Join us today!
Printable version
Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/9939
Posted on 7 July 2010 at 11:27 GMT
'Godfather' turning in his grave
THE FOLLOWING letter by Peter Taaffe (general secretary of the Socialist Party) was sent in reply to an article in the Guardian by Hywel Williams on 3 July.
Williams misrepresents the former left Labour stalwart Aneurin Bevan to attack Militant, the forerunner of the Socialist Party.
Dear Sir,
Aneurin Bevan was not "the Militant Godfather". However, he did share with us an admiration of Leon Trotsky, a stubborn defence of socialism and the rights and conditions of working class people.
He would have scorned his alleged "heirs" like the multi-millionaire Lord Neil Kinnock, as he did Ramsay McDonald for betraying the hopes of working class people.
Alive today, he would have forcefully opposed Kinnock's friends in the Neath/Port Talbot New Labour council - "Yes, a Labour council" - preparing to hand out redundancy notices to its 7,000-strong workforce in the last week.
Despite the lies peddled 25 years ago Liverpool council, under the influence of Militant, never sacked a single worker.
In fact, 2,000 new jobs were created, as were nurseries, new parks and 5,000 council houses built. Bevan, who achieved great things through the NHS, would have applauded this, while ferociously condemning New Labour today for passing on vicious Con-Dem cuts - as Neath/Port Talbot indicates is likely to be the case.
Sincerely,
Peter Taaffe
Donate to the Socialist Party
Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
2020