Respect office lock out

Well it gets more dramatic...investigation by Dr Wall using the internet and five minutes of his time, suggests that the pro Socialist Workers Party RESPECT has seized the website and the rest of RESPECT have the office, the locks have been changed so SWP Respect activists like John Rees cannot get in.

I have been locked out of Green Party Executive meetings but that was because some one had forgotten the keys...would not happen if we had a leader!

RESPECT does not look as if political realignment will come out of this, more like political conflict and disillusionment. Reminds one of the conflict around Arthur Scargill's short live Socialist Labour Party (ok it still exists just), actually the SLP story is far worse than the RESPECT saga:

THE principle on which we have resigned from the Socialist Labour Party is that of its undemocratic running. It came to light at the beginning of the party conference in December 1997 that one delegate held a card with 3000 votes, that is twice as many votes as the rest of the voting delegates added together. Voting delegates from constituencies had between 10 and 20 votes each. This delegate represented the North-West, Cheshire and Cumbria Miners Association (NWCCMA) which has affiliated to the SLP.

Now there are three points of view on this. Our view and that of a large number of delegates at the conference is that these votes were deliberately used by Arthur Scargill to rig the conference in his favour, that is to ensure that he got a two-thirds majority for his constitution, and that his appointees for the national executive committee all got elected. These are the actions of a bureaucrat, not a democrat.

here


Here is what RESPECT SWP say, I am obviously not endorsing this, I am in another political party and while I know one or two good people in the SWP and enjoyed John Rees book on dialectics, I don't think they are grassroots democratic bunch.

Locks changed on Respect office
03/11/2007
Respect has been locked out of its head office.

Overnight the locks were changed on the Respect national office. This action excludes most National Officers, the national office staff and the majority of Respect members who support them from their own organisation's headquarters.

In recent days Respect branches all around the country have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Respect conference going ahead. This coup is obviously meant to prevent democratic debate continuing in Respect and to rob the membership of their own organisation.

The immediate effect of this action is to prevent Respect from intervening effectively in today's NHS demonstration.

The Respect coalition nationally pays over half the rent, rates and bills of the office which is shared with the constituency party.

We call on all Respect members to demand Linda Smith, the chair of Respect, and George Galloway reverse this disastrous course of action.

Please protest to gallowayg@parliament.uk, lindablackpool@hotmail.com

Please send a copy of your protest to office@respectcoalition.org


Yours in solidarity,

John Rees, National Secretary
Elaine Graham Leigh, National Treasurer
Councillor Oli Rahman, Tower Hamlets
Councillor Michael Lavelette, Preston