Solidarity – A New Movement and a New Party
Gordon Morgan, National Treasurer Solidarity: Scotland’s Socialist Movement.
Solidarity: Scotland’s Socialist Movement was launched on 3rd September at a
rally attended by 700 people and on 4th November held its inaugural
conference. It has therefore become Scotland’s newest political party.
The past 2 months have been hectic with a series of rallies across the country – Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Cumnock, Paisley, Dundee, Inverness, Hamilton, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dumfries, Motherwell. Additional meetings were held at colleges across the country.
At all of these activists involved in local industrial disputes spoke alongside local campaigners Against Stock Transfer, Against the War and Islamophobia, in support of Asylum Seekers. Support was pledged at each from leading Trade Union officers from PCS, T&G and other unions in a personal capacity.
At all of them Tommy Sheridan
and/or Rosemary Byrne spoke passionately of the need to combat war, racism,
injustice, and poverty, defend civil liberties, communities, trade union
rights, the environment, fighting capitalism for an Independent Socialist
Scotland..
Through these rallies, Solidarity has begun to establish a presence across
Scotland. Over 600 people have joined and we are hopeful of 1,000 by the new
year. Moreover the rallies have shown the type of organisation we hope to be:
involved in local struggles, active in trade unions and communities,
supporting and defending asylum seekers, the poor and dispossessed, attacking
racism and Islamophobia, active in all major progressive campaigns. As our
launch statement put it we aim to become in time:
“the broad party of socialism in Scotland – bigger, better and bolder than
that which has gone before, a fresh movement with an attractive, pioneering,
and inclusive spirit, welcoming to all who join, irrespective of ethnicity,
gender, age, sexual orientation or disability.”
It is fair to say that all genuine socialist organisations could start out
with such a statement, so what makes Solidarity different?
Firstly there is the political climate. Not since Vietnam has there been such
a mood of disillusionment and discontent with the major parliamentary parties
– particularly Labour. Labour is the party of War on Iraq and Afghanistan; of
attacks on immigrants, Muslims, youth; of defence of nuclear power and UK
nuclear weapons; of unrestricted expansion of cars, airports, supermarkets and
environmental pollution; of attacks on trade union rights, workers pensions
and conditions; of Big Brother, the corporate state and restrictions on
liberties. The traditional base of Labour is fed up and looking for an
alternative.
Secondly, a party like Solidarity containing, as it does, many experienced
activists fighting in communities, workplaces, parliament and the streets on
these issues can make a difference and win support. Solidarity members are or
have been key activists in most ongoing industrial disputes in Scotland; most
major campaign on the war, globalisation, defence of refugees, against stock
transfer etc. A high percentage of those joining Solidarity have never been in
any other party and have been won through our members activity in areas of
concern to them personally.
Thirdly there is our experience of previous mistakes, our willingness to draw
lessons and organise differently and in a way which will encourage all those
joining to get involved in the campaigns they are most concerned with in the
knowledge that they will receive solidarity and practical support from other
Solidarity members.
Given we have only just formed and have not yet organised branches in every
area we are active in, it is impossible to show exactly how we will organise
differently, however, such discussions have been at the heart of those
including myself who helped draft, debate and eventually agree the
constitution adopted by our founding conference.
From the initial launch, Solidarity has viewed itself as being a unifier of
many Movements. This is set out in the Constitution of the party under Aims
where we say: “Solidarity will be a political party which will be a coalition
of groups, parties, organisations, trade unions and individuals” and then says
it will encompass the following movements and detailed aims associated with
them – a campaigning movement; a democratic movement; a workers movement; an
anti-war movement; a grass roots movement; an environmentalist movement; a
young peoples movement; an internationalist movement; a socialist movement.
In the course of discussions on the constitution, it became clear that there
are (at least) 2 partial conceptions of how a party relates to broader
movements. There is the old conception of labour party and labour movement,
essentially updated for new movements, whereby the socialist party exists
independent of the movements but swims within them. There is the other concept
of the party or globalisation movement as a movement of movements, not
separate from the movements but acting as a vehicle for them for certain
purposes such as elections. The latter concept had to date its highest
expression in Italy where at one point Refondazione Comunista broke from a
centralised organisational form to embrace the movements of millions of
workers and activists.
At our party conference, these partially different conceptions were focussed
around a vote on whether the party should be called Solidarity or Solidarity:
Scotland’s Socialist Movement, with the latter narrowly being endorsed.
The agreed constitution embodies both forms, both party and coalition of
movements. For a party of 600 to 1,000 people, the key to success and
dialectically resolving these contradictions is a welcoming and tolerant
approach to people from different traditions both cultural and political; a
recognition that whilst solidarity should be universal, the theory of
socialism is a learned not an innate process so comradely debate and
discussion is essential; and above all a willingness to keep the organisation
open to and involved in movements and campaigns and to never allow ourselves
to become focussed on internal discussions – go forth and multiply.
In our public activities we aim to work with all groups and parties in
campaigns and movements and in the parliament to further progressive aims and
causes and oppose soulless bureaucracy, intolerance, war, poverty, capitalism
and environmental disaster. We will be standing in the Scottish parliament and
council elections next May and hope to offer a choice to voters across
Scotland. We intend to build a movement and party for Socialism - Solidarity:
Scotland’s Socialist Movement.
We need you to join us at
www.solidarityscotland.org
November 2006
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