Are UK left politics stagnating?

[Kaelin]

Just wondering really - to me, it seems that left-wing and anarchist groups such as the SWP, CPGB, Anarchist Federation etc. seem to be stagnating by suggesting radical policies but then politely handing in petitions and publishing magazines (to be honest, selling Socialist Worker hasn't changed the world) - surely direct action is more productive?

What does everyone else think and if radical left/anarchist/green direct action is required to change the political environment, how can that be achieved in England (and, indeed, what sort of direct action do you think is required)?

I like the ideals and methods of Antifa and Earth First!/ELF but maybe if such single-issue campaigns could be extended to broadly encompass many isssues around England...

[Amusing Scrotum]

I think, below the radar, there is a lot of fairly autonomous direct action happening. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few community based struggles that employ direct action -- which is partly because of the anarchist participation in these struggles.

Which is something the anarchist movement should be given credit for. In particular, those sections of the movement that aren't wrapped up in their own organisation. In other words, the looser networks, and not the likes of the Anarchist Federation, Class War, etc.

Those groups, and other large left wing groups, like the SWP, tend to get really involved in their own little thing -- to the detriment of every other thing. And Class War is the worst of the lot. I mean, from the outside looking in, it looks like Class War has one true love: itself.

Which, in a way, has its benefits. After all, that&#39;s the reason why their paper is so good. <_<

Anyway, that&#39;s the overall situation as I see it. The big organisations have their big campaigns, and the smaller networks just tend to get themselves involved in whatever is going on.

Is that a good or a bad thing? Well, that&#39;s up for debate.

Certainly, with regards community based struggles, it&#39;s easier to get involved in those as an individual, or group of individuals. As opposed to getting involved as an organised group.

Because the people involved in these struggles, don&#39;t tend to react kindly to groups trying to impose their will on a campaign. Mainly because of certain groups past record in this regard.

The SWP, in particular, have a history of trying to get involved in local campaigns so that they can steer them in the direction they want. Which is usually the election of a SWP member, or SWP friendly member, to local office.

Other groups, by contrast, have their own aims, but they still want to extract political capital from the campaign. And this, as I said, isn&#39;t always welcomed by those who were involved from the start.

Which means that, in my opinion, what needs to be done is for someone to highlight the ongoing struggles and work to build solidarity with other struggles, without necessarily being at the forefront of these struggles.

And, whatever organisation chooses to do this -- I&#39;d say, personally, the Anarchist Federation is probably in the best position to play this connect the dots type of role -- will seem a lot less stagnant. If you get what I mean.

[luxemburg89]

What does everyone else think and if radical left/anarchist/green direct action is required to change the political environment, how can that be achieved in England (and, indeed, what sort of direct action do you think is required)?


In Britain, under the current political climate and with our current numbers, I can see it coming as a result of a socio-economic crisis. Capitalism would have failed and leftists (fascists might rear their ugly heads but we should be able to beat them) will provide the only alternative that would lead Britain (and the world) out of the crisis. I hope our numbers become so big that we can forcibly overthrow Capitalism, that is that we dictate the terms of revolution, and not Capitalism itself.

Hope that at least partly answers the question.