'Respect' and George Galloway

Socialist Alliance to back Galloway for Europoll?

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According to the Glasgow Sunday Herald George Galloway "is planning to top a slate of candidates being put forward [in London] by the Stop the War coalition during next year's European parliament elections".
It seems unlikely that the Stop The War Coalition as such - which includes Labour Party and Green Party people - would back a Galloway slate, but all too likely that the SWP, the main organising force in the Stop The War Coalition, will try to drag the Socialist Alliance into backing its scheme for "Peace and Justice" slates which come as near as they can to translating the anti-war coalition into electoral politics.

Debate & Discussion: When is it a workers' party?

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Martin Thomas

To "campaign for a workers' party" means three things:

1. Setting out and grouping people round basic working-class political objectives-independent working-class political representation, a workers' government, a working-class "Third Camp" in international politics.

Text for TU branches on "Respect" coalition

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Text for use in draft motions or amendments to trade union branches on "Respect" coalition.

We note the continued pro-business policy of the New Labour government, and its continued opposition to the demands and interests of the labour movement.
We also note the launch of the "Respect" coalition for the forthcoming euro-elections.
We believe that the following three elements are indispensable for any coalition of the left to be a positive contribution to resolving the current crisis of working-class political representation.
1. A working-class stance. It must advocate public ownership, workers' control of productive wealth, and a workers' government. It must stand for workers' MPs on a worker's wage.
2. Democracy and accountability to its rank-and-file activists and supporting organisations.
3. Accountable and trustworthy representatives.
We note that the figurehead of the "Respect" coalition is George Galloway. We do not feel able to accredit him as a reliable working-class representative.
We therefore resolve not to endorse the "Respect" coalition unless and until its basis is changed in the above respects.

Galloway vindicated? We don't think so...

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Following an article in the Mail on Sunday, 11 May 2003, Socialist Worker (17 May) has claimed that George Galloway has been vindicated against the charges of taking money from the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein..
The Mail on Sunday, which has employed Galloway as a columnist, says that documents adduced by the Christian Science Monitor were probably forgeries.

As we were saying

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What Solidarity has said recently about George Galloway is not new, and not a case of us "moving under pressure of the bourgeois press". We said more or less everything we now say about George Galloway nine years ago, in the editorial from Socialist Organiser reprinted in part here. We said it again in Solidarity two months ago, in an article which began by solidarising with George Galloway where he had called on British soldiers not to obey "illegal orders" and then went on to argue that Galloway had no place in the anti-war movement.

George Galloway: a factsheet

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GEORGE Galloway is entitled to due process. If he is to be condemned for his advocacy of British soldiers refusing orders in the war, or his denunciation of Bush and Blair, then we are proud to be equally condemned. The Telegraph and the Sun are vile Tory rags. Tony Blair is a warmonger and a hard-faced enemy of the working class. But none of that settles the question of the proper socialist attitude to George Galloway. Our enemy's enemy is not our friend.