have played a big role. How can this he explained?
Of course, the clectoral system in this country does not favour minority parties, but this does not explain the failure of the CP to substantially increase its number of votes. The last three years have seen substantial growth in the active socialist forces in the working class movement. The CP must have been standing in the main centres of its strength, and yet Its vote was lower than its lola. membership. A party that fields candidates in forty four consitutencies and cannot do better than that Moreover, the Blyth result showed that candidates of theleft can beat the official Labour candidates where the choice is a clear cut and striking one:
The CP leadership has put their bad results down to the capitalist witch-hunt, and refusal to provide the CP with publicity on the mass media. But we need only note the fact that the CP has always suffered these disabilities, and indeed has suffered much less from then than, for example. the Republican merelatter can get considerably higher votes than the CP got even in Jimmy Keit's constituency.
Most damaging of all, is the fact that the Communist Party results were little helter, and in some cases. worse than those of the amali revolttionary groups like the IMG and the WRP. This is a really critical problem for the Party leadership. Only five CP candidates polled more than 1,000 votes, yet the WRP candidate in Wallsend polled 1,108 votes and the WRP candidate in Pontefract polled 991 votes.
We can compare the revolutionaries" votes and those of the CP in one of the strong centres of the Communist Party -Shetfield. In the Brightside constituency in that cily, the tull resources of the party were put behind one of its national leaders, Vi Gill. She got 513 votes. Yet the IMG candidate, Tang All, with much more Imited resources preventing the IMG from systematic canvassing, got within 90 votes of that figure, If we remember that the IS group was relusing to vote for the revolutionary candidates, we begin to see the scope of the decline of the CP's influence in against the Labour Party is in trouble, relation to the revolutionary left.
Here we have one of the main cites. to the CP's debacle: why vote for a CP candidate rather than Labour when the CP says little that is different from the words of the Labour Jeft? Was it not true, for example, that CP local councillors in Scotland actualiy voted against fighting the Housing Finance Act to a sinish, 1n marked contrast to Clay Cros This is only part of the answer. The other hard fact that the CommunBt Party leadership cannot answer, is its refusal to admit that the bureaucment in the north of Ireland. Yet the ratic dictatorship in the USSR is an anD-socialist regime which has nothing that the USSR itself is not at all a working class democracy or # Socialist society. At meeting atter nteeting to cemon campaign ciss cons cious workers asked the question: do you thunk the USSK is socialist? The Cornunist Party cannot piss an honest answer. It cannot hreak from 45 years of Stalinism and repression of workers' democracy in the USSR.
socialism and marxism they demand an explanation of these facts. Only the revolutionary marxists could give it.
After an initial silence, the International Socialists paper explained that while 15 was not revolutionary candidates, it was particular election.
quite different problems: first, whether IS should itself put up candidates, second, whether IS problem that was preoccupying socialist militants, including many in Worker statement addressed itsell to the list question.
view on how to wore. The editor declares: 'For revolucionaries to issues and constitutes a tactical blunder. In other words there is diversionhe or she would divert ment.
FLOATING WITH THE STREAM Socialist Worker eventually took up the question of whether to vote for the revolutionary candidates in the election. On 23 February, a carefully worded statement from the Editor opposed in principle to putting up opposed to purting them up in this Unfortunately, the scatement did not clearly distinguish between two members should vote for the Labour Party, agather the candidates of the revolutionary left, it was the second members of the iS, while the Social But a careful reading of the statement provides in answer to the IS stand candidates in such an election is simply a diversion from the main something special about this clection which makes it wrong to stand against the Lahour party. More than that, a revolutionary candidate would bea people from the main issues - in this particular clection, but not in others. This is the only fair rendering one can make of the extraordinary iS stateThe mystery therefore is this what is so special about this clection that makes candidates parting forward full-blooded socialist policies, a diversionary force, distracting people from the main issues.
If we look around us there is one outstanding feature of this clection which makes it peculiar in comparison with others in the last 25 yea: the fact that the capitalist system is in an unparelleled crisis. This crisis, and is catastrophic consequences for working people is the main issue for the working class in this election. Because of this crisis situation a reformist, class collaborationist Labour leadership is going to be unable to resolve the immediate needs ai the mass of people in this country if it is clected. Ir is scarcoly capable of getting rid of the Tory governOne of the high points of the IMG election campaign in Glasgow was the meeting addressed by veteran revolutionary Harry MeShane fright)
Smash the Torie Smash the Tores
*The Soviet was and remained the organised expression of the class will of the proletariat class of Russia flexed its muscles for the first time. A mass demonstration to the Tsar's palace in St Petersburg. demanding the right to strike and the 8-hour day, was brutally attacked by the army in the infamous Bloody Sunday' massacre.
Yet by the end of the year that same working class had progressed from a naive demonstration for basic trade union rights to the highest form of workers' organisation seen since the Paris Commune, 34 years before-the St Petersburg Soviet. Tsardom totterIn January, 1905, the young working isation and functioning of the working-class community. When a factory went on strike it was immedlately entitled to clect a representative (Deputy) to sit in the Sovict to decide working class policy. As Trotsky says:
*The representative hody of the proletariat assumed the role of the Irst embryonic oruan of revolution ary power. With the Soviet we have the first appearance of democratc power in modern Russian history. The Soviet is the organised power of the mass stitutes authentic democracy, without a lower and an upper chamber, with out a professional bureaucracy, but with the wuters' right to recall their (Penguin, 75p) by CARL GARDNER However such parties had freedom members who sat as deputies. Revolutionary situations are the soil in which real revolutionarics bloom and thrive-the acid-test of their claims to lead the class is their and secondly, those organs must be able to execute the policies decided on. This is the role of the Soviet. PART ONE of a two-part review of Trotsky's great classic, 1905 of debate in the Soviet, through their BOSCELETU response to such situations. Workers will readily follow the correct political line if it can be shown to work in practice. But first one must have those orRans of proletarian democracy where workers policy can be thrashed out, might of a strong, centralised, and sophisticated capitalist State machine, Trofsky clearly outlines the tasks which this posed to the workers"
*The telegraph and the railways are, without any question, powerful weapons Copies still available from: Alex Stein, clo in the hands of the modeen centralised State. But they are double-edged weapons.._As soon as the rails and ment apparatus is Fragmented into parts withoutany means of transport or communication between themAdvantage to the workers. However:
The class which, by simultaneous cessation of work, paralyses the proON SOCIALIST WOMAN: New Spring issu: aut now. Articles include General Strike SPUC, Equal Pay, etc. Orders to 21 Highview Court, College Road, Harrow Weald, Middlesex, Price 10p plus 3p pap, 10% off on orders for more than 10 copies, sent post free, NATIONALISATION OR EXPROPRIATION?: pamphlet translated from original by ex-Ligue Communiste, French section of the Fourth International 72 Cambridge Road. Kirs Heath Birmingham, All profits to Red Weekly Fund Drive BENGALI FRIENDS in Europe and else where, for Bengali books and Larai (Fourth international paper|, contact: Bengali, Mulivaden, Box 3274, 10365 Stockholm, Sweden LONDON RED FORUM: Every Tuesday at Spm in the General Picton pub,
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OLIVER MacDONALD examines some aspects of the election campaign and voting figures which are of significance for socialists