Tom Gibson, Bradford Socialist Party
Over 20 people attended the launch of ‘Pat Wall: Selected Writings and Speeches of a Socialist MP’, hosted by the Bradford and Shipley Trades Union Council, many of whom had known Pat personally.
Pat was the Labour MP for Bradford North from 1987-90, and a supporter of Militant – the Socialist Party’s predecessor.
Socialist Party Yorkshire Regional Secretary Iain Dalton introduced the discussion with a biography of Pat’s life. He explained how Pat got involved in the labour movement and in Trotskyist politics, his selection as Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in 1983, the horrendous attacks made against Pat by the right-wing media and the right wing of Labour, his successful 1987 election campaign, and finally his work in parliament before his untimely death in 1990.
Afterwards, many attendees contributed to the discussion by talking about their experiences with Pat. During the discussion, there were comparisons made between Pat’s clear loyalty to the working class and his principled fight for socialism, and the current crop of ‘Labour’ MPs that seem only to care about power and preserving capitalism.
Pat’s internationalism, such as his support for the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and protests against Pinochet’s coup to bring down Allende’s government in 1973, was another major part of the discussion.
Speakers highlighted what a warm, intelligent, dedicated and decent man Pat Wall was, his personality was fondly spoken about in personal stories.
As someone who was born and still lives in the constituency Pat represented, I am utterly inspired by his work not only in parliament but across his career. We sold around 14 books overall on the night. 34 years on and Pat’s legacy lives on, and the book is a wonderful way of shining a spotlight on it. Pat fought for the working class, in Bradford, in Britain and across the world.
You can buy ‘Pat Wall: Selected Writings and Speeches of a Socialist MP’ at leftbooks.co.uk £12+pp
