The Greater Manchester Socialist Alliance is hosting a conference on February 13th (for details see box) designed to draw together local campaigns from around the country. Socialist Outlook is supporting this initiative. We interviewed John Clegg about the conference and the future of the SO. Why is the Greater Manchester Socialist Alliance organising the conference? JC: To create a forum and opportunity, where there are active campaigns, to come together to identify common threads. We are looking for a political identity for these campaigns. SO: How do you see that going forward? JC: The existing parties offer no remedy so we have to look for a new alternave SO: Do you mean at an electoral level? JC: Campaigning can change some things, but campaigns can also take the opportunity of using elections.
For example, the Tameside careworkers are thinking of standing because of the way the local Labour Party has let them down. SO Do you think that Socialist Alliances should stand in JC: Individual Alliances should stand if they think they have a strong local base and the resources to fight an election. SO: Will this be a conference for political activists or will its appeal be much wider? JC: Political activists are welcome but we want to get new people who are involved in community campaigns to come.
A conference open to campaigners across all issues - workplace, and trades union organisations.
CAMPAIGNS 99 Conference is a contribution to the growing opposition to free market ideology and to the demands placed on people by global capitalism.
Workshops have been arranged under the broad headings:
Workplace, Welfare State, Environment, Transport, Refugees, Anti-deportations, Civil Liberties and International.
Sponsors: Kent, Coventry and Liverpool Socialist Alliances, Scottish Socialist Party, Socialist Outlook, Leeds Independent Labour Network, Merseyside Port shop stewards committee, TGWU 6/399 branch, Workers Aid for Bosnia.
There is the beginning of people becoming unhappy with the government; resistance to housing transfers for example; an increasing awareness that when Blair said partnership he meant more privatisation; the aspirations that pensioners or disabled people had are being ignored. SO: What would you like to see coming out of the conference? JC: We need to set up a practical support network for new emerging campaigns. Each community campaign seems to start from nothing - they should be able to easily contact others with more experience to help them get going. SO: From this do you want to build national campaigns? JC Yes. We recognise that each local campaign is fighting its own immediate battle - but they all relate to the same national political decisions, for example private finance initiatives (PFI) in hospitals, cuts in council budgets. There is also the issue of democracy. Quangos - such as unelected health trusts - or, in the future, business consortiums, are keeping their power. Ordinary people are losing even more of their little control over decision making. SO: The Alliances in England have got a bit tied up with structures recently... JC: Constitutiotts are important but are not the centre of the universe. Coventry have been going for six or seven years. They have been successful because of their activities not their rule book. Eventually a constitution will arrive that we are happy with but we shouldn't spend so much time looking for it at the expense of campaigning. Nationally we need an issue which all the Alliances can work on in order to draw us together, low pay and the minimum wage has already been suggested. Maybe the Campaign 99 Conference will identify such a unifying Theme. Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, Manchester immigration, deportations, low pay, PFI - as well as socialist, green Opening Speaker: Dave Nellist, Socialist Councillor in Coventry. Registration: £5 organisations £1 unfunded campaigns SUPPOR THEr CARERS THER TAMESIDE CARERS Tameside strikers: angry at betrayal by Labour at council and government level MESH DE S FAIR DAY'S A FAIR DAY'S