Workers' Liberty

Comrades from all sides of the AWL’s debate on Iran/Iraq summarise what they they thought of the debate, what they think were the important arguments in the discussion and where they think the discussion can now go.

Over the weekend of 10– 11 May the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty held its annual conference. The event was lively and vibrant, with a lot of newer and younger comrades contributing to the debates and discussions. We used the time to assess our previous year’s work and plan our future work.

I am from the Labour Party Pakistan, although I am embarrassed to say “Labour Party” when I come to Britain! But it meets the objective reality in Pakistan, where there has been no such class-based party before.

Click here for the documents referred to.
AWL members: click here for detailed minutes and listings of National Committee, Disputes Committee, and Standing Orders Committee 2009 elected.
World economy [document 1] - passed
Workers' representation after Bournemouth [document 2] - passed
Workers' representation and the LRC - passed
Review of the year [document 3] - passed
Addition on young workers [amendment 3.1] - passed
Addition on anti-fascist activity [amendment 3.2] - passed
Feminist document [document 4] - passed
Iran/ Iraq - document 5 passed, document 6 defeated, amendment 6.1 defeated.
Climate change [document 7] - passed
Nuclear power amendment [amendment 7.1] - defeated

Saturday

11:00 - Registration
11:45 - Standing orders report
12:00 - World economy [document 1]
- Workers' representation after Bournemouth [document 2]
- Addition: Workers' representation and the LRC [amendment 2.1]
- Summings-up and voting: amendment 2.1, document 2, document 1.
13:30 - Lunch break [includes women's commission meeting]

14:45 - Review of the year [document 3]
- Addition on young workers [amendment 3.1]
15:45 - Addresses to conference

16:00 - Break

16:15 - Addition on anti-fascist activity [amendment 3.2]
- Summings-up and voting: amendment 3.2, amendment 3.1, document 3
17:00 - Feminist document [document 4]
- Summing-up and voting: document 4.
18:00 - Close.

Sunday

10:00 - Iran/ Iraq [document 5, document 6, amendment 6.1]
- Summing-up and voting: amendment 6.1, document 6, document 5
12:30 - National Committee hustings
13:00 - Lunch break

14:15 - Climate change [document 7]
- Nuclear power amendment [amendment 7.1]
- Summing-up and voting: amendment 7.1, document 7
16:00 - Internationale.

Nominations to be in - by posting to awl-debate@lists.workersliberty.org - by midnight Tuesday 6 May/ Wednesday 7 May. Each nominated candidate then to be required to write about 100 words describing their activity and record in the organisation, and any particular political slant which they hope to represent on the NC.

Those self-descriptions will be made available at the conference. The conference will include a hustings session in which AWL members can speak in favour or against particular candidates, or in favour of or against a particular balance on the committee.

Last lot of amendments to AWL conference documents: on feminist work, and on organising young workers.

Amendments to documents in Discussion Bulletin 278, and further discussion contributions.

* Motion on organising young workers (Dan R)
* Amendment to "counter-motion" on Iran and Iraq (David B)
* Amendment to addition on anti-fascist activity (EC)
* Workers' Representation and LRC (Chris F)

Discussion:
- A transitional programme for iraq (Dan R)
- A note on Dan's contribution (Martin T)

This bulletin includes the documents already circulated in DB 277, plus the motion on the feminist movement and amendments circulated to date.

*The world economy
- includes proposed additions from Martin T
* Iran and Iraq: AWL NC submission
- incorporates amendments from Sacha
* Iran and Iraq: counter-motion from Daniel R, David B, David K
* Climate change and socialist politics
- incorporates amendments from Tom U; Dave B; Max M; and Paul H
* Amendment on nuclear power (§33) from Martin T
* After Bournemouth
* Review of the Year
- Addition on anti-fascist activity from Tom U
- Addition to Tom's addition from AWL EC
* The feminist movement and us (from Sofie, Cathy N, and a discussion at AWL EC)
Discussion documents:
- Four Thoughts On Iraq (Daniel R)
- Nuclear power: fight the class and democratic issues around its development, not against its development (Martin T)
- On the Middle East, imperialism, and the Third Camp (David B)
- Iraq: don't let the tail of sloganising wag the Marxist dog (Martin T)

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Click here for website debate starting from this bulletin

Download pdf.

§1. Climate change is a fact of life on earth in the early 21st century and in all likelihood will remain a significant ecological and social question for the foreseeable future. It has substantial consequences for working class politics. The AWL has a significant role to play in drawing out the political implications of dangerous climate change and taking part in the fight to prevent it.

Document Of AWL Conference 2008

1. The UK has not had an actual recession since 1990-2. Manufacturing went into recession in 2001, but not the whole economy. People under the age of about 30 generally have no living memory of a recession.

AWL conference notes

1. The rise of workers' struggles in Iran

1. Our chief priority in 2008-9 should be to recruit and integrate more young people.

2. This is possible because there is some (diffuse) anti-capitalist and feminist ferment among young people, and because we have a series of activities that can attract and integrate such young people.

1. The conference should orient the AWL to operate in the new political situation after the Labour Party rule changes at Bournemouth and the surrender without a fight of the union leaderships to those rule changes. It should set guidelines for building the AWL, especially among students and young people.

1. The decisions taken at the 2007 Labour Party conference at Bournemouth have disenfranchised the affiliated trade unions and Constituency Labour Parties. Unless the major unions can be turned round, and forced to push through a reversal of Bournemouth and a restoration of Labour Party democracy, this marks an historic turning point in the process of change that has taken place in the Labour and trade union movement over the last decade.