Since the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, Momentum and the capture of the Labour Party by the far-left, the two largest Trotskyist sects, the Socialist Party (Militant) and the Socialist Workers Party have found themselves somewhat out on the fringe more than usual.
The SWP is attempting to regain ground with the re-launching of the Anti-Nazi League after its rapid decline and isolation after the disgraceful "Comrade Delta" affair, whilst the Socialist Party having failed to have an "alliance" with the Labour Party and denied re-entry even into Momentum have had to console themselves with control of the largest civil service union, the PCS.
The SP are the largest single faction in the union's "Left Unity" alliance who in coalition with the so-called PCS Democrats group control the National Executive and large sections of the various different sections of the union.
The General Secretary is of course Mark Serwotka, once the left's great hope who has variously been with Galloway in Respect, sided with the SWP after the fallout and then fell into the SP backed Trade Unionist and Socialist Alliance.
Serwotka made much fuss of joining the Labour Party to help purge any MP that didn't toe the line pursued by the Corbynite left.
Meanwhile the SP comrades in PCS have had an unseemly fallout as the current Assistant General Secretary Chris Bugh faces an electoral challenge from Janice Godrich, President of the PCS. Both of theses candidates belong to the SP, though Baugh it would seem has the the official Socialist Party franchise. Janice is backed by Serwotka.
Both hope to replace the General Secretary in due course though Baugh has always made it clear he should be top honcho in PCS not Mark Serwotka. There is not much love lost between Baugh and Godrich, but Janice is without doubt much better known the useless party hack Chris Baugh.
The handful of remaining SWP members have decided to back Godrich after discussions with both candidates and the General Secretary. Socialist Worker concludes:
We believe that Janice Godrich is the candidate who is best able to work with Mark Serwotka to implement these policies. We also welcome her commitment to work to revitalise Left Unity. It is on this basis we have decided to back Janice as the Left Unity candidate for AGS.
Meanwhile the PCS Independent Left will enter the fray with a third candidate from the left. The IL are not part of PCS Left Unity and are themselves an alliance of various tiny groups such as the AWL, CPGB (Weekly Worker), Workers Power (all one of him) with a couple of Anarchists thrown in.
The IL website declares:
At its summer general meeting the Independent Left (IL) made the decision to stand a candidate for the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) election, which will take place next year.
This is to allow members a real choice between the status quo (as represented by Janice Godrich and/or Chris Baugh) or radical change in the union.
Our candidate will stand on a worker’s wage – they will not accept the £90K that is on offer.
Both Janice Godrich and Chris Baugh are content for PCS to remain a typical TUC union.
So full time officers (FTOs) are paid wages that many PCS members can only dream of, there are no elections of FTOs beyond those required by law and there is top down organisation where branches and activists have to ‘go’ to FTOs to get things.
So PCS members will have a choice of Chris Baugh (Communist), Janice Godrich (Communist) and A. N. Other (Communist).
No choice at all really.
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