movement can be built.<br /><br />Points in support of Motion 2 included the following:<br /><br />Trade unions are weaker today than in the 1980s, so the NSSN's key task is to establish the base for trade union resistance to the cuts.<br /><br />The left isn't big enough to lead the anti-cuts movement<br /><br />The role of the NSSN is to continue to build workers' solidarity and the shop stewards' movement.<br />We do not want a SP dominated anti cuts movement where decisions are taken within the SP not the NSSN<br /><br />We can not stop all the cuts<br /><br />The NSSN should work with RTW and the CoR<br />The NSSN can not set itself up as the leadership of the campaign against the cuts<br /><br />There were 30 contributions altogether in the debate, 15 for motion one and 15 for motion two.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-91292100767947319922011-01-25T14:29:40.097+00:002011-01-25T14:29:40.097+00:00It is a curious course of action, Jim. As far as I...It is a curious course of action, Jim. As far as I can see there was no rhyme or reason for setting up another group beyond the interests of the SP. Has I still been in the SP this and the cult-like pro-Sheridan hysteria would have seen me bid farewell.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-43657708645335514552011-01-25T14:25:24.204+00:002011-01-25T14:25:24.204+00:00Riversider, why do you think people were so pissed...Riversider, why do you think people were so pissed off the SP decided to launch an anti-cuts group decidedly under its control? If you as a collective lack such self-awareness of how other Marxists and socialists see you, how do you expect yourselves ever to be taken seriously by the class you wish to lead?Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-37751224201338402462011-01-24T10:54:28.034+00:002011-01-24T10:54:28.034+00:00The overwhelmingly sad thing about all of this is ...The overwhelmingly sad thing about all of this is how detached everything on the left is becoming from reality. I know it's been bad for a while now, but all of this manic posturing over trivial detail is so destructively off-putting and diverting.<br /><br />Without wishing to be overly depressive, we have an opposition Labour Party that, at the very best, is wishy-washy in opposing cuts and at worst covertly supporting them - and then outside of that we have a pathetic sectarian school playground bunfight between bureaucracies seeking to "control" or "lead" the anti-cuts movement.<br /><br />We've seen credit card capitalism collapse as largely predicted, we've seen the rich get richer in spite of their abject and grand failure, and we're about to see the remainder of the public sector decimated as the neo-liberal scumbags get their wish in turning the UK into a bleaker and more stagnant version of the US.<br /><br />And the lefts response? Set up some committees to pretend to be in charge of anti-cuts campaigns, slag off anyone who doesn't exactly agree with you and make sure, beyond anything, that there is no semblance of political unity amongst people who actually broadly agree on the fundamental points. <br /><br />All because it is more important to have exactly the "correct" position than attempt to actually bring something together than can make a difference.<br /><br />Meanwhile does anyone outside of the left-trainspotting circles care or even know about these various groups? Do the mass of trade union members understand the nuances between the various groups competing for their attentions? Do even non-aligned local anti-cuts campaigners understand why so many groups now exist?<br /><br />No...it's a mess...lets pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves for maintaining our utter irrelevance from the lives and hopes of ordinary people.Alex Dawsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14197211489381075789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-6322837676112444252011-01-23T23:44:25.454+00:002011-01-23T23:44:25.454+00:00Green councillors don't vote against cuts? The...Green councillors don't vote against cuts? They did in Lewisham and everywhere else I've heard of - I'm sure it will come up if a Green cllr decides to support cuts in essential services. As we went into the election on a basis of investment rather than cuts it's not really our thing.<br /><br />Anyway,on the NSSN, group that does nothing of any use decides to do it with less people. This decision means that exactly the same number of people organising anti-cuts work in their area will continue to do so - not one person more and not one person less, and they will also all do this in the same way that they did it before, probably, unless they just fell out with their mates in which case they wont.Jim Jeppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-85596779935943425082011-01-23T23:31:23.359+00:002011-01-23T23:31:23.359+00:00The AWL/Martin Thomas article you linked to was in...The AWL/Martin Thomas article you linked to was interesting, but I laughed so hard at how at the end he still manages to bring it back to slagging off the SWP ('I may completely agree with the SWP in every way, but it made long-term tactical sense for them to wish to *appear* as the voice of unity and reason'!) <br /><br />This does further confirm my suspicion that the AWL is essentially an organisation whose primary goal is criticism of the SWP.Jon Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17234358000875537314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-67310415279860077732011-01-23T23:22:47.705+00:002011-01-23T23:22:47.705+00:00As you point out, there are a multiplicity of anti...As you point out, there are a multiplicity of anti-cuts organisations springing up.<br /><br />Strange that only one of these anti-cuts initiatives was met with howls of opprobrium and indignant accusations, even though NSSN has been around much longer than any of the other organisations you mention.<br /><br />Let's hope it was all a storm in a teacup and that we can get back to the serious work of fighting against ALL the cuts.Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12699101060433755910noreply@blogger.com