Yesterday
on a longer than usuak Train Jourmry I began to reflect on the
growing claims from esctions of the Labour Party the claim that the
Trotskyists were returning to the party. Tom Watson claimed that
they were leading astray the younger members of the party. I had a
vision of evil;l old men lurking in dark corners luring young
idealists to listen, learn and be corrupted.
It
did not occur to Tom Watson that perhaps the growth of membership in
both the the Green party and the Labour Party reflects the simple
truth that a whole generation has appeared that has a deep loathing
to centerist slick austerity-lite politicians. I am old enough to
remember the Militant tendency of the 1980s it was nothing like
Momentum today. I know many of the characters from the Swansea
militant period of the 1980s they were a very centralised group, they
were very macho,they trained their members to speak clearly and
analytically and many of them seemed to echo a style that was
pre-feminist and had little understanding of sustainability or
ecological awareness about the nature of economic growth. They were
shocking inly unaware of sexual and gender politics. Their were those
in Militant then who thought of those who were not heterosexual were
guilty of bourgeois degeneracy.
I
dont doubt that some old trots may have joined the Labour Party or
are seeking to rejoin. However Tom Watson seems to forget that thirty
years is a long time and change occurs all the time in what we
think, believe and am are of. Looking back at wretch at some of the
political things I said and thought. But you know Tom its getting
late..Ukip have brought back unthinking racism and made it almost
acceptable. You know Tom we live in another world now, even the
right are beginning to abandon austerity. We have new economic
theories provided by the like of Paul Mason, Thomas Picketty and
Yanis
Varoufakis . Concepts like citizens incomes are
becoming discussed and experiments with them are beginning. Even
Milton Friedman talked about the concept of helicopter money. We are
aware that we contribute to a society by spending our money in the
local economy and that we are not a citizen simply because we work in
a particular way at a particular job. We know that the poor and
dispossessed spend all of their money in the local economy while the
rich and the wealthy save their money in the globalised economy
outside of the communities we all live in.
Momentum
is not the militant Tom..they are not organised like militant was . I
didn't like militant I remember a former activist within them telling
me a story about a young working class man who had won a place at
University. He was told by his militant branch organiser not to go
because his role was more important back in Liverpool. On the other
hand I worry that Momentum is not organised tightly enough to
understand the structures and bureaucracies of the old remnants of
the Blairite tendency I see enthusiasm, I see awareness and I see the
analysis that a new world is possible. I worry that the idealism that
I have seen in the Green surge of 2015, with its lack of organisation
and political awareness will blight Momentum. Maybe I am an old hack
seeing things there that I was unconscious of in myself over 30
years ago...I just dont know.
I
am glad that Momentum is not Militant but there is much they could
learn from them. I remember in the 2001election in Swansea West I was
speaking to one of the candidates from the old Militant tendency at
the university in a hustings. I told him of a simple clear fact about
weakness in the policies of another candidate. I was somewhat
surprised when he stood up he took my information as his opening
remark. I never liked Militant.
So
Tom Watson, these day are not the return of the Trots, these days are
not the 1980s this is a unique period where at long last the left has
a real chance. Tom Watson stop being a witchfinder General...... all
of us have wounds from the past and we unconsciously apply them to
the present.. We should all remember that Socrates was convicted for
aledgedly “corrupting the young” with ideas...the old trots are
not back Tom …but mew foorms of old ideas are..... I will give
Militant one last thing a slogan they had it said “a militant is a
moderate who has got off their knees..thats what is happening Tom
Watson.
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