Socialist Labour Party: Welsh campaign launch
The Socialist Labour Party - which is standing in all five electoral regions in the Welsh Assembly elections next Thursday – formally launched its campaign in a Cardiff pub yesterday.
As I understand it, Forward Wales, the Socialist Party, Respect and the Communist Party of Britain are all also in the running, leaving Welsh voters with a choice of up to five left-of-Labour alternatives.
Remind me, what was that labour movement saying about unity and strength again? I guess this state of affairs certainly proves the corollary. Disunity is very obviously weakness.
Meanwhile, SLP spokesman John Cox - one of those pictured left - insists that he is ‘confident of substantial support’ among Labour supporters opposed to the Iraq war and government policies in other areas.
‘"There is widespread support within the Labour Party members and voters for our point of view, and the only reason that it is not fully articulated is that they could be expelled for this support," he said.
‘In the 45-page manifesto the Socialist Labour Party said it would make all NHS services available to everyone free of charge, end all "contracting-out" of health services, and abolish all private healthcare.
‘The document said "massive investment" in the NHS could be found by cutting defence spending by two-thirds and not replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system.
‘The party is also committed to guaranteeing workers a "proper index-linked retirement pension".
‘Socialist Labour would put all private schools and colleges under state control to use their resources "for the benefit of the entire community".’
If a party founded by Arthur Scargill was to have a future anywhere, it would have a future in South Wales. Even though I am a former member, I rather doubt that it does.
UPDATE: And then there were six. As is pointed out in the comments below, the Socialist Equality Party - an orthodox Trotskyist splinter from the Workers' Revolutionary Party - is also participating in the contest.
The Socialist Labour Party - which is standing in all five electoral regions in the Welsh Assembly elections next Thursday – formally launched its campaign in a Cardiff pub yesterday.
As I understand it, Forward Wales, the Socialist Party, Respect and the Communist Party of Britain are all also in the running, leaving Welsh voters with a choice of up to five left-of-Labour alternatives.
Remind me, what was that labour movement saying about unity and strength again? I guess this state of affairs certainly proves the corollary. Disunity is very obviously weakness.
Meanwhile, SLP spokesman John Cox - one of those pictured left - insists that he is ‘confident of substantial support’ among Labour supporters opposed to the Iraq war and government policies in other areas.
‘"There is widespread support within the Labour Party members and voters for our point of view, and the only reason that it is not fully articulated is that they could be expelled for this support," he said.
‘In the 45-page manifesto the Socialist Labour Party said it would make all NHS services available to everyone free of charge, end all "contracting-out" of health services, and abolish all private healthcare.
‘The document said "massive investment" in the NHS could be found by cutting defence spending by two-thirds and not replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system.
‘The party is also committed to guaranteeing workers a "proper index-linked retirement pension".
‘Socialist Labour would put all private schools and colleges under state control to use their resources "for the benefit of the entire community".’
If a party founded by Arthur Scargill was to have a future anywhere, it would have a future in South Wales. Even though I am a former member, I rather doubt that it does.
UPDATE: And then there were six. As is pointed out in the comments below, the Socialist Equality Party - an orthodox Trotskyist splinter from the Workers' Revolutionary Party - is also participating in the contest.