GALLOWAY HEADS FOR OBLIVION......

George Galloway lost it for me when he was purring like a cat on Celebrity Big Brother. I was always equivocal about the guy who struck me as incredibly vain and an inveterate womaniser. But in ideological terms that's largely irrelevant . I did not think he should have been expelled from the Labour Party and many of his speeches on Iraq were pretty courageous. Now he's doing what middle-aged politicos with too-large egos do and pressing the self-destruct button. Denouncing the SWP ( who deserve no sympathy) , splitting what's left of RESPECT ( about 2000 members) and apparently about to form his own party. Bye George... off you go down the route favoured by Arthur Scargill, Tommy Sheridan and all the other individuals who thought they were invincible. Surely even those most committed to the RESPECT folly ( which involved seeing off the much more credible but no more electorally successful Socialist Alliance) must see they are wasting their time. Get real, comrades and start fighting the fight in the mainstream trade unions and the Labour Party. Your little fantasies about "new workers parties" are just NOT going to happen.

SECTARIAN BEHAVIOUR

It's sad to see the ultra-left reverting to type and rubbishing socialists within the Labour Party. In a spirit of comradeship, I made sure to invite individuals from outside the Party to the meeting I organised in Hebden Bridge. Apologies to the good comrades who were there from SWP and RESPECT but I must comment on a nasty little piece written by Dave Isaacson, who is the local powerhouse of ultra-left Weekly Worker.
The report is up on their website and I have just written a reply which I hope they will publish in the interests of fairness . Dave describes the event as "shambolic" , a view he's entitled to. But I take great exception to his remarks about me. As anyone who knows me will testify, I am no friend of New Labour. But in a discussion exchange on media interviews, I said there was no point just always being negative to the TV cameras but that sometimes one should pose as a "critical friend." of the leadership It's called strategy, Dave. Otherwise they just cut you off and you don't get ANY criticisms in.
I also went on to say quite clearly that as socialists we had to continue fighitng for socialist ideas within the Party, try and build the LRC but also work with other campaigns outside. No mention of that because it doesn't suit the Weekly Worker agenda.
Dave also badly misrepresents what Linda Riordan had to say, twists John McDonnell's words, implies he's given up on the Labour Party and makes it generally plain he basically has no time for the Labour Left . Well I don't have much time for people who are invited to attend and have their say in a spirit of friendship and then do hatchet jobs on decent socialists. If you wanted a slick PR event, dave, you should have gone to Labour Party Conference. And, by the way, how many members/readers does Weekly Worker have ???????