WHY I'M RESIGNING FROM SAVE THE LABOUR PARTY

For some years, I was a very keen member of Save The Labour Party. At the time when I joined, in 2003, the Left was utterly moribund. Indeed, such was the dearth of leadership on the left that the first leaflet STLP put out had pictures of Aneurin Bevan, and Barbara Castle emblazoned on it - attracting (perhaps justifiably ) some ridicule.Let's face it. They were long-dead icons
I joined in the belief that its aim was to restore the Labour values which had been by-passed in favour of big business , New Labour cronies in the CBI and an ever-eroding democracy for ordinary members. Others on the left thought the same. Vince Mills, of the Campaign for Socialism and Elaine Smith MSP were both at one time paid-up supporters. Indeed, Elaine spoke with Christine Shawcroft and Ann Black at a fringe meeting I helped organise at the Spring 2004 Conference in Manchester.
STLP has some extremely decent people still involved. I cannot stress that enough and it saddens me to say this. But frankly I find it extraordinary that its Chair Peter Kenyon now extols the virtues of a private equity boss and City consultant over a trade unionist .In what way, exactly, Peter, will the appointment of David Pitt Watson further the cause of re-vitalising and recruiting the "mass membership" which has been STLP's stated aim for so long?
The admirable LabOUR Commission, put together after a lot of hard work by a broad church of MPs, trade unionists and activists was basically binned by Gordon Brown at the start of his premiership. But instead of going on the offensive STLP has increasingly been an apologist for Brown, whose nine months as Leader have been an unmitigated disaster for the grassroots. But plea after plea to him to "listen to the members" is a waste of time. How did Brown answer those pleas? By ending voting at Conference and riding roughshod over grassrots opinion. He did his damdest to ensure there was not a democratic contest for the leadership.
By way of contrast, the LRC, founded four years ago, has grown in the past 12 months to almost 1500 members nationwide. That number is set to grow even more as local activists mobilise and our network grows across the country. On a weekly basis, I am talking to people desperate for a change in the Labour Party.
Our new General Secretary is New Labour business as usual. And, frankly, I cannot believe that some of the people I know in STLP will be exactly delighted at his appointment. The role of the left -of-centre is now to go on the offensive, and not roll over and die in the hope that by courting New Labour we can somewhow win the argument. As the last nine months have shown, it just won't work.