rhys
26th October 2009, 17:58
I started off as an Anarchist in school, organised an anarchist club, had some effect, but there wasn't much going on outside, so I ended in the Labour party (doesn't that date me!); I was Secretary of our Socialist Club at University (still taking a pretty anarchist line), and was on two different Constituency GMC's (one after another!) mostly dealing with membership, which I build up to four times what it had been. I served in various posts on our local NUT exec,and on our Trades Council while there was one. I left and joined the SWP and was Branch Sec for some time, wildly activist, until I pretty well collapsed. Seems to me the Party has got bureaucratic past bearing now, but that's because British industry has been so deliberately wrecked that things are boring. I reckon the centre of struggle has moved elsewhere, so I don't do much (Marx helped organise Soho waiters - I do what I can to help the local postmen, but they aren't in the forefront of the class war, I'm afraid, and I ain't Marx). The local Anarchists are indistinguishable from Liberals to my (perhaps jaundiced) eye. I belong to Plaid Cymru, mainly on cultural grounds - I got pissed off with English telling me MY culture didn't matter compared with their brilliant revolutionary achievements. I'd be glad to see something serious going on that wasn't a demo: I am bored with demos.