Trade Union Freedom Rally

Rally organised by the Campaign For Trade Union Freedom
Liverpool Adelphi Hotel
25th March 2015

By John Owen

Is Labour the only game in town? Debated at 'the backslappers convention'

Approximately eighty trade unionists, community campaigners, and generally politically active people gathered to hear the high and the mighty, the great and the greater, and the so-called learned experts on hand, discuss and debate statistics economically gleaned from the learned tome.

A sort of parsimonious Sunday socialist tone of a radical reverend trendy vicar atmosphere was created. It was hard to describe, something like a dj on the Titanic asking for requests, apart from row your boat.

A pall of muted gritted teeth gloom descended over the hall as it progressed. And the amateur, the well-spoken, and the well-heeled recalled their ambitions and regaled the rather sullen audience with the facts of life concerning the fate of the trade union movement, in the off chance of a Tory victory seals all our collective hopes.

This rather fatalistic post mortem tone prevailed, until the speakers from the floor did their bit of shouting and got their tuppence worth in. Contrary to the leaden sealed doom emanating from the official platform, Calvinist predestination had not entered the blood of the audience, a creeping pessimism or scepticism at Labour's prospects. It united them in their misery at what they were selling them.

The dim light low turnout only added to the funeral-like gloomy atmosphere prevailing, sitting through an hour of grimacing and gnashing of said dentures, the bubble burst as the first contributor asked “what are you going do?”, whenever a big strike movement erupts the tops, shut it down, divide, and separate. In fact work might and main to downright sabotage the impact of any mass movement of opposition developing, especially in the health service unions, over attacks of the NHS.

From the floor people assailed the prospects of this faintly disguise rally for New Labour mark two, acolytes who sing that they’re the only game in town, and rebuffed strongly the idea of people standing against Labour, standing a chance.

TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) prospective candidate for the Riverside ward, Tony Mulhearn, declared” Labour no longer represents the working class”, or trade unions for that matter. They had crossed a class line with cuts, and supporting the austerity measures of the Tories.

Len McCluskey might change the rule book and break the law if the other side don’t play fair, one speaker declared. Whoopee! But don’t hold your breath. These small insignificant changes and reforms offered were not to be scoffed at, despite the microscope, these less than grandiose crumbs failed to quell the tone of the speakers. All carried on directing questions at the platform, apart from the handpicked chums and obvious pals of the platform. It was clear to see a backslappers convention, the taste afterwards being one of seething tension from rank and file activists.

Here in Liverpool, toughing it out, facing day to day fights with Labour councils and assorted union bigwigs, declaring uncritically for Labour or Ed Miliband.

The gritty issue of the Labour party, whether trade unions should be voting for councils that cut jobs and services? The delicate issue of tactical political support to a lesser evil, whom, if elected, the six million in the unions could then put pressure on it, to swing it to the left, to enhance the unions presence via leverage.

These cosy conceptions are wrong, erroneous, trendy slogans the PR people hired to do the thinking is not the solution. Inane propaganda, sloganizing activity, is not the same activity as organising to defeat this hated Tory government.

This blinkered strategy, my party right or wrong , however unelectable, spurted out at the end. Just as the formulations and stage-managing of this free debate was winding up, more questions were raised than answered; a bad odour was left on the tongue of many.

Some interesting issues were mentioned though such as: repeal of the trade union laws. This got most speakers excited time and time again, whether TUC will or won’t, dependent it seemed only if the government (Tory or Labour or grand coalition) allows this drivel to be served up time and time again.

The TUC always declaring our hands are tied by the law and our assets will be seized! Tell this sorry excuse of sequestration of assets to the miners. Or Murdoch’s old adversaries, the Wapping printers, for that matter. Enemies within and without legal support or protection.

The stopping of privatisations across the globe, TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) and various US led trade treaties to break up social provisions In Europe i.e. a welfare and health system for all.

This is something the Greeks have been grappling with through Syrizia's election, as well as Portugal recently with a General Strike, who lack union organisations generally but have been fighting back.

Lessons from the recent referendum debate in Scotland have still not been fully grasped. They are only seen in electoral terms, not as a class movement against the Tories.That the former Labour leader Gordon Brown, in practice, saved the monarchy and crown and colonial possessions of the empire for the Tories, with the joint NO campaign, parliamentary hacks, and Labour stalwarts helped to check the mass movement against Cameron for Scottish independence.

More questions than answers, from people from afar, who seem far away from the people they claim to represent.

This is one of several bespoke rallies for the select few, aimed principally at active trade unionist core Labour voters. France has seen a drastic decline in working class people voting, we may or may not see the same in Britain. Spot the difference! It's hard to tell the policies of one from the other.

There has not been much mentioned over recent day of action over benefit sanctions, lessons drawn from, or for that matter the general attacks on welfare claimants, migrants, conditions of work, zero hour contracts, actual conditions prevailing in real peoples daily jobs and lives.

Actions before the elections - none, but plenty of sob stories how bad employers are, boo hoo, but what to do is the nub. These issues that are affecting Merseyside greater than other zones are mentioned only in passing.

Don’t mourn - organise.

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