Fight Blair’s rotten policies

Build a new workers’ party

THE LAST week has been a nightmare for Blair. For the second time in
12 months he’s had to sack his best mate David Blunkett. Blair’s
statement that he left office “without a stain on his character” left
most people thoroughly unconvinced.

Bill Mullins

A few days later Blair, with a majority of over 60 seats in
parliament, only managed to scrape through an important part of his
terrorism bill by one vote, before suffering one of the biggest defeats
for a serving prime minister since 1945. It’s clear that he is only hanging on to
power by his finger nails.

Blair is now primarily obsessed with what history will say about him
once he goes. But he will mainly be remembered for the destruction of
much of the public sector and his foreign ‘adventures’ in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

The bookies have reduced the odds on Blair going this year and that
is where the ‘smart money’ seems to be. But who will replace him? Blair
would probably prefer would-be Tory leader David Cameron who has been
praising his public sector ‘reforms’.

But millions of workers are hoping against hope that if Brown
replaces Blair then things might at last change. But unfortunately it
will be more a case of Tweedledum and Tweedledee politics with no
fundamental change in policies.

To bring about a change in direction requires not a change at the top
of the Labour Party or government but a completely different party that
will represent the aspirations of working people.

The working class’s voice in the Labour Party has long ago been
drowned out by the raucous din of the fat cats as they bay for policies
that will increase their profits and drive down the living standards of
working-class people.

The Socialist Party therefore welcomes the decision by the rail union
RMT to organise a conference early in the New Year to “discuss the
crisis of political representation for the working-class”.

We believe that this crisis can only be resolved by the creation of a
trade union-based new mass workers’ party, and this weekend at Socialism
2005 we will be launching a campaign for such a party to
be established, including gathering support for a representative
conference in the spring, which could build on the RMT’s initiative.