Sep 24, 2007

Respect -- a new opening for left regroupment?

by Dave Riley
Socialist Unity is announcing a new opening for regrouping the British far left in the wake of changes adopted for Respect -- the Unity Coalition at its recent national council meeting:
Reports on Liam’s blog show that Respect’s National Council approved George Galloway’s proposal for organisational changes.

This is a very significant development. It means that we are now at the beginning of a constructive process whereby the debates in Respect may help build the foundations of a new political force. But only if we grasp this opportunity with both hands. It is time for those of us who left respect to rejoin.

If the perspective urged by Socialist Unity is correct, then a handicap in the international regroupment process is being overcome. The Respect model -- "a united front of a special kind" -- has been , in effect, counterposed in the English speaking world to more serious and engaged projects of building broad multi tendency, pluralistic new left party formations -- such as the Socialist Alliance here in Australia or the SSP in Scotland.

Respect's major limitation despite its electoral success, according to its critics, has been that it was constrained by its limited organisational democracy and the heavy and paternalistic hand of the British SWP in alliance with its major Respect partners such as George Galloway.

The present crisis in Respect (bought on by a falling out between the SWP and Galloway) has led to, what Socialist Unity is now calling a new "game on!".