Papers: Weekly Worker: Guildford Respect defends a woman's right to choose

Click above to turn pageThis article was prompted by a phone call, and was followed by perhaps the weirdest political story of the period.

Three CPGB members, all Red Platformers, lived near me. Though we opposed CPGB policy on Respect, we were obliged to implement it, and had already begun to plan leafleting for Respect votes in the upcoming European election: despite thinking this would probably be less fun than, say, an evening's vomiting.

I was astonished, though, when Respect regional organiser and SWP veteran John Molyneux called me and asked me to organise a Guildford branch. That he chose to ask not only a member of the CPGB, but of the Red Platform, suggested that the rest of the anti-war movement in Guildford, including the BNP, had already turned him down.

Actually, this was probably true. The local SWP had only two active members, who I happened to know as the CPGB and SWP used to do joint paper sales in Guildford: they were lovely fellas. The problem was that one was rather old, and would vaguely wander off during paper sales, leaving the rest of us to go around asking if people had seen a little bloke selling the Socialist Worker, and the other seemed to hate Respect even more passionately than we did. We did have a very large and well organised Surrey Stop The War group, but they were in constant dispute with the SWP led national Stop The War Coalition, and even discussed disaffiliation. In elections, they almost universally supported Guildford man, and veteran peace campaigner, John Morris, and his miniscule but well respected Peace Party.

In short, in Guildford, Respect was about as popular as a PLO candidate standing in Tel Aviv South.

The most awful document I ever authored...Despite all this, Molyneux kept pressing for us to organise a 'public meeting'. I told him this was premature, and we had little support, but he clearly thought I was stalling, and started getting somewhat tetchy. The last thing I needed was to give the SWP grounds to complain that the CPGB were dragging their feet: particularly as it would doubtless draw further accusations within the CPGB that I was sabotaging the pro-Respect policy. I reluctantly agreed to organise one.

We drafted suitably platitudinous leaflet, based on all the others on Respect's site, and an ad for the local paper, both of which I forwarded to John, and sent emails and made calls through the local anti-war movement: all to a deafening silence. I arrived at the hall we'd booked, put up signs, and sat down to wait. In the end, there was John, a friend of his whose name escapes me (sorry comrade), Rae (who is mentioned in the article below), the bloke I always referred to as 'the local anarchist', myself, and two other visitors who arrived rather late, and seemed to be personally known to John.

I introduced John, and in an extremely carefully phrased and conciliatory opening, argued that whatever our political differences, we shared not just an opposition to the war, but a belief in social justice, and could all subscribe to and campaign around Respect's basic programme.

John responded as if I'd spent the last two minutes accusing him of buggering goats. That wasn't the issue, he said (what wasn't?), what mattered was 'action'. Rae explained that she had some reservations about Respect, and raised the issue of abortion. I began to speak but John cut me short with 'you've had your chance'. In possibly the most patronising speech I have ever heard, he said that abortion was 'not the most pressing issue facing us', and that what mattered was 'action'. Would she be prepared to give out leaflets?

I'd heard people mock the SWP for this kind of thing, but had always assumed they were exaggerating. Rae was visibly furious. No, she would be supporting the Peace Party. With polite excuses, she, and the local anarchist, left.

John Molyneux, unsuccessful Respect candidate
in the 2004 European electionsJohn then turned to me and said, 'you know, when I first started in politics I once organised a meeting to which nobody came, but then I learnt to do better. And why didn't you tell me about this Peace Party? I think you're playing games with us.'

I could easily have taken a swing at him. I turned green, my clothes tore against my rippling green muscles, and I turned to face John as one might a man who has just eaten your gerbil and is complaining that it was under-done. I asked him if he had forgotten that I had advised against this meeting? Hadn't he worked out there was no local support from the lack of enquiries from Guildford? Hadn't he checked the list of candidates standing against him, showing John Morris, Peace Party, Guildford? Where did he get off speaking to those who did take the trouble to show up as if they were SWP infantry? And above all, what the fuck did he mean wasting my time and effort organising a meeting against my advice and then blaming me when only a handful showed?

I think I may have been shouting a bit, and he seemed somewhat taken aback. He said that it didn't seem fair of me to 'unload on him', and asked for his travel expenses, which I paid out of my own pocket without trusting myself to speak. As I left, in a curious gesture, his friend approached me and held out his hand. He then shook my hand slowly, and gave me a friendly smile. I think he could see that I was genuinely angry, and meant this as a conciliatory gesture, in which case peace on him, whatever his politics.

...and the happiest vote I ever castI went to the pub, and found Rae. She was sipping her drink, and had a Guinness lined up for me, and I sat down, put my head in my hands, and told her that though I couldn't be sure, I thought that at the election meeting I'd organised, I may just have told our local candidate to go fuck himself. She just smiled, and said that if I hadn't, she would have. It was a very touching moment.

The supreme irony was that while the CPGB had a policy of 'campaigning for the largest possible vote for Respect', only in Guildford, where we all opposed the policy, had we even attempted to actually do anything about it: only to be slagged of for it by the Respect candidate himself.

As it turned out, I resigned from the CPGB just before the European election, and celebrated my new found freedom from the party line by joyfully casting my vote... for the Peace Party. We even came within a whisker, 12572 votes to 13426, of beating the bloody Respectoids.

Click here to download Weekly Worker issue 527.

Weekly Worker 527: 6 May 2004

I must record my thanks to John Molyneux, South East Respect regional organiser, who called me late last week to suggest I contact friends and comrades in the anti-war movement and start a local branch of Respect, and offered a great deal of useful advice. Armed with this, I spent a couple of hours on the phone, and had soon assembled a small core of members willing to support Guildford Respect, including two new recruits to Respect nationally.

I was elected secretary, and my fellow CPGBer and also fellow Red Platform member, Jem Jones, was elected chair. We suspect we may be unique in being the only branch in the UK with a CPGB/Red sympathising majority. We also suspect that comrade Molyneux may not have been aware of our local support when he called me - though, as a good democrat, I am sure he welcomes the diversity we bring.

We discussed recruitment plans, took membership fees and a modest collection, and moved to political discussion: a vital part of any Respect member's contribution to their organisation. Comrade Rae Trumble expressed concern at George Galloway's recent expression of opposition to woman's right to choose, and the reactionary echo this had received from the Muslim Association of Britain. She proposed the following resolution:

"Respect confirms its respect for a woman's ownership of her own body, and her absolute right to free abortion on demand, complete with medical advice and professional physical and psychological support for both her and her partner."

This resolution was passed unanimously and with acclaim, and is currently on its way to Respect's regional and national offices.We look forward to their response, and the information we also requested about putting this motion to Respect.s next national gathering. We call on all Respect branches to respect every woman's right to choose, and on George Galloway to respect and represent the views of the members he represents, which he well knows to be predominantly pro-choice, rather than his own private opinions.

Manny Neira
Secretary, Guildford Respect