Respect in crisis

[Strategist]

Hilary Wainwright was advertised as speaking at the Respect Renewal event at the Bishopsgate Institute on Saturday, but I haven't seen a report or video of what she said on the web yet.  Can anyone help?  Did she speak and what did she say?

I have just watched a video of George Galloway's speech on Saturday (which is at http://liammacuaid.wordpress.com/) and read the post just put up at http://www.socialistunity.com/ where the term catharsis is used but despair (which had very much been my personal reaction) is not.

[nittynora]

I have heard Respect(galloway) referred to as Celebrity Respect!!!!!

from Respect(swp)


Respect members bulletin
27th November 2007

**** New telephone number for Respect National Office – 020 8983 9671 ****

1. Third disgraceful attack on Councillor Oliur Rahman

Councillor Oliur Rahman’s windows were smashed again last night, and he was warned by local people to stay away after they saw people acting suspiciously outside his home.

This is the latest incident in a campaign of violence and intimidation against Oliur Rahman, including a physical attack and threatening emails and phone calls, since he and Councillors Lutfa Begum, Rania Khan and Ahmed Hussain resigned the whip of the councillors group in Tower Hamlets in protest at the leadership of the group.

Councillor Rahman said ‘I’m amazed that people can think that this violence is the way to solve anything. This is supposed to be a democratic society, where everyone should be prepared to resolve their differences through the political process, not with bricks and boots.’

‘It’s an attempt to intimidate me, but I refuse to be intimidated. If they feel that by intimidating me that they will get me out of politics, they will have a very long wait. condemn violence against anyone, in any circumstances. Anyone who believes in democracy should do the same.’

2. Financial Appeal

Many thanks to all those who have already generously donated to our financial appeal to help set up the new national office and keep meeting the costs of our ongoing campaigning work. Please keep your cheques coming to Respect, 209 Coborn House, 3 Coborn Road, London E3 2DA. We now have the new bank account details, so you can also donate via internet banking to:

Account Name: Respect Appeal
Account Number: 65273063
Sort code: 089299

Thank you!

3. Resistance leaders speak at World against War Conference – Saturday 1st December 2007

Ibrahim Mousawi, the editor of Al Intiqad, Hezbollah's newspaper and Khaled Hadadah, General Secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party, Hamdeen Sabahy, Eqyptian MP and leader of the democracy movement will join Tony Benn, President Stop the War Coalition, Lindsey German Stop the War Convenor and Mark Thomas, campaigning comedian, at this Saturday's World Against War conference. For the full list of speakers, see www.stopwar.org.uk.

"This is a great opportunity for anti-war activists to hear first hand from the people resisting US and British occupation across the Middle East" says John Rees, National Secretary of Respect.

"David Cameron attacked the conference in the House of Commons but we want to hear the activists from Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine. We won't always agree on every issue, but we do all want to join together to stop war and great power interference around the globe."

There will be delegates from all over the world at this landmark conference. The conference is open to all - whether delegates from political organisations, trade unions, community groups and campaigns, or from individuals. Don't miss it. Register now at www.stopwar.org.uk.

4. Campaign against Climate Change
Demonstrate to stop climate chaos
The Time is Now
Saturday 8th December 2007

The demonstration will assemble at Millbank (nearest tube Westminster) and will march to Grosvenor Square for a rally outside the US embassy. Speakers include Chris Huhne MP, Michael Meacher MP, Caroline Lucas MEP, George Monbiot and Respect Councillor Rania Khan.

The annual climate change demonstrations are an important way for us to keep up the pressure on the establishment for real action on climate change, so we need to ensure this year’s demo is as large as possible. Please spread the word among local members and supporters to get everyone along. See www.campaigncc.org for details of coaches already booked.

We will have Respect placards and a new Respect environment leaflet for the day, and we need as many Respect volunteers as possible to help distribute them. If you can help out either with placard distribution at Millbank or with the stall at Grosvenor Square, please call the Respect national office on 020 8983 9671.

5. End Tube Privatisation
Demonstration Thursday 13th December 2007
11am City Hall

The RMT union has been fighting the privatisation of the East London line, As you will be aware the union has been fighting proposals to privatise the East London Line. Currently closed for refurbishment, when the line opens in 2010 it will be run by private operator MTR Laing as part of the new London Overground franchise.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said in his call for mobilisation for the demonstration: ‘The demonstration has been called to protest at the death of the public service ethos on the East London Line. For the first time for more than seven decades the passenger operations of part of the world's most successful metro system are to be handed to an organisation for which profit comes first.

It is vital that we take a stand against any creeping privatisation of Tube operations. Even more so following reports this week that Crossrail, which as you know will have connection with existing London Underground Lines and stations, will be operated by private company, when there is no reason why it cannot be operated in the public sector.’

Respect Councillors Oliur Rahman, Lutfa Begum, Ahmed Hussain and Rania Khan will be leafleting at Whitechapel tube station from 6pm on Friday 7th December to build the demonstration.

This isn’t just an issue for east London – all Londoners who care about the future of the tube should get involved. The national office will be producing a Respect leaflet to build for the demonstration – call 020 8983 9671 or email office@respectcoalition.org.

6. PCS – result of strike ballot

PCS members in the DWP have voted by 62% to 38% for strike action for fair pay, with a massive 81% also voting in favour of action short of a strike. The union is considering how to proceed today – see www.respectcoalition.org or www.pcs.org.uk for details of any strike action called.

[christie malry]

Christ this is depressing. I should've known there'd be an email trail over this a mile wide... it's this sort of thing that makes me wonder whether I should get involved politically at all, or just go back to my armchair and stroke my beard for a bit.

I mean, how can you come to an objective position on this? It's never going to get beyond he-said she-said, and then you're stuffed, unable to know what to do. Merry bloody xmas.

Oh, since I can at least perform this service (sorry slightly OT)

One thing I have always found interesting is why the SWP never stand as a party in elections on their own but will join all these alliances and then want to take key positions in them all. This isn't meant as an attack on the SWP but am just wondering why. Is it some kind of philosophy? I'd love to know the answer.

I present from the SW:

THERE IS NO PARLIAMENTARY ROAD: The structures of the present parliament... cannot be taken over and used by the working class. They grew up under capitalism and are designed to protect the ruling class against the workers ... At most parliamentary activity can be used to make propaganda against the present system. Only the mass action of teh workers themselves can destroy the system

Oh, and to go back a bit - it doesn't do anyone any favours to refer to members of the SWP as 'fundies,' cheers.

[Neil Williams]

News from RESPECT Renewal.
From the Respect National Council

Dear friend,

We would like to wish all our friends and supporters a very happy
Christmas and new year.

1) Back to the future

2) We are Respect

3) Dubaious check!

4) Emails from Respect chair to John Rees and from George Galloway to
Michael Gavan

5) Morning Star article from George Galloway

6) MCB votes to end boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day

================================================

1) BACK TO THE FUTURE

No-one would have wished for the unfortunate divisions that have
occurred over the last four months but, nonetheless, we have reached
the year end in very optimistic mood. Gordon Brown s brief bounce has
ended in a dramatic splat with his government now trailing the Tories
by 15 percentage points. Meantime doubts remain about Old Etonian
bully boy David Cameron and about the anonymous clone Nick Clegg.
Polls continue to show enormous opposition to the war in Iraq and any
threat of war against Iran. Privatisation remains deeply unpopular.
Even the Financial Times is calling for the nationalisation of failed
bank Northern Rock and there is a lot more economic trouble in the
pipeline. This is the context in which there remains an enormous
space to be filled to the left of New Labour.

Following the terrific Respect Renewal conference in the middle of
November which had 371 people attending over the day, we have held a
very successful meeting in Tower Hamlets in the last four weeks,
selecting our candidates Councillor Abjol Miah and George Galloway MP
to fight the two Tower Hamlets seats in the next General Election -
now not likely by the way until May 2010. We have also held a very
successful meeting in Newham with our three councillors and George
Galloway. In Birmingham selection of candidates is under way for the
May elections when we are very confident we can elect at least one
more councillor to the council chamber, making it a clean sweep in
Salma Yaqoob s Sparkbrook ward. Elsewhere there have been Respect
meetings of members more optimistic now than they have been for many
months. And we have attracted some very important students to our
ranks.

We also produced the first edition of a new monthly Respect paper
which has gone down tremendously well and of which we sold over 200
on the Climate Change demo in the pouring rain! We have an excellent
new website under development. Both of these are the product of the
new enthusiasm and energy we have begum to tap from our previously
neglected members.

We are now drawing up plans for a comprehensive speaking tour with
George Galloway, Salma Yaqoob, Ken Loach and others to tour key
cities and universities in the New Year. And we are going to
thoroughly review all our options for the Greater London Assembly
elections in May.

It is for these reasons and more that we are therefore looking
forward to putting our recent problems well and truly behind us and
making dramatic progress in 2008.

2) WE ARE RESPECT

We wish to reaffirm to all our readers that Linda Smith remains
Respect s registered leader and nominating officer with the Electoral
Commission and both she and Salma Yaqoob remain our National Chair and
Vice Chair respectively. We do not recognise the legitimacy of the
 conference  held by the SWP in the name of Respect in November which
was packed with delegates representing bogus student members, members
who had not re-registered by the appropriate deadlines and delegates
who had not been selected by bona fide members' meetings. That
 conference  elected a national council whose overwhelming majority,
some 29 people out of 46, consists of SWP members, making a farce of
any attempt to call themselves a Respect Coalition.

We intend to contest very vigorously any attempt to replace Linda
Smith as registered leader and nominating officer with the Electoral
Commission and we are completely confident we will persuade the
Electoral Commission that the SWP  conference  was illegitimate.

Linda Smith and Salma Yaqoob have also written to the National
Secretary John Rees and the National Treasurer Elaine Graham-Leigh to
urge the SWP to return to the negotiating table to resolve the
divisions that have occurred. That letter was emailed to them three
weeks ago (copy below) but they have not yet had the courtesy to
reply. We will continue to press the SWP to return to the negotiating
table that they walked away from at the beginning of November, but in
the meantime rest assured that the name Respect in any election will
only be carried by candidates approved by Linda.

3) DUBAIOUS CHECK!

Last week, the SWP Central Committee issued an unprecedented public
apology for the actions of John Rees in soliciting and accepting a
cheque for Organising For Fighting Unions (OFFU) from a Dubai company
whose largest shareholder is Interserve plc. This is one of the
leading PFI companies in Britain run by a former aide to John Major
and which was behind, for example, the Dudley and University College
London Hospital PFIs, both of them strongly opposed by SWP and other
members in Respect.

That apology was accompanied by a copy of a letter from John Rees to
victimised trade unionist and Respect member Michael Gavan who is
secretary of the OFFU Committee. Unfortunately that letter did not go
as far as the SWP Central Committee apology and was seriously
misleading. As a result, George Galloway wrote to Michael Gavan to
give his side of the story relating to this donation and to correct
the misleading impression that had been conveyed. The fact is that
George Galloway first learned of the donation at the end of August,
raised his concerns about it privately but immediately with John Rees
and Elaine Graham-Leigh and shortly afterwards discovered through a
simple google search the deeply embarrassing associations of the
Dubai company concerned.

No less than four members of the SWP Central Committee, John Rees
himself, Lindsey German, Chris Bambery and Professor Alex Callinicos
were informed of these associations on 10th September. But George s
concerns were simply brushed aside contemptuously. We have to ask why
has it taken the SWP Central Committee three months to issue an
apology and recommend the donation should returned. A copy of the
letter from George Galloway setting out the sequence of events
follows the letter from Linda and Salma for your information.

************************************************************************

4) EMAILS FROM RESPECT CHAIR TO JOHN REES AND FROM GEORGE GALLOWAY TO
MICHAEL GAVAN

Email sent 30th November 2007 to John Rees and Elaine Graham Leigh

Dear John and Elaine,

We note from reports we have read that you did proceed with what
purported to be the annual conference of Respect on Saturday 17th
November. We also note that you claim to have elected a new National
Council, Chair and National Organiser and that John Rees was
re-elected National Secretary at this gathering.

We repeat that we do not recognise the legitimacy of this meeting as
the annual conference of Respect for the reasons we listed in
previous emails. As far as we are concerned, there has been no
legitimate election of a new National Council or a new election of
officers and therefore the previous National Council and officers are
still in place.

We intend to take every appropriate action to ensure that the rights
of Respect members are preserved and we will certainly not hesitate
to take any action to stop those rights being undermined by this
illegitimate conference. In particular, we will vigorously resist any
attempt to change the officers currently registered with the Electoral
Commission.

We regret the fact that you and other representatives of the
Socialist Workers Party unilaterally walked away from the meetings we
were having to try to conclude an amicable solution to the problems
that had arisen. We ask you to reconsider this unfortunate decision
and to consider returning to talks to try to end a situation which
continues to be very damaging both to Respect and the SWP.

Yours,

Linda Smith, National Chair of Respect

Salma Yaqoob, National Vice Chair of Respect

****************************************************************************

Email sent 18th December 2007 to Michael Gavan, secretary of OFFU

Dear Michael,

I have been sent a copy of a letter to you from John Rees,
distributed by email to SWP members, along with an apology from the
SWP Central Committee concerning the donation to OFFU of £5,000 from
Dubai.

I think it would be appropriate for me to give you my side of this
unfortunate story as John Rees s letter is misleading. When a cheque
arrived in January at the Respect Office made out to Respect from a
person I did not know but who was clearly a foreign national who said
he admired and supported me, I took the position obvious to everyone
involved in these things, except perhaps the Labour Party s former
General Secretary, that we were grateful for the offer but we had to
refuse it on legal grounds.

When John Rees suggested an alternative organisation for the money to
be donated to, my assistant Kevin Ovenden had a discussion with him
and with Elaine Graham-Leigh saying this might be potentially
difficult with the Electoral Commission but that, if such a proposal
were to be made, an obvious organisation to suggest was the Stop the
War Coalition. This organisation had no formal links with Respect,
pre-existed Respect and was an organisation, given the likely nature
of the support of the individual concerned, which he might be happy
to donate to. The Stop the War Coalition also has robust structures
and would have been able to come to a collective decision over
whether it might accept such a donation. Kevin, on my behalf,
categorically argued against the suggestion by John Rees and Elaine
Graham-Leigh that the cheque be reissued payable to OFFU.

There was no further communication between me or my staff and John
Rees about this matter until the end of August. In particular, I and
my office were unaware that John Rees had written back soliciting the
donation for OFFU. He did not circulate that letter to me, to the
officers of Respect, or, it seems, to the OFFU committee.

It is utterly disingenuous therefore to say that neither I nor John
Rees knew of the company connections of the individual concerned when
the donation was made to OFFU in June. I did not know the donation had
been made to OFFU. It also seems to be the case that the committee and
officers of OFFU were not told that a £5,000 donation from Dubai had
been accepted in their name. A Google search after I did learn of the
donation, in late August, established the unfortunate links which have
caused so much embarrassment.

I did not include this issue in my letter to the Respect National
Council in late August as I wanted to resolve matters concerning this
donation as quickly as possible and without any possibility of it
embarrassing either Respect or OFFU. It was however part of the my
opening remarks at a meeting with SWP Central Committee members John
Rees, Lindsey German, Chris Bambery and Alex Callinicos on 4
September. These remarks were made in the context of my accusation
against John Rees of his lack of accountability and his recklessness
on this and another matter. However, they were dismissed by John Rees
as being a cover for a right wing attack on the left in Respect. At a
meeting of 250 London SWP members later that week, Alex Callinicos
referred to my having spent 25 minutes going on about an obscure
cheque.

Despite this, I continued to deal with John Rees and Elaine
Graham-Leigh on a confidential basis with regard to this cheque. I
insisted on referring the matter to the Electoral Commission on the
grounds that the donation might still have been illegal and, in any
case, to demonstrate that we were complying with our obligations of
transparency. However, my best efforts met with resistance and
obfuscation all the way down the line by both Rees and Graham-Leigh.

I raised the connection between the Dubai donation and the Interserve
privateers in an email to John Rees, Elaine Graham-Leigh, Alex
Callinicos, Lindsey German and Chris Bambery three months ago   on 10
September.

John Rees breezily dismissed these concerns in an emailed response on
13 September. He wrote:

"...this was an individual donation not a corporate donatation (sic).
Many people work for firms that do bad things~but accepting money from
them as individuals does not imply either that they endorse the
actions of their employers or that we endorse the actions of the
firms. Consequently, the whole  anything in the world can be
connected by six degrees of separation  argument falls at the first
hurdle.

"More broadly, why should any labour movement body not accept a bit
of the profit coming back to the workers so long as there are no
strings attached."

I continued to press John Rees and Elaine Graham-Leigh to refer this
to the Electoral Commission until finally I felt obliged, not least
for my own reputation, having been the victim of a genuine witch-hunt
over donations from the Middle East to the Mariam Appeal, to refer the
matter myself. The Electoral Commission are currently looking into the
matter.

Given how widely the SWP leadership raised this issue in their own
organisation, it was only going to be a matter of time before the
issue got into the press, and so it has proved. I am sorry that it
has taken press exposure to bring the necessary action to bear on
this issue, although I note that John Rees s letter does not actually
suggest the return of the donation, which is the recommendation of the
SWP Central Committee.

It would certainly be my view that the cheque should never have been
solicited for OFFU for two reasons. Firstly, OFFU was set up as a
result of a decision by the Respect Officers  Committee, its National
Council and resolution of the Respect Annual Conference. Its leading
officers were members of Respect and one of the signatories to the
bank account was an employee of Respect. Respect employees were
engaged more or less full time in arranging OFFU s only conference
thus far, a conference which lost £5,000. These are connections to
Respect which made the donation to OFFU potentially illegal and
certainly potentially politically embarrassing. The second reason is,
of course, the fact that the major shareholder in the Dubai company is
leading PFI privateer Interserve   a connection which is far from
 tenuous . The Stop the War Coalition might have felt able to accept
that money   I cannot see how a body of trade union militants would.

I am very sorry that this embarrassment has occurred for all who are
involved in OFFU in good faith, but it entirely vindicates my
criticisms of the way in which John Rees has operated both with
respect to Respect and OFFU.

On another matter you continue to have my utmost support and good
wishes against your victimisation by Newham Council and I remain at
your disposal to help in any way I can.

With best wishes,

George Galloway MP

5) MORNING STAR ARTICLE

George Galloway's latest Morning Star article, which covers the
"liberation" of Kosovo and the discussions going on in Respect over
the GLA and London Mayor elections in 2008, is now on the Respect
website. Please visit
http://www.respectrenewal.org/content/view/120/11/ to read it. We're
gradually adding more content to our new site, so please do check
back.

6) MCB VOTES TO END BOYCOTT OF HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

The Muslim Council of Britain recently voted to end its boycott of
Holocaust Memorial Day. Respect councillor Salma Yaqoob was pivotal
in influencing that vote. Please read the article here -
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=3299

--

RESPECT Renewal National Web Site:
http://www.respectrenewal.org

....................................................................................

Neil Williams
Respect Supporters Blog
http://respectuk.blogspot.com/

Daily news/articles on Respect and the left in the UK and around the world.