Socialist Resistance and TUSC
Comments on socialistresistance.org2010sA comment by Alan in the thread under “New Parties of the Left in the Age of Austerity” on socialistresistance.org.
The publication's own web text.
Editor's note. Under the notice for Socialist Resistance's day school “New Parties of the Left in the Age of Austerity” (29 September 2012), Rodney Kay-Kreizman wrote that SR seemed “not to be cooperating with TUSC”, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, “the main vehicle that's already there”, backed by the RMT, POA and FBU.
There seems to be some confusion here. SR supports TUSC and votes for its candidates and has done for a long time - other than where there is a clash of socialist candidates (which we strongly think should be avoided) where we take a decision based on the politics of the respective candidates and which candidate is likely to command the most local support.
It is true that we think that the current federal and top-down structure of TUSC is a serious problem and a limitation on its development. But we are prepared to have a closer relationship with TUSC whilst arguing our corner on internal democracy and left unity, which we think is another weakness of the current orientation of TUSC.
Unfortunately this has not been possible because each time we have applied for affiliation to TUSC (with a seat on the Steering Committee the same as the other political organisations) we have been rejected. Hopefully this exclusion can be reversed at the up-coming conference where we have a resolution to this effect.