The social media has been filled to the brim with both comment and derision about the latest absurd goings on inside the latest "left" project. Momentum. Not so long ago there was excitement over the creation of a new . It was considered the future and attracted thousands of "likes" on Facebook and off the comrades went to form a new party.
Hilariously (or not depending on one's point of view) Left Unity had factions in place before it had even agreed it's own organisation. The various left groups other than the Socialist Party and the SWP all piled in for a while. It had the effect of driving people out as they squabbled over the pickings available.
Even their conferences were an obvious bureaucratic nightmare for those who dutifully tuned into the live-streamed event on their laptops in comfort on their sofas.
Then a delegate decided to make her contribution in "song"....
For those of us who hadn't already lost the will to live watching these self indulgent proceedings this was the final straw. Currently most of Left Unity have headed to Labour Party where their old friends the various trot groups are active once again.
There have been several initiatives to unite the comrades over the years. The one I recall from my youth was Socialist Unity, fronted by Tariq Ali's long gone International Marxist Group (IMG). Years later there was the Socialist Alliance which had the plug pulled on it by the SWP who sought an alliance with the Mosques and George Galloway.
We all know how that ended....badly, leading to the first split in the SWP and the establishment of the dreadful Putinist front group, Counterfire. Couldn't even run a cafe that lot.
Now we see the latest left assembly falling apart.
Momentum is in crisis over it's handling of conference and committee procedures and has led the various comrades to complain about the "lack of democracy" in their organisation. John Lansman the actual owner of the group has already fallen foul of the Momentumistas over his demotion of the rabidly offensive Jackie Walker.
Called a lapdog of the "Israeli Embassy" in some quarters he was. Capitulating to the Zionists. Tsk
Now Matt Wrack the FBU General Secretary has entered the fray offering his advice on "how things work in the Labour Party". Not sure how he knows exactly. In the past he has been a member of the Socialist Party (Militant), disaffiliated his union from Labour and at the last general election was extolling the virtues of the Socialist Party's TUSC.
Mark Serwotka the failed messiah of the PCS union also took a similar course (SWP/Respect/TUSC)
as they all line up with Jeremy Corbyn calling for democracy with party members having the right to vote for the party leader and more.
Except it doesn't seem to apply inside Momentum itself. "One Man One Vote" is "Blairite pseudo-democracy" (no laughing at the back) and want delegates elected at meetings. The meetings of course will be dominated by the vanguardists both within and of Momentum.
Now currently Momentum has around 20,000 members which compared to the influx of new people into the Labour Party is actually just a small proportion. Trouble is this argument is NOT about democracy it is about control. The opponents of OMOV (surprised no one's shouted "sexist" about that term, but I digress) think members on their own will be "atomised" (no that doesn't mean nuked) but actually refers to these people being able to cast a vote on an issue without a comrade berating them about the "correct line".
Indeed there is a danger that some ordinary folk might look up an issue on line and consider their options by reading perhaps a variety of articles on a given subject and heaven forbid make their own minds up....
They might even begin to realise they have been conned by Momentum and even ( I live in hope) by Jeremy Corbyn who really isn't what he seems and represents a side of politics that should have died out with the collapse of fascism and Stalinism.
In the mean time as the comrades fall out and take over the Labour Party the Tories are well ahead in the polls and the main reason for that is that most of us actual voters do not want the tired old politics of the thirties that are on offer.
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