Strike against war

IT WAS a global revolt without precedent by the people against their political 'masters'. The worldwide anti-war protests on 15-16 February resounded with one voice to say 'No War'.

Photo Molly Cooper

Tens of millions protested and tens of millions more wanted to be with the protesters. A momentum has developed for mass global protests, all of which shook the world's politcal rulers.

In the long run, the political 'masters', like Bush and Blair, will reap the whirlwind of their actions. But the question a majority of marchers will be asking after the demonstrations in Britain is: 'what do we do next?'.

Tony Blair and his cabinet ministers, despite their sanctimonious and hypocritical, words have made it clear they will defy the message of the anti-war protests.

The anti-war movement has come a long way in a short time to have a huge effect in holding back the warmongers Bush and Blair. But the crunch is coming.

Day X

Within the next few weeks the decision to start a war will be implemented by Bush and the US regime at least, with Blair very likely risking everything to tag along behind.

For the anti-war movement, the demo on Saturday has to be the launch pad for very concrete, definite action that can halt Britain's involvement in a war.

Speaker after speaker raised on Saturday the need to remove Blair and for regime change in Britain. This could be a way to halt the moves towards war but how can this be achieved and what would replace Blair if he were forced out? (see article below).

Leaders of the Stop The War Coalition have raised the idea of mass civil disobedience on Day X, the day a war starts. Socialist Party members would welcome widespread, organised mass civil disobedience and will be organising school student walkouts and strikes, along with workplace protests, as part of that movement.

But, for this to be effective, it has to be built and sustained at local level through democratically established and run anti-war coalitions, involving as far as possible the millions who marched on Saturday.

The forerunners of the Socialist Party, Militant, led (along with others) the anti-poll tax movement that defeated the hated tax and brought down Thatcher. That movement too held a defining, momentous demo. But the key to defeating the tax was the building of a movement of 18 million non-payers which made the poll tax unworkable.

The anti-war coalition now has to take a similar path and build effective structures at local level, which link up with the trade unions, colleges, schools and community organisations.

But stopping a war will be an even tougher task than ending the poll tax. Left trade union leaders have called for a recall TUC to oppose the war and also in speeches at Saturday's rally raised the prospect of workplace action against the war.

Bob Crow from the rail union RMT, raised that if the TUC refused to call a conference then he and other Left leaders would have to do it themselves. Workers have the potential power to bring the country to a halt. Already, on a small-scale, train drivers in Scotland have made a brave stand and refused to transport weapons intended for a war in Iraq.

Since then the mood of defiance and rebellion against Blair has developed rapidly. The Left trade union leaders are in a position now to use their authority and build on Saturday's demo to call for organising a general strike against Blair's war plans on Day X.

General strike action could potentially mobilise millions of workers, bringing together opposition to war with the accumulated grievances against the Blair government, which were much in evidence on Saturday's demo.

These sharp questions of how to effectively stop the war and to implement regime change - getting rid of the reviled Blair and his cronies - will become the incessant topics of the weeks ahead. Implicit in all of these dicussions will be the need for the new movement - as Tony Benn and others described it on Saturday - to be linked into a struggle for establishing new political representation for the working class, which can then seek a socialist solution to the problems of war, terror and the capitalist system that breeds them.

Blair's nightmare scenario

THE BIGGEST political demonstration Britain has ever seen and what must have been the worst week of Tony Blair's political life.

First, Hans Blix failed to come up with enough evidence to secure a second UN resolution in favour of war. Then, up to two million people took to the streets to prove that Blair is isolated, arrogant and totally out of touch with the majority of people in this country.

For tens of thousands of those of who marched, war with Iraq coalesced with anger against privatisation, attacks on the public sector, tuition fees etc to trigger a massive outpouring of opposition against Blair and the New Labour government.

After the 15 February demonstration, Blair said that the consequences would be "paid in blood" for showing weakness against Saddam. The price of war will be the blood of innocent Iraqis, the jobs and services of workers in Britain and elsewhere - and it could also be Blair's own political future.

Blair desperately wants a second UN resolution to try and justify war and cut across the rising tide of anti-war protest. As The Socialist argued on the demonstration, this will be an imperialist war for oil and prestige and should be opposed with or without UN support.

The weapons inspectors are due to report to the UN again on 28 February. Blair will be hoping that by then enough arm-twisting and bribery will have taken place to secure a majority UN resolution which will be the trigger for war. But given the immense opposition to war this might not prove possible, resulting in Blair's 'nightmare scenario' of going it alone with Bush.

Blair is banking on a 'Kosovo' - a short, easy war that will win over public opinion. Instead he could face a 'Suez', where mass opposition forces him out of office.

Labour MPs are already speculating about a leadership challenge and there are calls for a recall Labour Party conference.

However, if Blair were replaced by Brown in the aftermath of a war it would not fundamentally change anything. New Labour is a party completely tied to the profit system - which is the root cause of war and inequality - as are the other two main political parties.

The hundreds of thousands of people who made their voices heard against war on 15 February will be looking for a political alternative to the establishment parties who put the needs of big business before those of the majority.

What better opportunity to launch a new, democratic political party that could represent the millions rather than the millionaires; a party that could draw together anti-war protesters, trade unionists and all those who are opposed to the main capitalist parties and the system which they represent.

Already firefighters have decided to stand candidates in the local elections on 1 May. Many in the anti-war movement will feel inspired to do the same. The Socialist Party, with four elected councillors, will also be standing against New Labour, campaigning for a new mass party and for a socialist alternative to capitalism and war.

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