THE ELECTION clearly showed growing numbers of working-class people have had enough of Tony Blair and his New Labour government and want something different.

The big swings that saw prominent government ministers lose their seats, and Labour’s overall majority dropping by around 100 seats, clearly reveal the smouldering anger against Blair, which threatens to further ignite at any time.

Had there been a more coherent, viable alternative for working-class people to vote for in many areas Blair’s government would have been finished.

Although there was a bigger than predicted swing against Labour, Blair was fortunate to face the Tories led by Howard. Time and again Labour desperately resorted to the only trick left up their sleeve – the fear of ‘Hatchet Howard’ and the Tories coming back to power.

The big swings to the Liberal Democrats in formerly solid Labour areas – posing as an anti-war party that would abolish tuition fees – shows how desperate some former Labour voters were to give Blair a bloody nose.

The many credible votes for anti-establishment and anti-war candidates who gained a higher media profile over the Iraq war – particularly Reg Keys and George Galloway - along with Labour’s humiliating defeat in its strong heartland of Blaenau Gwent shows how a century of loyalty to Labour could be rapidly overturned.

In formerly solid Labour areas some big drops in turnout – such as in David Blunkett’s constituency – and even bigger swings against them shows the loyalty that existed towards Labour has snapped.

But the potential for a working-class alternative is only partially shown by the votes in this election result, though many anti-establishment and socialist candidates achieved creditable votes.

But, as well as the loosening of Labour’s support the welcome election of George Galloway and other results shows the potential for a viable and serious Left challenge to Labour at the next election. Inevitably, a Blair or Brown government will come into collision with working people – particularly those organised in trade unions – and through those class battles significant sections of workers will push their union leaders to better defend their interests by building a new mass party of the working class.

4 May 2005

3 May 2005

Which parties are seriously campaigning for young voters?

Today’s reports that fewer than a third of first-time voters will definitely vote on Thursday shows how disconnected from mainstream political parties young people are, the Socialist Party said today.

A survey highlighted today also confirmed that an increasing number of young people are political.

Millions of young people participated in the anti-globalisation and anti-war movements.

Tens of thousands will take part in the protest against the G8 leaders in Scotland in July.

The number of school students standing in mock elections – many more of them for minor parties rather than the pro-big business establishment parties – shows that young voters (and those who cannot vote) feel very strongly about issues.

But they do not see any of the establishment parties as being capable of taking up their concerns.

Labour, Tory and Liberal-Democrat officials all claim to be putting extra resources into creating vibrant youth support but the one thing they can’t offer are decent policies that advance the interests of young voters. Nor do these establishment parties have many young candidates.

The Socialist Party’s youngest candidate, Phil Clarke, aged 23, standing in Brighton Kemptown said today:

"At best parties like the Liberal Democrats talk about ending tuition fees but they don’t talk about restoring a living grant like the Socialist Party does.

None of the parties call for the introduction of a minimum wage without exceptions for all young workers, along with greater protection in the workplace for the young who are amongst the most exploited in the workforce, again this is what the Socialist Party stands for.

"The environment is a huge issue amongst young voters but nobody believes any of the big three parties, and many of the others, will do anything to challenge the power of big business who are the biggest polluters on the planet.

"It is only parties like the Socialist Party, and youth organisations like International Socialist Resistance, who are connecting effectively with young people in this election.

That’s why we may not win many of the 17 seats we are standing in this time round but we are building a solid and youthful basis for our challenge to the establishment parties in future elections."

29 April 2005

Socialist Party condemns scandalous treatment of Rover workers

Socialist Party national spokesperson Dave Nellist today condemned the treatment of Rover workers since the announcement of their mass redundancy.

Dave Nellist, who is a Socialist Party councillor in Coventry said today:

"Former Rover employees have had insult added to injury. The news this week that car purchase loans the workers had taken out would have to be paid back in full because of the collapse of the company, and that nursery places they had paid for in advance were to be closed down, will further fuel anger against the administrators and Government.

"An outcry has forced the government to put in emergency funds to keep the nursery open. This is no less than the workers deserve – but it’s only for a month. But the Government’s proposed new deals over the car purchase, unfortunately welcomed by union leaders like Tony Woodley, are absolutely shameful.

"Rover employees have been told that rather than pay back their purchase loans in full they can pay them back on ‘more favourable’ terms or hand the cars back without facing claims for the balance of the loans.

"Depending on the exact nature of their agreements, they may have been able to hand the cars back anyway – owing nothing if they had paid half the agreement. So it’s hardly a generous offer by the administrators.

"Given the pitiful redundancy payments the workers will get the least they should be getting is these cars for free and free childcare while they try and sort out their life.

"If the union leaders, like Tony Woodley, had taken up the demand of Socialist Party election candidates for the workers to occupy the plant and campaign for renationalisation of Rover, they would have forced a damn site more out of the government than these miserable offerings."

27 April 2005

Sedgemore’s defection shows need for new party to Left of Labour

BRIAN SEDGEMORE’S defection to the Liberal Democrats, and his warning that other Labour MPs are considering jumping the New Labour ship after the election shows the urgent need for a new Left party representing working people in Britain, according to another former Labour MP.

Dave Nellist, a Labour MP for Coventry South-East from 1983-92 until he was expelled for his socialist views and refusal to pay the poll tax, said today: "The defection of Brian Sedgemore shows the deep unease that a significant section of former Labour stalwarts feel with New Labour. Mistakenly, Brian may think this is a step to the Left but it is in fact a step to the right.

"The Liberals are ultimately a capitalist party defending the market economy. Brian cannot have a pick and mix approach to what alternative he choses to New Labour. The Liberals may make a lot of noise about defending civil liberties. But they took a demagogic stand on the war, only verbally opposing it when they thought it would be electorally beneficial. And what about the Liberals support of privatisation and a toughening up of the anti-union laws, where they are to the right of even the other establishment parties?"

Dave Nellist, who is now a councillor in Coventry and Socialist Party and a Socialist Party national spokesperson added: "Rather than giving credence to the Liberal Democrats, who have an anti-working class agenda, whatever posture they may adopt on civil liberties, Brian Sedgemore and the 150 MPs he claims ‘loathe Blair’ would have been better looking to setting up a new party of the Left based on trade unions and working-class communities as the Labour Party at least once aimed to be.

"When I was expelled from the Labour Party in 1992, myself and others on the Left, warned that Labour was being transformed into a more right-wing, pro-capitalist, authoritarian and undemocratic party. Everything Brian Sedgemore has said in justification of his defection from Labour bears this out. Unfortunately, he has drawn the wrong conclusion.

"Myself and other members of the Socialist Party have not had any false hopes that any of the establishment parties could represent the underprivileged and working people in this country. Instead we have set about creating an alternative – both electorally and in organising effective protest against New Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat agendas – to offer a genuine ideological and campaigning alternative for former Labour voters and those three million people who are looking to vote for something to the Left of Labour.

"Regrettably, many former Left-wing Labour MPs and trade union leaders have hesitated and prevaricated in making a clear break from Blair’s New Labour and establishing a genuine alternative. But this hesitation has seen people like Brian Sedgemore, a former member of the left-wing Campaign Group of Labour MPs, move to the right.

"Having elected councillors and leading figures in the trade unions and in local campaigns, the Socialist Party has shown in a significant way the potential there is for a new mass left-wing party to be established."

Dave Nellist concluded that to any of those current Labour MPs or trade union leaders (and former Labour supporters) who feel as disillusioned with New Labour as Brian Sedgemore he would say: "Don’t end up siding with another discredited party of big business, be courageous and take the step towards helping organise an alternative party that genuinely advances the interests of working-class people."

22 April

Hewitt must publicly explain why Labour betrayed Rover workers

Workers at the beleaguered Longbridge plant in Birmingham were betrayed by Labour, according to an ex-Labour MP. He has challenged Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt to publicly explain to the voters of Leicester West why she tried to ‘bury’ the bad news about Rover job losses.

Following a story in today's Birmingham Post (22-04-05) Councillor Dave Nellist, former MP for Coventry SE, who is now a Socialist Party councillor in that city, and parliamentary candidate in Coventry North-East said, Patricia Hewitt should be sacked by the voters of Leicester West. Commenting on why he is going to her constituency next week to help the Socialist Party’s candidate he said:

"The Birmingham Post has confirmed what a lot of us had suspected, that Patricia Hewitt brought forward Rover going into administration and made the announcement on Thursday, 7 April so that the news was partially masked by the Pope's funeral on the Friday, and the Royal Wedding on the Saturday and didn't run into the election.

"The Birmingham Post's Business Editor, John Duckers, claims in an article in today's paper to have talked to a high level source in the DTI who said: ‘The election was happening and Labour could not afford something like this towards the end of the campaign.  The Pope was dying, there was the Royal wedding between Charles and Camilla and that was concentrating attention.’ Labour, he (the source) said, had to keep the issue controlled and so news management went into overdrive.

Councillor Nellist continued:

"When Jo Moore, press officer at the DTI, suggested that 11 September 2001 was a good day to "bury bad news", she was sacked.  Patricia Hewitt should be sacked by the electors of Leicester West for actually doing what Jo Moore suggested and, in the words of the Birmingham Post article: ‘dump(ing) the ailing car company well ahead (of the General Election).’

"Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Patricia Hewitt are guilty of playing politics with people’s lives. Hundreds of millions of pounds of public money will be spent picking up the pieces of this industrial vandalism if the closure of Rover goes through.

"£150 million has been promised in regional aid, subsidies to suppliers and the additional costs of redundancies. Add to that the loss of tax and national insurance from perhaps 15,000-20,000 workers; the paying of benefits and the unquantifiable social costs ranging from unnecessary repossessions and evictions to the extra strain put on the health and welfare system.

"Rather than spend that money on the aftermath of the collapse of Rover, it would be far better to invest it in keeping the industry alive.

"But such huge public investment shouldn't be a subsidy to another private company's profits. Government intervention and public investment should be matched by public ownership and control. And by the involvement of Rovers workers themselves in the drawing up of a new plan of production to meet the transport needs of the whole of society.

"Leicester West MP Patricia Hewitt, as Trade and Industry Secretary claims the government have done ‘everything they could’ for the 5,000 Rover workers, plus the thousands more linked to the industry who will be made redundant. Yet, few people will now believe that after this report.

"I will be going to speak at a public meeting in Patricia Hewitt’s Leicester West constituency on Wednesday night (see details below) and would ask her to come to that meeting and explain her government’s record on Rover and manufacturing.

"One million manufacturing jobs have been destroyed since New Labour came to power in 1997. At the same time the number of millionaires has doubled. Leicester has seen the decimation of Hosiery, Shoe and Engineering industries.

"And thousands more jobs are threatened after the election. For example, Labour threaten to cut 105,000 jobs in the civil service. Yet when pressed by Jeremy Paxman, Blair was not prepared to step in to defend their jobs

"It is precisely to defend working people’s jobs that Socialist Party candidates Louise Houldey in the Northfield constituency, the home of Longbridge, and Steve Score standing against Patricia Hewitt herself in Leicester West, are fighting for by contesting the General Election."

College elections show surprise results

For those fed up with the lack of excitement in the real general election then the results of school and college mock elections are throwing up notable surprises.

Fed up with the policies and lies of the three major parties, students at Monoux College in Walthamstow gave resounding support to Socialist Alternative (the Socialist Party’s electoral name) at a ballot held at the college gates on Thursday, organised by the Socialist Party.  With the Liberals getting only one vote and the Tories getting none, Socialist Alternative received four times the vote of New Labour.

 The main issues were the war and occupation of Iraq and education amongst many of the first-time voters.  Many of those who voted Socialist today will also do so on 5 May when Socialist Party candidate Nancy Taaffe is standing in Walthamstow. 

This was not just a sign that young people are looking for a socialist alternative but also showed that the problem causing low turn-outs is not apathy with politics – there were plenty of issues that students felt strongly about – but apathy with the main political parties who offer nothing to most people.

Socialist Party members up and down the country are also organising events to give voters a chance to comment on the issues that are not being addressed by the main parties.

In Sheffield Socialist Party canvassers meet with the reaction that MPs are out of touch and paid too much. This Saturday, Sheffield Socialist Party members will be conducting a public ballot in Sheffield City Centre this Saturday asking "How much should MPs be paid?"

This is to publicise the fact that Socialist candidate for Sheffield Heeley, Mark Dunnell, is committed to only accepting the average workers wage if he is elected as MP.

Mark is the only candidate in the whole of Sheffield to publicly make such a pledge. This is in common with all the other Socialist Party candidates in the country.

This workers wage commitment stands in stark contrast to the inflated salaries and expenses that MPs get.

20 April 2005

Socialist Party offers something different for those looking for ideological alternative

The Socialist Party is standing 17 candidates under its electoral name of Socialist Alternative – the latest candidate to declare is Louise Houldey in Birmingham Northfield who is standing to highlight the Rover scandal and is campaigning for the car company’s nationalisation.

The Socialist Party is also combining with other left-wing candidates in the Socialist Green Unity Coalition (SGUC).

In total 27 seats are being contested by SGUC making it the largest Left grouping contesting this election – larger than the Respect Coalition.

Launching the Socialist Party manifesto this morning, Socialist Party councillor and parliamentary candidate for Coventry North-East Dave Nellist said that 

"this was a manifesto that talked about politics and ideology and was about building a new long-term electoral alternative for working-class people.

"Unfortunately it appears that this is something the media prefer to avoid in their coverage of the election. Media commentators talk about this being the most boring election ever and they’re right. 

So why then don’t they give due coverage to the policies of organisations like ours that is offering an alternative to the three million people who are looking for an alternative to the left of Labour."

Peter Taaffe, Socialist Party general secretary outlined some of the party’s policies at the press launch.

He said: 

"All the other parties pretend to offer something different but strip away the electioneering language and the promises amount to little. 

Blair last week talked about making changes "for all time". 

But what he wants is to consolidate the power and wealth of big business for all time. 

The Socialist Party, in contrast, is the only party that specifically demands fundamental change in favour of working-class people. 

And we are prepared to challenge the power, prestige and privilege of Blair and his wealthy elite backers to get such a change.

When our candidates get a chance to put our ideas across properly to ordinary voters we get a good response. One our candidates came second in the Newsnight ‘political speed dating contest’, due to be screened on 21 April, beating Labour, Tories and Liberal. Some of the establishment political parties are now complaining about the result, claiming that the selection of voters was unrepresentative. What they really can’t face up to is that their ideas are deeply unpopular when properly challenged.

The Socialist Party is the only party in this election that calls for all of the following:

Nationalise Rover - as mentioned on last week’s BBC TV news no party other than the Socialist Party has an alternative viable plan to the closure of Rover which will secure the workers’ jobs.

Immediately ending the occupation of Iraq – we call for the withdrawal of troops and argue the Iraqi people should form multi-ethnic defense militias for protection against the occupiers and any attempts to stir up sectarian or ethnic division. This will allow the Iraqi people to begin the process of deciding their own future.

Massively increasing state and occupational pensions – we have outlined a programme that will stop the pensions handouts to the rich and put over £20 billion back into state pensions – increasing the basic state pension by 50% immediately. And we call for the fat cat bosses to be made to compulsorily contribute much larger sums to workers’ occupational pensions.

A cleaner, safer environment – This can be done through a socialist plan for energy production, designed to guarantee cheap and safe energy for all whilst protecting the environment.

A shorter working week of at least 35 hours with a big increase in the minimum wage to £8 an hour with no exceptions.

A massive redistribution of wealth. We link this to ending the rule of profit and establishing a socialist plan of production. A socialist society and economy will be run to meet the needs of all whilst protecting our environment.

You won’t find anything like this in any other manifesto this election. And don’t think it’s just words. Our candidates if elected will be workers’ MPs on a worker’s wage fighting for the millions not the millionaires.

To find out more and get details on our list of election candidates go to www.socialistparty.org.uk/electioncampaign

20 April 2005 

Occupy Rover - dramatic call from former MP

A dramatic call was made in Birmingham earlier this afternoon for an occupation of the Rover plant at Longbridge.

Speaking at a public meeting close to the giant factory a former MP, Dave Nellist, called on workers at the beleaguered company to occupy the factory and to demand that the government takes over the firm.

Cllr Dave Nellist, former MP for Coventry South-east, also called for trade unions to collect in letters of redundancy issued this weekend and to unite the workforce in a coordinated response to the administrators, Price Waterhouse.

The former Labour MP, now a councillor for the Socialist Party on Coventry City Council, also called on the Northfield community in Birmingham to make the closure of Longbridge an election issue.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Nellist said:

"Longbridge can be saved. It's not too late. But it's no good relying on the private sector, all they will be interested in would be the MG badge, not the thousands of Longbridge workers or those at suppliers.

"Hundreds of millions of pounds will be spent on regional aid, lost taxes, the payment of benefits, and other social costs associated with the collapse of the company. Far better for that money be spent on keeping the industry alive. But the first step has to be renationalisation.

"Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's 2 visits to Birmingham in a week show that this is already an election issue. But all the establishment politicians are offering is a wringing of hands and sympathetic apologies for the destruction of thousands of lives. That's not enough. They need their minds concentrating.

"In my view now, over the next couple of days, Longbridge workers have to take this situation by the scruff of the neck and demand government action.

"Workers must stop of the dismantling of the factory. Just as in the 1970s shipyard workers did in Scotland, and motorbike workers did in Meriden, workers at Longbridge should occupy the plant and demand that the government takes it over and guarantees their jobs."

During the meeting Cllr Nellist went further and suggested that Longbridge workers should stand a candidate in the Northfield constituency in the general election.

"Just as working people in Kidderminster, 4 years ago, elected an MP as part of their protest against the closure of a local hospital then the people of Longbridge could use the next few days of the general election to concentrate the minds of the big parties and send a message to all national politicians about the anger at the damage such massive redundancies will do to local communities.

"A big enough campaign could force a government U-turn."

Further information Dave Nellist

--- Cllr Dave Nellist: dave @ nellist.net (m) 07970 294 237

18 April 2005

Socialist party manifesto launch further details:

The official launch of the Socialist Party’s election manifesto and  press briefing about the party’s election campaign will take place on:

Wednesday 20 April

9.30am

Clarence Room,

Hotel Jolly St Ermin’s,

Caxton Street, London SW1H 0QW

Special invitees include Joe Higgins, Irish TD, Dave Nellist leader Socialist group Coventry city council and Chris Baugh, assistant general secretary public and Commerical Services Union (PCS – personal capacity).

 (fuller details below)

The Socialist Party’s election manifesto launch will have an international flavour to it with Irish TD Joe Higgins attending.

Joe and other Socialist Party members in Ireland have been involved in fighting to reclaim money taken from Turkish migrant workers by their employers, the Gama construction company; something Joe called "larceny" on a grand scale.

A profile of Joe Higgins in the Sunday Business Post in Ireland on 17 April said: "The majority of his 165 colleagues would probably claim that the Socialist Party TD's politics are off the wall, but would surely also recognise him as the best parliamentary performer in their ranks."

Joe is not so much off the wall as under the skin of Ireland’s political establishment and their big business friends. He has been a vigorous and effective campaigner against the privatization of Aer Lingus, has successfully stopped deportations and played a major role in the return of deported student Olukunie Eluhanlo, which was a huge issue in Ireland.

He has also been imprisoned for his part in the anti-bin charges campaign.

On many occasions Joe Higgins has got the better of Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern in parliamentary debate – particularly focussing on the corrupt economy that the Taiseoach presides over. Joe was elected as a TD in 1997 and he is well known for only taking the same wage as the average worker in his constituency, about €29,000 (£19,000 approx).

• The Socialist Party has also announced today that it intends to stand a parliamentary candidate in the Birmingham Northfield constituency to highlight the plight of the Rover workers, expose the corrupt graft of public money by the Phoenix Four and to campaign for the nationalisation of Rover under democratic control and management. More details of the candidate will be available at the press conference.

• A press pack with more details about the Socialist Party’s campaign will be available at the press conference. Other candidates will be attending and a representative of the Socialist Green Unity Coalition (SGUC), which the Socialist Party is part of, will also be attending the conference.

Representatives will be available for separate TV and radio interviews and for print journalists. Please notify any specific requests to:

Ken Smith 07840 168071 (w); on 020 8988 8778 (w); 020 7460 1014 (h) or email kensmith@socialistparty.org.uk 

Press release ends

Background article on Joe Higgins

All that's left?

A profile of Joe Higgins TD in the Sunday Business Post

17 April 2005 By Alison O'Connor

When Joe Higgins rises to his feet in Dáil Eireann, there is usually an air of expectancy. The majority of his 165 colleagues would probably claim that the Socialist Party TD's politics are off the wall, but would surely also recognise him as the best parliamentary performer in their ranks.

With his Kerry accent and impeccably timed delivery, he has them laughing with a clever mixture of humour, metaphors and an array of props that have, in the past, included handcuffs and half a pound of sausages.

They try to heckle Higgins with name-calling, shouting "commie'‘ across the floor of the chamber, as well as making mention of Stalin and Trotsky.

The Dublin West TD has no problem with this, and says it is their historical ignorance that has them mentioning the two names in the same breath.

"Obviously, they don't know of the huge chasm between Trotskyism and Stalinism when they try to hang the huge crimes of Stalin around my neck," said Higgins. "What I represent is democratic socialism, supporters of which were slaughtered in Russia."

For a one-man socialist band, this politician certainly manages to attract a lot of attention. He has been imprisoned in Mountjoy for his part in the anti-waste charge protests; been photographed with his trousers apparently about to split as he was carried away from an anti-war protest in front of Leinster House; and has regularly upbraided the Taoiseach for overseeing a corrupt economy built on greed.

A few weeks ago, Higgins played a major role in the return of deported student Olukunle Eluhanlo. His assistance including making arrangements for Eluhanlo to be cared for by Nigerian socialists while in that country.

More recently, of course, Higgins has been the driving force behind the campaign to expose the low pay and poor conditions of Turkish workers employed by Gama and brought to Ireland to build roads and power plants.

In February, when he first made the sensational allegations concerning the abuse of migrant labourers, he was admonished in the Dáil by Ceann Comhairle, Rory O'Hanlon, for naming in the House a company which was not in a position to defend itself. His regular sparring partner, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, gave the revelations a fairly cool reception, except to give assurances that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment would look into it. Higgins took a risk, but obviously felt sure of his ground when he raised the controversial issue.

Less than a month later, he was telling the Dáil that this was a "master fraud by a major entity in the construction industry in this country, a grand larceny of worker's wage amounting to millions of euro each month stolen from the workers and tens of millions over the last year alone'‘.

Last Tuesday, he arranged for 40 of the Turkish workers to sit in the Dáil visitors' gallery and listen as he once again raised the issue, which by then had become a significant embarrassment to the government and the Taoiseach.

Earlier, up to 300 Gama workers had loudly protested at their treatment outside the Dáil, with workers' spokesman Enver Alan claiming that the company had made them work for more than 80 hours a week, at rates of between €2.20 and just over €3 an hour.

Alan added that the company never told workers about the existence of bank accounts in Finansbank in Amsterdam, into which a percentage of their salaries had been paid.

Higgins had been considering chartering a plane to bring the workers to Amsterdam to demand statements of their accounts. But his efforts, bolstered by government intervention with the bank, soon ensured that such a trip was unnecessary. Letters were sent by courier from each worker to Amsterdam, with the bank agreeing to fax back statements.

Gama, which has been the subject of an investigation by the Department of Enterprise's Labour Inspectorate, denies the claims.

There are plenty of other Independent TDs in the Dáil, but in the visibility stakes none of them even comes close to Higgins. He is a member of the Dáil's technical group, an informal alliance of the Green Party, Sinn Féin and a number of Independents, but Higgins would have very little in common politically with these colleagues.

Despite this, they selected him to represent them at leader's questions, where his exchanges with the Taoiseach have produced some memorable parliamentary moments.

Despite sweetening the pill of his question time attacks with some humour, Higgins is usually seen in Leinster House looking like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He does not deny this portrayal of himself.

"I do have a lot of pressure of work," he said. "For instance, the Gama thing has been a huge pressure. There were hundreds of guys depending not just on me, and I was spearheading the thing in parliament to ensure the lads got justice."

Born in 1949 in Lispole, Co Kerry, Higgins was one of nine children. His father was a small farmer. Educated locally and at Dingle CBS, he entered the priesthood and was sent to a Catholic seminary in Minnesota in the US. He said that witnessing anti-Vietnam war demonstrations helped to make him more politicised.

He soon abandoned his training for the priesthood, and has since come full circle in that he now describes himself as an atheist.

"What choice did you have in Ireland, especially in my time, when you had the Catholic faith inculcated in you from when you were baptised?" he said. "Then you get to think critically for yourself."

Higgins returned to Ireland, completed a degree in UCD, and taught in inner-city schools in Dublin for a few years. He was a member of the Labour Party in the 1970s and 1980s, strongly opposing coalition, a position that he said got him expelled from the party in the late 1980s.

In 1991, he was elected to Dublin County Council, and then contested the 1992 general election in Dublin West. Four years later, he came very close to causing a major upset when he almost beat Fianna Fáil's Brian Lenihan jnr in a by-election.

Higgins finally won a seat in 1997, having set up the Socialist Party the previous year.

When he spent a month in Mountjoy Prison in 2003 for his part in the anti-waste charge protests, he used it as an opportunity to lose half a stone, deciding to buy only fruit in prison and running each day.

"It was like a very spartan youth hostel of long ago," he said of the conditions in Mountjoy. "If you're used to swanning around in five-star hotels, you may not find it very conducive."

Despite the regular attacks on the government and, more specifically, the Taoiseach, Higgins said he did not intend any of it personally.

"I see Bertie Ahern as a representative of the establishment business and politics. He represents the type of system and establishment that allows the privatisation of services and the exploitation of workers. He is a representative of everything that I oppose in society.

"Whether he is a personable fellow or not, I don't know. I have no personal relationship with him whatsoever."

Living in a modest house in Mulhuddart, west Dublin, Higgins drives a second-hand car and makes a point of living on the average industrial wage.

He believes that, as a genuine socialist, it is vital to live on the same wage as the average worker, this year about €29,000. This is necessary, he said, to avoid becoming "soft and being co-opted into the establishment'‘.

Last year, he gave about €30,000 to his party and to various campaigns. Recently, while attempting to market himself as a socialist, Bertie Ahern said he had been observing Joe Higgins for three decades but had never heard him say anything positive.

"He displays what I believe to be a far-left or ‘commie' resistance to everything," said Ahern. "He does so in the hope the world will discover oil wells off our coast which will fall into the ownership of the state, thereby allowing us to run a great market economy with the state at its centre. That utopia does not exist."

Higgins rejects the "negative'‘ tag, saying that socialism is extremely positive and that the Gama campaign is a perfect example of a positive outcome. He is also adamant that he will remain apolitical loner, saying that nobody else would embrace the Socialist Party's programme or what he describes as its "mission'‘. The party's membership currently stands in the hundreds.

Given a little luck, the Socialist Party could win another Dáil seat, with the election of councillor Clare Daly in Dublin North at the next general election. Nonetheless, the chances of them ever becoming a major political force could best be described as slim. But in that utopia described by Bertie Ahern, how would a society run by Higgins and his followers operate?

"It would be a society where the majority of financial institutions, big banks and industry would be democratically owned and controlled," he said.

"Production would be based on the needs of people and society, rather than on the basis of greed and maximisation of profit. Democratic socialism is the key to providing solutions to the burning issues of our time."

Postal voting scam shows sleaze of main parties