Comrades Are We
I came across the following post from Socialist Unity - a web site which claims to promote debate and analysis for 'activists and trade unionists'.
As ever, the comrades have great difficulty in being in the same room for longer than two minutes - before one lot falls out with another - and this always results in fierce splits and schisms which everyone takes terribly seriously.
Take this little entry about the pretentiously named WSABTF - which had its founding meeting on 13 March 2013 apparently.
Yet less than two weeks later there's a big public bust-up over whether Tommy Sheridan - the former Scottish Socialist MSP who was sent to prison for three-years for perjury - is a suitable person to act as an WSABTF office bearer.
Now in my experience the 'comrades' who attend these meetings have an awful tendency to drone on interminably.
But if I find out when the next WSABTF event is taking place - presumably in Glasgow- then I'll post the details on the blog site.
Because if you've nothing better to do - if your TV set's broken or there's been a power cut, for example - you might like to pop along for an hour.
I'll bet it's the best laugh you'll have had in a long, long time.
WEST SCOTLAND ANTI-BEDROOM TAX FEDERATION – UPDATE (25 March 2013)
Four members of the interim organising committee, including Tommy Sheridan, have resigned. They have issued the following press statement.
Press Statement
The principled socialist Tony Benn famously declared he was resigning from Parliament to get more involved in politics. In a similar vein we are collectively stepping down from the West Scotland Anti-Bedroom Tax committee not through differences or disagreements with the aims and objectives of the West Scotland committee that we all helped to establish but to try and cut across divisions which have regrettably developed since the founding meeting on Wednesday 13th March.
We are all united in our common goal of forging a mass campaign of ordinary people which will prevent bedroom tax evictions and force the ditching of this cruel and callous attack on the poor and disabled across Britain. We believe the West Scotland Federation can play a crucial role in coordinating and building the movement of opposition and we will continue to support the Federation but not as office bearers.
Collectively we are involved in the anti-bedroom tax movement to promote it’s scrapping at the earliest opportunity not to promote ourselves and we reject the elevation of personal and political differences above the most important goal of scrapping the tax. The Federation is an inclusive and non-party political movement against the bedroom tax and that is why we continue to support it.
We hope local anti-bedroom tax committees will be formed all across the West of Scotland and throughout the whole country. We believe the bedroom tax will only be defeated by strong and united local campaigns of opposition and the strength of the Federation will be measured by the number of local campaigns it manages to secure affiliation from.
The Federation was established to implement 4 specific tasks. To organise a lobby of Iain Duncan Smith in Edinburgh next Wednesday. To coordinate the organising of the March 30th Demo against the bedroom tax in Glasgow. To organise a lobby of the Scottish Parliament on April 16th to coincide with the discussion of the Govan Law Centre petition to the Scottish Government to change the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to treat bedroom tax arrears as ordinary debt thus avoiding evictions. And fourthly the organising of a conference to facilitate the founding of an all Scotland Federation against the bedroom tax.
Collectively we believe the March 30th Demo and speakers list is agreed and we have confidence that the West Scotland Federation interim committee can successfully organise the other specific events. We pledge our continued support from the outside and make ourselves available for speaking engagements and other campaign activities.
