observers The SLP congress has been seen to be a complete travesty of democracy. In the absence of a membership report, news leaked out from those recording the votes that one organisation had a block of 3,000 votes, a majority of over two thirds of those to be cast.
This meant that debate was meaningless. This one organisation was ensured that its point of view would prevall, regardless of the view of the majority of delegates. A clear example of this was the vote to dissolve the black sections.
The congress has been denied the right to ratify the constitution or propose an alternative.
The congress was presented with a complaints/disciplinary procedure only when delegates arrived. Delegates did not have the chance to properly read it and yet were expected to vote in what is an act of faith in the NEC. some tens of thousands.
The method of the leadership is a sectarian and profoundly undemocratic one. It Is taking the organisation down the road of becoming a political sect dominated by the general secretary, in a way parallel with Blair and New Labour.
The tragedy of this is that the 'honeymoon' period of the government is beginning to crack. If the SLP developed as a forum for unitying all those who are opposed to the political direction of the government, and an organiser of struggle against it, It could quickly develop into a party of Fifty seven delegates and observers present at the congress on Saturday December 13 convey to the membership of the SLP our complete opposition to the actions of the leadership which is destroying the possibility of the SLP growing and becoming a real alternative to New Labour. ers Welfare Association of exminers is a trade union, but the NWC&CMA delegate was given 3,000 votes! The rest of the conference had around 1,000 - giving one delegate an absolute majority. What a sham!
Pandemoniun
Pandemonium broke out after the first card votes were announced. The organisers had not bothered to tell the delegates of this development with the NWC&CMA - and the size of their voting block. People were already scandalised.
Then the NWC&CMA delegate announced that their vote on the amendment to close the Black section hadn't been counted. At this stage the amendment had been narrowly defeated - but as this delegate was supporting it, this would obviously change.
The embarrassed top table mused over what to do, then called a
Eye of the storm: another investment bank - this time in Hong Kong goes under, while Japanese banks reveal that they are sitting on up to f350 billion in bad debts Socialist Outloo thousands of other people working has previously been invested in OMY 15 for capital. Weaker companies are