29.10.1998
Divisions at the top
Simon Harvey of the SLP
Arthur Scargill’s shenanigans have led to demoralisation and disillusionment at the top of the Socialist Labour Party. Imran Khan, Louise Christian and Victoria Brittain are rumoured to be on the point of leaving. Pat Sikorski has also exchanged highly critical correspondence with Scargill.
Our party seems to be facing its worst ever crisis. Scargill has succeeded in marginalising the left and riding roughshod over membership democracy, with any remaining rank and file opposition sullen and disjointed. But now he is faced with divisions at the top. ‘Star’ comrades like Khan, Christian and Britain are unimpressed by a Socialist News packed full of weirdos, ranters, semi-sociopaths and - in total - pathetic political losers. They dislike the sectarian election tactics of Scargill - his refusal to counternance left unity or alliances. Above all they realise that the SLP is now doomed to be no more than a Scargillite rump on the extreme edge of the political universe.
As to his vice-president, Sikorski, his Fourth International Supporters Caucus is still smarting from its setback at the 2nd Congress of December 1997. Fisc was rocked out of its smug complacency when Scargill used his previously unannounced 3,000 block vote - cast by the North West, Cheshire and Cumbria Miners Association - to force through the abolition of Fisc’s cherished black section.
Former Scargill loyalist Terry Dunn was disgusted not only at the abolition of the black section, but by the manner in which Scargill ensured that his personal programme was imposed on congress through the phantom NWCCMA. Comrade Dunn is standing again for the NEC as a dissident at the November 14 special congress, with the backing of Fisc.
Another major source of friction on the NEC occurred over the Reclaim Our Rights campaign against the anti-union laws. Set up on the initiative of NEC members Bob Crow and John Hendy, ROR gathered support and, along with the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty-sponsored Free Trade Unions Campaign and the Communication Workers Union, came together to form the United Campaign to Repeal the Anti-Trade Union Laws. But that was not to Scargill’s liking. He was not content with merely being the dominant figure, as he would have been in the United Campaign. He wants the fight for union rights to be an adjunct of ‘his’ SLP.
But the question which really exacerbated tensions at the top was the debacle over Socialist Labour’s 3rd Congress, due on November 14. Our bumbling general secretary sent out notice of congress just four days before the closing date for branch motions. After a whole raft of Constituency SLPs protested when they missed the deadline, Scargill attempted at first to extend it. But that would have left no time for amendments to be proposed by branches. In the end the NEC hit on the ‘solution’ of ‘postponing’ congress until November 1999 - ie, cancelling it altogether. A special congress, with no motions from CSLPs, was called for November 14.
Down the tube
Short of a miraculous transformation, the SLP cannot be a vehicle for socialism. But that does not mean that our party could not yet win the support of a section of the working class. For example, the frustration and anger of thousands of union militants could find expression in ROR. While Scargill has been well and truly exposed as a labour dictator among the left, millions know him only as an intransigent union fighter. In the event of an upsurge in class struggle, many might turn to him.
This has clearly been demonstrated by the attention we get from time to time in the press. Recently the Evening Standard has been giving prominence to the SLP in its coverage of the RMT, particularly in relation to the London underground - “Scargill fights to control RMT” was its headline on October 22. The article warned of an ‘SLP takeover’ in the forthcoming leadership elections. It speculated that sitting assistant general secretary Vernon Hince could be challenged by comrade Sikorski, while president John Cogger might face comrade Mike Atherton. Also in the frame are comrades Bobby Law and Bob Crow himself. Comrade Crow is already the union’s number three, but earlier in the year categorically denied that he would be challenging general secretary Jimmy Knapp. He can afford to bide his time and wait for 57-year-old Knapp to stand down.
What worries the Standard is the upsurge in militancy that might arise following election victories for SLP members. Comrade Dave Rix’s success in Aslef might at last foretell cross-union cooperation in common struggles. Already London underground workers seem prepared to fight. At present RMT members are about to ballot for strike action over three separate disputes, affecting the Northern, Victoria and District lines. Comrade Law, RMT executive member for the underground and an SLP militant, said he expected “overwhelming support” for action.
The Evening Standard is ready to resurrect Scargill as revolutionary bogeyman, as it warns of a new “winter of discontent”. This would play into his hands. He might become a hate figure for many middle class commuters, but his rating would go up in the eyes of thousands of militants.