MY first involvement in trade union activism began just as Thatcherism was getting into full swing.
After a long pause, I returned to the maelstrom in the 1990s. By that time the trade union movement was a faint shadow of the mighty force that had once commanded huge influence, its UK membership slashed by five million in the intervening period since I was a teenage shop steward.
During its 18 years in power, the Tory government had railroaded through nine Acts of Parliament designed to further weaken the rights of working people to organise themselves.
One thing remained unchanged, however. The Labour Party still dominated the machinery of the trade union movement in Scotland and across Britain. Some of them tried in vain to recruit me.
“Join the party and change it from within,” they said. “Labour is the political wing of the trade union movement,” they insisted. “And now that we’re in power, we’ll take take the party back to the left,” they claimed.
By the time Tony Blair had unleashed global carnage, even the most ardent Labour loyalists were no longer trying to recruit anyone.
But 12 years and two General Election defeats later, these old arguments are being revived with a passion as tens of thousands of people – mainly in England and Wales – sign up to change the Labour Party by voting for Jeremy Corbyn. Many have been inspired by the example of Scotland, their confidence in left-wing ideas galvinised by the landslide election victory of the anti-austerity, anti-Trident SNP.
But its clear they’re not welcome.
The problem with real democracy is that people cannot just be herded like sheep. If you believe in it, you need to live with people who don’t agree with you. And if you claim you’re the natural party of the working class, you need to be prepared to let in the mob.
Ultimately, it’s all about power.
The Oxbridge elite who’ve run UK Labour for decades are panic-stricken that they’re about to lose control.
Yes, political parties should have mechanisms to protect themselves from damaging and destructive behaviour, whether that’s violence, bullying, harassment of women, corruption or fraudulence.
But if Jeremy Corbyn is denied the leadership by bans and exclusions, Labour will have taken one more giant leap towards oblivion.
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We all recognise that as a party ,Labour really doesnt fit anywhere. It appears to have chosen to imitate the tory party. No wonder people dont believe in it or its lack of values any more. Corbyn has been extremely brave to challenge and publicise an alternative view. I fear his bravery will be rewarded by sabotage from the PLP who all seem to be more tory than labour and concede the most outrageous ‘austerity’ plans for which there is no logic.
I see the latest COMRES poll puts Labour on 28% and the tories on 42%. I find that hard to believe but if true it suggests that the work of persuading the public that social democracy is not ‘hard left’ will be a long process. It may also be necessary for the blue labour contingent to head off to form their own party. The intra-party arrangement that has allowed Labour to act as a slightly left of the tories career option for professional politicos isn’t going to work with Corbyn and a revitalised left going in the opposite direction. A split would be fine with me.