Trotsky, Tom Watson and Witchfinding........

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.