General Elections

Don’t be fooled by the Lib Dems!

The Liberal Democrats are preparing to ditch their policy of abolishing tuition fees. Nick Clegg told the first day of the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth that, while he opposes tuition fees, it is necessary to be “realistic”. “But I can make this pledge — at the next election we will have the best, most progressive package for students of any mainstream party.” Given that both the Labour government and the Tories are committed to a deregulated system of fees in higher education, that is not claiming very much! Many students are attracted to the Lib Dems; in a number of cities, Cardiff...

Battle yet to get new Socialist Alliance; possible "son-of-No2EU" coalition

The "No2EU" coalition may be continued into a new coalition at the General Election. But it looks as if we still have a big battle on our hands to pull the socialist left into a new Socialist Alliance. The Left Unity Liaison Committee, which has existed in a low-key way for some time, met on 13 June. Although the SWP's "Left Alternative" has been represented at some meetings in the past, and the organisers had made special efforts to get the SWP along this time, the SWP did not come. The meeting was valuable for information and discussion on what the left groups involved in "No2EU" make of...

Why we will vote Labour and SSP in the Euro-elections

How to vote in the Euro-elections? No-one with any democratic or socialist instincts will fail to vote, since abstentions automatically increase the fascist BNP's percentage of the vote and increase the BNP's chances of winning a seat. But we cannot be satisfied with the advice of many anti-fascist campaigners just to vote for any of the mainstream parties - Tories, Lib-Dem, Labour, Green, whatever. In Scotland we will vote for the list of the Scottish Socialist Party, which is standing on a joint "European Anti-Capitalist Left" platform also supported by the NPA (Nouveau Parti Anti...

Who's sorry now? The 'Left List' and the London Elections

The Left List's explanation of the results of Thursday's elections strongly suggests that the SWP is stubbornly refusing to learn the lessons or even face reality. We can only hope that some of its more thoughtful members will notice that their emperors have neither clothes nor answers, and will call them to account and/or join with others in renewing and reorienting socialism. The Left List's claim that "voters punished New Labour for ten years of privatisation and warmongering" is not exactly wrong, but certainly simplistic. Of course war and privatisation are two of the main issues that...

Vote left, not Livingstone no.1!

No, readers of Solidarity should not vote no.1 for Ken Livingstone for mayor of London. Despite all the frantic appeals to us to vote for him as a "lesser evil" than Boris Johnson, he deserves no credit or endorsement from working-class people. Because of the vestigial links New Labour may still have with the trade unions, we'll vote Livingstone no.2. But for our no.1 vote we'd rather be with the left-wingers and activists who will vote for the Left List (despite the terrible weakness of that list, on which more later). The same principle holds for the other local government elections on 1 May...

Vote socialist where you can on 1 May

Forty socialist candidates will be standing in the local government elections on 1 May, under the umbrella of the Socialist Green Unity Coalition. The Alliance for Green Socialism is standing 13 candidates in Leeds, and a scattering elsewhere. The Socialist Party, this year, will focus its effort on winning re-election for its best-known elected local councillor, Dave Nellist in Coventry, and is standing 12 candidates elsewhere. The Democratic Labour Party is running a number of candidates in Walsall. The Alliance for Workers' Liberty (AWL) and Solidarity have joined with the AGS, the...

New Lib-Dem leader backs Tories

New Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg has announced that the Lib-Dems will back a Tory minority government so long as it promises some "liberal" measures (such as, for example, "liberating" schools from local authority control). Since 1997, sizeable numbers of formerly solid Labour voters, or leftish-minded young people, have taken to voting Liberal Democrat because the Lib-Dems seem a "realistic" option, and a bit more leftish than New Labour. In fact the Lib-Dems have been moving right since 1997. Let's hope Clegg's statement gives pause to those left-minded people with illusions in the Lib-Dems...

London Transport RMT votes for independent workers' candidates

On Thursday 27 September, the RMT London Transport Regional Council (which represents mainly workers on London Underground) passed a motion for a slate of independent working-class candidates in next year's London mayoral and assembly elections. This discussion and decision will now be fed back to the RMT national executive, which will take a final decision. Meanwhile, activists in other unions, anti-cuts campaigns and so on should get organised to support and participate in a slate. Already, a group of trade unionists in London has written to Bob Crow supporting the idea: if you would like to...

3 May election results

Results so far from the 3 May elections look poor for the left. The Scottish Socialist Party, hard hit by the split forced for personal reasons by Tommy Sheridan, crashed to only 2579 votes in Glasgow (it had 31,000 last time, in 2003), and lost its MSPs. Sheridan himself, standing for his new "Solidarity Scotland" group also lost his seat, though he kept a stronger personal vote (8544). The SSP will now face a difficult struggle to readjust and relaunch itself as a party building primarily through workplace, union, and community intervention, rather than mainly through elections, as it has...

If you can’t vote socialist on 3 May — vote Labour

On 3 May, when voters in Scotland, Wales and some parts of England go to the polls to elect local councillors and regional assembly members, most will face a very limited choice. In many council seats, the only choice will be between Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems; in only a handful will there be independent working-class or socialist candidates standing. Wherever there is a broadly working-class alternative, like the Scottish Socialist Party or in the small number of English council seats which will be contested by the Socialist Party, Solidarity advocates support for it. We stress the...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.