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RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE 2011 SA AGM SUN DEC 4th with no votes against

Last year, the Socialist Alliance AGM defined its main role as being to continue promoting the need for left unity, and link this to a need for a new Left Party based solidly within the working class.

Specifically, it was agreed to

  • Continue our co-ordination of the LULC
  • Continue our commitment to building the Campaign for a New Workers Party
  • Continue to work on making TUSC more democratic, representative and open
  • Support SA members who wished to stand as anti cuts candidates
  • Attempt to persuade the various anti cuts bodies to work together.
  • Encourage unity at every level against the anti working class policies of the Con-Dem Government, and for a unified, socialist, democratically organised response

The SA has made some progress towards achieving these relatively bold aims given the size of the SA

  • The Socialist Alliance has leafleted national anti cuts meetings to promote unity.
  • One of our members was elected to the Steering Committee of the National Shop Stewards Network.
  • Another member stood as a TUSC candidate in the local elections, promoting the Socialist Alliance in his candidature.
  • The SA has continued to co-ordinate the LULC, which has continued to meet and discuss issues of common interest to different left groups. However, attendance at meetings has waned and the SA now has the task of how best to build left unity, a job not many other organisations could do.
  • A number of our members have continued to work tirelessly for socialist unity in their local areas.
  • SA members have worked hard both on and within TUSC.

v Present and past members have built local TUSC branches and helped successfully persuade the Steering Committee of TUSC to discuss ways of including representatives of supporting political organisations like the SA, representatives of local TU branches and TUSC branches.

v SA members have been involved with the setting up of the Independent Socialist Network (ISN) – an organisation within TUSC open to all independent socialists who are not members of national left organisations, and that includes SA members – which is committed to campaigning for a new socialist party and has the potential and the capacity to remain in existence if, for any reason, the TUSC project does not last

v Most significantly, TUSC has accepted the pressure from past and present members of the SA to give representation on the Steering Committee to individual supporters of TUSC – independent socialists. One of our members has recently been elected to be one of two such representatives through the ISN

For the next period, the SA re-iterates is commitments to left unity and the formation of a new Left Party based solidly within the working class. Specifically, the SA agrees to

  • Find out why left organisations are generally not supporting the LULC, and ascertain to what extent they want left unity, suggesting a Left Notice Board as one positive way forward
  • Encourage the CNWP to democratically decide whether it has a future, suggesting it may want to hold a waiting brief whilst TUSC develops
  • Work to build TUSC by encouraging local TUSC branches to be set up, preferably with structure and membership, and use such developments to promote a bottom upwards democracy that increasingly moves TUSC into become a new Socialist party rather than a Coalition
  • Campaign within TUSC to ensure the principles agreed at the July TUSC Conference are put into practice, including working with other genuine anti cuts campaigners, community groups and organisations to select anti cuts candidates in as many seats as possible to work alongside TUSC candidates
  • Work within TUSC to ensure, as agreed, that it broadens out its structure at national level to welcome representation from local TUSC branches as well as trade union branches, political organisations and independents supportive of TUSC
  • Work within the ISN to develop it as a campaigning organization within TUSC
  • Whilst clearly keeping its own identity, consider whether we should plan for the SA to become a faction within TUSC and/or the ISN if/when that becomes appropriate – whilst remaining as the SA but with members encouraged to be heavily immersed within TUSC/ISN, and helping to build them.
Pete McLaren 06/12/11