Workers' Liberty

The council elections on 4 May were a disaster for the Labour Party, but not wholly surprising. As is the norm these days, turnout was low, and there was a worrying increase in support for the BNP in certain areas.

Why has this happened? TW reckons the vast majority of people in Britain are not simply apathetic but instead feel they have no-one who represents their interests. Thatcher shackled the unions with the anti trade union laws and the Labour Party has done nothing to turn this around. Meanwhile Blair has removed any democratic structures from within the Labour Party, making it almost impossible to get issues even tabled for discussion at party conference, and imposing a significant reduction in the little representation workers once had.

Workers need political representation if they are to improve their lot. It won't come from the main political parties and it won't come from the likes of the BNP. It should be born out of the trade union movement, but to achieve this the unions, along with the Left, have to get their act together, agree on some common goals and move forward rather than stagnating and constantly being on the back foot.