A common understanding to build Socialist Alliance
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Alan Thornett and
Liz Davies has resigned as chair of the Socialist Alliance (SA) and from its Executive Committee. At an executive meeting on 13 October she raised some issues of office mal-administration. She said these had led to a breakdown of trust, which made it impossible for her to continue as chair.
An emergency executive was held on 20 October specifically to discuss the trative structure issues she had raised. That meeting took a number of loss of Liz as national chair. decisions designed to redress
problems that had occurred, particularly those relating to communication and accountability between members of the executive.
A temporary sub-committee was set up to work on procedures and priorities for the national office and to monitor its work. This com- result in Hackney. mittee will report back to the November executive.
These steps represent a rapid and effective response : by the executive to the trust that had occurred
that had reflected political issues as occurred in organisation and well as administrative probaccountability. It is a great pity lems in the Alliance, and therefore that Liz maintained that a way has to be found her resignation after these to address these issues if the measures had been agreed. Alliances is going to develop
We are now likely to end beyond its current stage. up with a better-organised 200l: some candidates at the launch of the Alliance general election manifesto and more effective adminis- .•.•
for the The Socialist Alliance, but with the political
Alliance is
Despite its slender material resources, the Socialist the best Alliance, along with the SSP in Scotland, is the best thing thing on the to happen on the left in Britain for a long time. Its left in Britain great potential is rooted in the crying need for a united for a long left alternative to Blairsm, and was shown in the brilliant time
Many on the execu- found a way of adequately tive felt that the discussing these political breakdown of issues and learning the lessons from them. The result has been a build-up of frustration amongst some EC members. These tensions are also reflected in the relationship between individual members and the organisations in the The executive has never SA. The constitution we adopted last December was supposed to take us more towards a party structure. In reality, we have remained very much an alliance, with the consequences this has for individual members
Many individual members feel themselves sidelined, rightly or wrongly, by the organisational weight of the affiliated organisations, and in particular by the SWP as overwhelmingly the biggest. It is an objective problem, but it has to be addressed.
The most effective way to address this is through recruitment of more individual members. But it is a chicken and egg situation. To recruit more individual members we need to make individual members more at home in the SA as it is.
Fresh recruitment is entirely possible given the political events we are experiencing: the war, the antiglobalisation movement, the defence of the Palestinians, electoral interventions, antiracism and the defence of asylum seekers. All these issues and campaigns should be the recruiting ground of the SA.
Building common understanding of how to build the Alliance, and its relationship to the organisations and individual members means a different approach to the role and priorities of the executive.
We have to create a situation where those with concerns, complaints and/or fears about the way the Alliance is functioning feel comfortable in raising them and that those who are the subject of these concerns accept them as legitimate business for the EC. We can then create a dialogue that can lead to a better understanding of the pressures and problems on all sides. the If understanding and confidence can be built in the Alliance, we can draw some important lessons from this situation. This can help us build the Alliance on feel stronger basis and help us go forward in what is a very fruitful political situation.