LRC Conference July 2005

Morning Star, Monday 18th July 2005, Karl Stewart

THE struggle for organised working-class representation took a significant step forward at a key central London conference on Saturday.

Holding their second national conference, over 300 Labour Representation Committee (LRC) delegates agreed a political programme and an organisational strategy to win the Labour Party for socialism and the working class.

Formed last July, the LRC unites MPs from Labour's Socialist Campaign Group with trade unionists and rank and file party members.

And, crucially, it also offers associate membership to organisations and individuals outside the formal structures of the party who support its aims.

In his opening address, chairman Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell described the committee as a “vehicle for political engagement for all those who wish to challenge the injustices in society today”.

“We offer the alternative that is lacking and we call it socialism”, he added.

“Our task today is to develop our ideas and organisation. Let's get to it.”

The 28-page ‘Programme for a Real Labour Government’ rejects the current new Labour leadership's war and privatisation aganda and sets out a detailed alternative based on workers' rights and democratic, public ownership in Britain, along with a foreign policy based on ‘peace, solidarity and self-determination’.

Moving the home policy section of the programme, communications union CWU executive member Maria Exall insisted that the LRCmust “halt this failed market economic model.”

“Privatisation is against the wishes of trade unions, Labour Party members and the majority of the British public”, added Ms Exall, whose union is one of four national LRC affiliates.

The other three are firefighters' union FBU, bakers' union BFAWU and transport union RMT, while activists in public service union PCS affiliate collectively through PCS Labour left.

During the wide-ranging domestic policy debate, trade unionists urged support for struggles currently being waged within their own industries.

RMT executive member Ray Knight condemned the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for planning to downgrade railway fire safety regulations.

In the light of the July 7 attacks on London, it was, he said: “Unbelievable that they plan to replace these regulations - introduced after the 1987 Kings' Cross fire - with ‘guidance’ ”.

Moving an emergency resolution condemning the bombings and urging the LRC to “urge the government to retain existing regulations”, Mr Knight warned that the proposed changes could, “allow unscrupulous employers to risk safety by cutting costs”.

PCS Labour Left delegate Rod Bacon urged conference to condemn Chancellor Gordon Brown's civil service jobs massacre and “support industrial action by unions to resist these cuts”.

CWU London region delegate Alan Tate, moving a resolution committing the LRC to back the fight against Royal Mail privatisation, said that any form of share option in the industry would be “a Trojan horse for privatisation”.

And FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, bringing fraternal greetings to the LRC from Britain's firefighters, added his condemnation of attacks on public services and the language used by ministers.

“It's not modernisation when they take away fire engines and close fire stations, it's just a programme of cuts”, he stormed.

“And it's got to stop.”

Labour Against the War delegate Mike Phipps moved an emergency resolution condemning the London bombings “unreservedly”.

Putting the horrific events in an international context, Mr Phipps said that the illegal invasion of Iraq had “created a recruitment ground for terrorism”, urging support for the international section of the draft LRC programme demanding withdrawal.

RMT East Midlands delegate Tony Byrne, backed the withdrawal demand and urged the LRC to “give solidarity to Iraq's new trade union and women's movements”.

Labour CND delegate Ruth Clarke called on conference to demand that “Britain take the lead towards global elimination of nuclear weapons by not replacing Trident”.

The final session discussed and approved the draft statement ‘Building the LRC Over the Coming Year’.

This outlines a programme of LRC events across the country aimed at creating regional and local LRC structures in every locality and in every trade union in Britain.

And the committee also plans fringe rallies at the forthcoming TUC and Labour Party conference.

Saturday's gathering was also addressed by a range of guest speakers: Tony Benn, Dutch Socialist Party GS (General Secretary) Senator Kox, MPs Michael Meacher, Katy Clark, Jeremy Corbyn and Bob Wareing and by PCS GS Mark Serwotka, NUJ GS Jeremy Dear and NATFHE GS Paul Mackney

At the end of the conference, Mr McDonnell enthused that it had been a “superb day”.

“This was a real Labour conference”, he said, adding that, armed with these policies: “We roll on now to the TUC and the party conference in September”.