pogue_mahone
9th July 2005, 12:47
Some of you who are knowledgeable of British working-class politics may have heard of the IWCA. They are relative newcomers to the political landscape but have caused quite a stir, and have some new and interesting ideas. They present a model of activism born out of practical anti-fascism, inspired by grassroots politics in Northern Ireland, the indigenous resistance of the Zapatistas and South American people, and the spirit of all those who stand up for themselves in oppressed communities:
The objective of the IWCA is to make a difference rather than propaganda. Only by addressing the day-to-day concerns of the working class where they live can the IWCA help develop communities of resistance able to withstand and then politically exploit Labour’s collapse as a mass working class party. It has to be done. There is no alternative.
http://www.iwca.info
Background to the IWCA
Once it became clear that New Labour intended to formally abandon a commitment to social equality and justice, and in anticipation of the anti-working class nature of any future New Labour administration, a variety of groups came together to discuss how the economic, social and political interests of the working class could be best protected.
The Independent Working Class Association (IWCA) was formed in October 1995 as a result of these discussions. When New Labour was elected in May 1997, the IWCA responded by setting up a number of pilot schemes in selected places across the country. The emphasis at all times was on addressing the immediate interests of the working class in the locality in which the pilot scheme was based.
It was an approach that provided the IWCA with the opportunity to test its basic strategy on a range of issues. These included fighting council corruption in Hertfordshire, confronting a mugging epidemic in Birmingham, the privatisation of council housing in Islington, exposing the small print in the New Deal provisions in Hackney, highlighting the dangers of mobile phone masts in Manchester, sparking occupations against council closures in Glasgow, taking up the fight against antisocial crime in Havering, and confronting drug-dealing in Oxford.
In September 2001 the IWCA registered as a political party. In May 2002 Stuart Craft became the IWCA’s first elected representative after he was elected to Oxford City council. Elsewhere IWCA candidates ran the mainstream parties close, coming within 90 votes of claiming a seat in Hackney and taking an average of 25% of the vote in each ward contested.
Out of these experiences a political programme to address day to day concerns and the immediate needs of the working class has been constructed.
The objective of the IWCA is to make a difference rather than propaganda. Only by addressing the day-to-day concerns of the working class where they live can the IWCA help develop communities of resistance able to withstand and then politically exploit Labour’s collapse as a mass working class party. It has to be done. There is no alternative.
http://www.iwca.info
Background to the IWCA
Once it became clear that New Labour intended to formally abandon a commitment to social equality and justice, and in anticipation of the anti-working class nature of any future New Labour administration, a variety of groups came together to discuss how the economic, social and political interests of the working class could be best protected.
The Independent Working Class Association (IWCA) was formed in October 1995 as a result of these discussions. When New Labour was elected in May 1997, the IWCA responded by setting up a number of pilot schemes in selected places across the country. The emphasis at all times was on addressing the immediate interests of the working class in the locality in which the pilot scheme was based.
It was an approach that provided the IWCA with the opportunity to test its basic strategy on a range of issues. These included fighting council corruption in Hertfordshire, confronting a mugging epidemic in Birmingham, the privatisation of council housing in Islington, exposing the small print in the New Deal provisions in Hackney, highlighting the dangers of mobile phone masts in Manchester, sparking occupations against council closures in Glasgow, taking up the fight against antisocial crime in Havering, and confronting drug-dealing in Oxford.
In September 2001 the IWCA registered as a political party. In May 2002 Stuart Craft became the IWCA’s first elected representative after he was elected to Oxford City council. Elsewhere IWCA candidates ran the mainstream parties close, coming within 90 votes of claiming a seat in Hackney and taking an average of 25% of the vote in each ward contested.
Out of these experiences a political programme to address day to day concerns and the immediate needs of the working class has been constructed.