SWP Watch: waiting for Stalinicos

The world is holding it's collective breath as it awaits the outcome of the final struggle against revisionism and for the defence of Leninism at the Socialist Workers Party "special" conference this afternoon. I can almost hear the cheers & jeers of the comrades meeting just down the road in Hammersmith as they hammer in the last nails in the coffin of the SWP.

The outcome of the conference is frankly predetermined by the "fixers" of the Central Committee who have ensured that the supporters of Professor Callinicos and "he-that-is-too-important-to-the-class-struggle-to-do-any-wrong" that caused the internal crisis in the first place, have an overwhelming majority. What SWP watchers will be waiting for is the fallout.

So far the only "leak" from the conference hall where mobile phones (and other such devilish instruments) have been confiscated by the Profs goons to ensure the internal democracy of the SWP is respected (pass the sick bag now please) is the following from Socialist Unity:

I hear Calinicos is calling for the IDOP motions to be “treated with the contempt they deserve” and that calls from the podium for further expulsions are being met with applause. The Facebook Four are set to be expelled again at 2.30.

The SWP CC Faction has clearly gerrymandered today’s event – but they failed to win a majority among the whole membership. They got 512 supporters compared to the IDOP’s latest figure of 540 as of this morning, with people still joining.

There's a surprise. Not.

Meanwhile some poor soul wrote to Socialist Unity about what happened when he answered his front door:

Outside were a young man and an older woman, with literature. I was just about to go into my “Sorry, I’m not interested in religion” spiel, thinking they were Jehovah’s witnesses, then the man showed me a paper called The Militant.

I was completely baffled, thinking Militant had disappeared long ago. I asked what “faction” he was involved in, meaning which left group. He wouldn’t answer me even though I asked twice, so I asked what group published the paper. He said “Socialist Workers Party in the USA”

This answer baffled me even more. I made some remark about it being odd that this was the weekend the SWP UK was imploding.

Confused, our gallant correspondent came up with the following conspiracy theory:

later I had the thought that 1) The SWP brand has become so toxic that they dare not identify themselves on the doorstep (No SWP badges etc) and 2) that the CC sent out its drones to do a completely futile task to stop them meeting and conversing with the IDOOP faction in advance of the meltdown meeting today- I assume they must frequent the same pubs so unless they are kept busy they might have an actual…discussion thingy…and form some ideas of their own.

Actually The Militant is the newspaper of a totally unrelated Socialist Workers Party, one founded in the USA in 1938 and represented by members of the Communist League in the UK, which is a breakaway from the old British International Marxist Group/Socialist League. 

A quick check on the website of The Militant shows they are currently conducting an "international subscription drive" to sign up 1,950 new readers over five weeks. An odd number methinks, why not simply 2,000 or is that just "too normal" for the comrades of the far-left?

Meanwhile the hour is nearing for the news of the outcome of the SWP Conference in Hammersmith, centre of the worlds revolutionary proletariat. 

Get on line comrades. The worlds workers are holding their breath in anticipation.

Or more likely watching the Man United match blaring on the TV in front of me. 

Where's me tinny love?