"It’s Been A Real Education"
JUST OVER three weeks ago Save Our Special Schools (SOSS) was a small
local campaign that few outside the schools knew much about. But, as SCOTT
HERBERT from Leicester reports, in the recent Leicester South by-election
it made its mark.
SOSS WAS started after the local education authority (LEA) came up with
proposals to close Leicester’s six special schools last October. They have
since been campaigning to get the LEA and the council to listen to our
concerns and even look at new ways forward into the education of special
needs children.
However, after many months of campaigning it felt that its main aim was
still being ignored. So, with the support of the group, Pat Kennedy
decided to stand in the by-election.
Although the Socialist Party had initially decided to stand, we decided
to stand down and assist SOSS and we urged other Left groups like the
Socialist Labour Party and Respect to do the same. We felt that one
candidate supported by the Left on such an issue would have a bigger
impact than three standing separately.
At a Leicester Social Forum meeting, the Muslim group, friends of Al-Aqsa,
asked for a meeting to be convened to decide a "left of labour"
candidate for the election. Their representative indicated that they would
be able to deliver 5,000 votes to whomever it was agreed would stand.
When the meeting took place everyone from the Left in Leicester,
including the Greens, attended, except Respect – who had initially
indicated they would participate.
Socialist Party member Steve Score proposed to the meeting that Pat
Kennedy be the candidate. After some discussion over whether or not a
single-issue candidate was a good idea there was a consensus to back Pat
as the unity candidate.
Almost immediately after the decision a Respect representative – a
member of the Socialist Workers’ Party – burst in and demanded we reverse
our decision and support a Respect candidate.
Hard work
FOR THE next two weeks a lot of hard work was put in by the SOSS
campaign and Pat who had claimed at the start of the campaign: "I
know nothing about politics". He soon learnt.
At the first hustings meeting of the campaign – organised by friends of
Al-Aqsa – Yvonne Ridley voted against the SLP candidate’s request to
answer the questions. Yvonne Ridley claimed to be the only anti-war
candidate but both Pat and the SLP candidate were opposed to the Iraq
invasion and occupation.
On election day 204 people went out in the wind and rain to vote for
Save Our Special Schools candidate Pat Kennedy.
It may be thought that because Pat only got 204 votes his supporters
may have been disappointed. But when I asked SOSS members if they had a
good time the reply was: "It’s been a real education. It’s so unfair
that the media only takes any notice of you if you’ve got lots of money to
throw at an election!"
The Save Our Schools campaign have learnt a lot in the last two weeks,
not only about the media and mainstream politics but about the attitudes
of the different groups on the Left as well.
This is only the end of an election campaign as far as SOSS is
concerned. And they will still be there campaigning to save special
schools in Leicester when all the other parties and media circus have
gone.
No Respect
DURING QUESTIONS from the floor at the Respect hustings in the Leicester South by-election, Socialist Party member Tim asked George Galloway if he supported the establishment of a new mass workers’ party, preferably on a socialist programme.
He also asked George about how he would see the development of such a party taking place in Britain. Part-icularly, he asked what approach should Respect take towards sections of the working class who enter political struggle even on a single-issue or a limited programme, such as SOSS.
Tim pointed out that the Scottish Socialist Party had stood down in the Stobhill by-election to support local hospital campaigners.
Tim received a warm response and was clapped. However, George Galloway’s response to this legitimate questioning was extremely hostile.
He said: “The gentlemen is a Socialist Party member who doesn’t support Respect and his question is disingenuous”. He added that at the next meeting of the Respect executive he would recommend that they had nothing more to do with the Socialist Party!
Although the SWP members present gave this a huge round of applause, other people in the audience couldn’t comprehend or accept Galloway’s hostility. SWP members followed this with a torrent of abuse against our members, leading a woman, who was in no way allied to the Socialist Party, to say that it was a free country and we were right to say what we wanted.
After the meeting Socialist Party members were harassed out of the door by SWP members.
