An Unusual Meeting
In my post on LMHR I mentioned that I didn’t meet any non-SWP members supporting the Left List. Well now I have.
I didn’t ask his name but he was an ex-Labour member who had never been part of the SWP, apparently. He did admit that they were a “Dominant force” within the List, though. He suggested that it was likely they would become something else afterwards, probably called The Left Party which would link them to the group of the same name in Germany and perhaps provide the Socialist Party and CNWP with their muchly desired “New Worker’s Party”, but maybe not. Apparently Respect avoided standing in areas where the Socialist Party had last time around but didn’t this time since when they had there “Wasn’t much of a showing” for the Socialists.
The reason he had taken the Left List was mainly one of practicalities, he said, since Galloway’s faction was far too small to be viable. He’d been in charge of the member’s list and apparently in all of West London “Respect Renewal” has a grand total of three members. Not a stronghold, I grant you, but still.
He also agreed with me that their website was a car-crash, that the most likely reason Renewal did not run a “George 4 Mayor” campaign was due to lack of funds and the left had a tendency to attack itself more vigorously than it’s enemies. Somehow finally meeting one of the fabled supporters not part of the dullest, most dust-flavoured Party operative in Britain made me far more inclined to consider giving my vote for them. I imagine it’s just a dalliance and even the consideration will die before I reach the booths, but it was a pleasant change.
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