Janine Booth
interview
with Janine Booth, the Socialist Unity candidate for Hackney Central
Socialist Unity Network; what do you think is the most important issue
in this election?
Janine; That working-class people should be represented on local
Councils, and in politics in general. Where Labour councillors are failing to
do so - and instead, are cutting services, privatising housing, attacking
their workforce, and lining their own pockets at our expense - then socialist
candidates need to stand.
Socialist Unity Network; why did you make the decision to stand in this
ward?
Janine; I live in the ward, my kids go to school in the ward, I'm
politically active in working-class community politics in the ward. I stood in
this ward as a Socialist Alliance candidate in 2002. We (Workers' Liberty and
other lefties) have been publishing a socialist newsletter (Hackney
Solidarity) for several years, and distributing it in the ward. Standing in
the election is a logical progression from the political work we have already
done, and will help to develop that work in the future.
There are loads of issues here. The Council tried to privatise and demolish
Aspland & Marcon estates last year, but our campaign forced them to back down.
We have an Academy (Mossbourne) in the ward, but loads of local kids can't get
a place there. The local Primary Care Trust is facing massive cuts and 40 job
losses. The Council is selling off land to developers. When the East London
Line extension eventually brings the Tube to Hackney, it may be privatised en
route.
Socialist Unity Network; what kind of vote are you expecting on May
4th?
Janine; I got 271 votes four years ago, which is somewhere between 11%
and 14%, depending how you count it. I hate guessing, cos if I guess high,
then anything less will be disappointing, but if I guess low, then it looks
like we are not fighting to win. But I would say that my candidature has a
strong base of support in the local community, and if it picks up a certain
momentum, then we could get a good vote. I've been nominated by more than 50
local residents, so that's a good sign.
Socialist Unity Network; aside from the vote what are you hoping to get
out of this campaign?
Janine; I'd like to build an active Socialist Unity group in the area
in the aftermath of the election, which could increase the frequency and
circulation of our newsletter, get involved in a wider range of local
campaigns and solidarity action, promote socialist politics and hold
discussions.
Less specifically, I hope that this campaign can boost the confidence of local
working-class communities to fight back, and maybe inspire people to get more
organised and think more about socialist politics.
I also hope it will give the local Labour Party something to think about. The
Labour Council is just awful, and while the Labour left is supposedly strong
in Hackney (eg. Briefing is based in the borough), it does nothing to
effectively challenge the anti-working class actions of the Council.
And also - stronger leg muscles from all that climbing up and down stairs
leafleting and canvassing.
Socialist Unity Network; If you had to chose just one thing to improve
about local democracy - what would it be?
Janine; I could list a load of democratic improvements - lowering the
voting age to 16, abolishing the Mayor/Cabinet system, returning privatised
and 'arms-length' services to direct elected control, paid time off work to
vote (or the facility to vote at work) etc. But it is all underpinned by the
basic principle of working-class political representation. The most
significant improvement in local democracy would be to reintroduce a genuine
choice in the election ie. to have socialist candidates who represent
working-class interests.
Socialist Unity Network; public services are being subjected to ever
increasing pressure to accept private sector money - how can we reverse this
trend?
Janine; I think that workers' and service users' campaigning unity is
essential. Getting the unions to fight private-sector involvement through
industrial action, and also through mobilising alongside
parents/students/patients/passengers/claimants etc. We also need to force the
issue politically - the big battle inside the Labour Party about the Education
White Paper is very important. Those unions which are affiliated to Labour
must really assert themselves. Where we stand socialist candidates, public
services are inevitably a central issue, perhaps especially in local
elections.
In addition, socialists need to take on the ideological arguments, countering
the pro-market bourgeois 'thinkers', explaining our case for people not
profit.
Socialist Unity Network; Some environmental campaigners have started
talking about nuclear power as a way to bring down CO2 emissions - what do you
think of this?
Janine; I think it is worth talking about, rather than knee-jerk ruling
out.
For socialists, energy production, as all production, should be under
collective onwership and democratic management. This would enable an
assessment of the pros and cons of various energy sources based on human need
(including environmental considerations) rather than capitalist economics.
But until then, the capitalists are in charge, they take risks with human life
to make profits, so the thought of them running something with the potential
catastrophic dangers of a nuclear power plant obviously alarms us. Mind you,
the steady, day-to-day cost to human life and health of mining fossil fuels -
and of CO2 emissions - should alarm us too. Maybe nuclear is an option to
consider - in which case, socialists and the labour movement must fight for
public ownership under democratic workers' control, with no involvement of the
private sector.
Socialist Unity Network; What question do you wish was on this list but
doesn't appear?
Janine; How do you think trade unions should approach these elections?
And my answer: Look at the Labour Council / Labour candidates. Are they
principled socialists who fight for working-class interests and make
themselves accountable to the labour movement? Specifically, have they / will
they / do they: oppose the Education Bill, cuts in local services, the
anti-union laws, rail privatisation, attacks on the council workforce? Support
the pensions strike, cuts in Council Tax without cuts in services, the 'fourth
option' for Council housing? If yes, back them. If no, get a socialist
candidate to stand.
My RMT branch has asked the Narional Executive for authorisation to support my
campaign (that's how our union's rules now work).
Contact details
Website:
www.workersliberty.org/hackneycentral
E-mail:
janine.booth@btopenworld.com
Phone: 07957-217639
Post (cheques welcome!) 31 Malpas Road, Hackney, London E8 1NA
March 2006
> > home page > >