British SWP member tours
By Graham Matthews
SYDNEY -- Around 60 people gathered to hear Julie Waterson from the British Socialist Workers Party on the topic “Crisis in Britain: Socialist Solutions” at Trades Hall on September 2.
Waterson gave a detailed description of the social and political crisis in Britain at present. Her talk stressed the lack of popular support for the Tory government and the continuing rise of unemployment and privatisation.
She particularly focused on the most recent industrial disputes to mobilise large numbers of people in Britain, particularly the Timex dispute and the campaign against pit closures in the mining areas. The fact that some thousands of people had participated in actions around these defensive campaigns, Waterson saw as proof of an impending mass upsurge in the British labour movement.
In terms of how such an upsurge might arise, or what the role of the left should be, Waterson had little to say. While claiming that the British SWP was not content to sit and wait for the breaks, Waterson failed to outline any socialist strategy for dealing with the Labour Party -- still a major block to any concerted political break in Britain.
As for forces outside the socialist movement, Waterson was scathing. Greens, feminists and others had little place in her vision for change in Britain.
Waterson's apparent optimism actually belied a grave pessimism. According to her analysis, every political force inside Britain, outside the SWP, is bankrupt. The only solution for working people is to rally behind the SWP's brand of spontaneity mixed with rhetoric, and hope for a better future.
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