Socialist Resistance

A fascinating day of discussion and debate on building broad left parties across Europe

Saturday June 28^th 10.30 – 6.00 ULU Malet St London – nearest Tube Goodge St.

Tickets10 pounds waged five pounds unwaged (two pounds students)

Across Europe working people are looking for a political alternative. Their traditional parties have become parties of the rich. This conference will look at the experiences of socialist from across Europe in building new political voices for the working class.

Opening plenary 11.00

Penny Duggan – LCR.

Miguel Reis - Left Block.

Andrej Hunko - Die Linke.

Angelo Cardone – Sinistra Critica

 

Lunch – 1.00

 

First round of workshops - 2.00

The German experience - Andej Hunko

The Portuguese experience - Miguel Reis

The LCR new party project - Penny Duggan

The emergence of Sinistra Critica – Angelo Cardone

 

Second plenary - 3.30

Willem Bos - Dutch Socialist Party.

Nick Wrack – Respect

Ivan Beavis – Communist Party of Britain

Joseph Healy – Green left

 

Second round of workshops – 4.30

The CPB approach – Ivan Beavis

The Dutch experience – Willem Bos

Building Respect - Kevin Ovenden

Green parties in Europe – Joseph Healy

End 6.00

Speaker profiles

Penny Duggan. Penny is a leading member of the LCR in Paris. She was a recently candidate on the “100% a gauche” list in both local and national elections in the 20^th district of Paris. She is involved in the current LCR campaign for a new anti-capitalist party in France and will speak on the current stage of this remarkable campaign and the prospects for it.

Andrej Hunko. Andrej is a member of the board of Die Linke in Northrhine-Westfalia and a supporter of the left-wing current inside Die Linke – the Antikapitalistische Linke. He is a long-standing activist of the German anti-war movement and the movement against public service cuts. He will talk about the importance of the emergence of Die Linke and the way it is developing.

Miguel Reis. Miguel is a leading member of the Portuguese Left Block. He will speak on how this important organization of the Portuguese and European left has been built and successes it has achieved in the electoral and other fields.

Angelo Cardone. Angelo is a member of Sinistra Critica (the Critical Left) which left Rifondazione Communista after it joined the pro-capitalist Prodi government. He will talk both this deeply negative experience and of the success of the Critical Left in establishing itself as an independent organization.

Willem Bos. Willem is a long-standing activist of the Dutch left and a member of the Socialist Party. He will be speaking in a personal capacity about his experiences in this important and successful party of the left.

Nick Wrack. Nick is the National Secretary of Respect. He will be speaking in a personal capacity on the struggle for an effective left alternative to new Labour.

Joseph Healy. Joseph is a member of the Green left and will speak on the European Green parties.

Ivan Beavis. Ivan will be speaking as a member of the executive committee of the CBP on its approach to broad left parties. He is also the circulation manager of the Morning Star.

Kevin Ovenden. Kevin is a member of the Respect national council and works for George Galloway MP. He will be introducing a workshop on building Respect.

A fascinating day of discussion and debate on building broad left parties across Europe

Saturday June 28^th 10.30 – 6.00 - ULU Malet St. London – nearest Tubes Goodge St or Russell Sq.

Across Europe working people are looking for a political alternative. Their traditional parties have become parties of the rich. This conference will look at the experiences of socialist from across Europe in building new political voices for the working class.

Book now: Tickets are 10 pounds waged / five pounds unwaged / two pounds students. Pay to/order from "Resistance", PO Box 1109 London N4 2UU or email contact@socialistresistance.net

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Plenary speakers:

Penny Duggan. Penny is a leading member of the LCR in Paris. She was a recently candidate on the “100% a gauche” list in both local and national elections in the 20^th district of Paris. She is involved in the current LCR campaign for a new anti-capitalist party in France and will speak on the current stage of this remarkable campaigns and the prospects for it.

Andrej Hunko. Andrej is a member of the board of Die Linke in Northrhine-Westfalia and a supporter of the left-wing current inside Die Linke – the Antikapitalistische Linke. He is a long-standing activist of the German anti-war movement and the movement against public service cuts. He will talk about the importance of the emergence of Die Linke and the way it is developing.

Miguel Reis. Miguel is a leading member of the Portuguese Left Bloc. He will speak on how this important organization of the Portuguese and European left has been built and successes it has achieved in the electoral and other fields.

Willem Bos. Willem is a long-standing activist of the Dutch left and member of the Socialist Party. He will be speaking about the experiences of this important and successful party of the left (in a personal capacity).

Nick Wrack. Nick is the National Secretary of Respect. He will be speaking in a personal capacity on the struggle for an effective left alternative to new Labour.

Joseph Healy. Joseph is a member of the Green Left and will speak on the European green parties.

Communist Party of Britain: The CPB is sending a speaker to introduce on where the CPB stands on the need for a new party of the and on its pamphlet The Fight for a Mass Party of Labour. Name to be announced as son as received.

Kevin Ovenden: Kevin Ovenden is a member of Respect’s national council, and works for George Galloway MP.

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Workshops: There will be workshops on: The German experience; the Portuguese experience; the LCR initiative, The CPB approach; the Dutch Socialist Party; building Respect.

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Why attend? There is clearly a very interesting and important discussion to be had about experience of building broad left parties.Many socialists have rightly championed the idea of building broad anti-capitalist parties as social democracy have move ever further right. There have been difficulties and setbacks, however. In Brazil the long march of the Workers Party (PT) to the right has culminated with the ‘social-liberal’ Lula government. In Italy Rifondazione Comunista turned away from its championing of the global justice movement and went into a pro-capitalist government, and paid for it with a split and electoral wipeout.
Against these defeat the Left Bloc in Portugal has been extremely successful - maintaining an anti-capitalist perspective and representation in parliament. In countries like Denmark and the Netherlands broad left parties have enjoyed considerable success, as has Die Linke (Left Party) in Germany. Socialist Resistance has since its formation has strongly argued for the building of a broad anti-capitalist party in England and Wales. It is involved in Building Respect today. But in the context of the new world economic crisis is this perspective still valid? What are the implications for a new party of the left. And what role does ecosocialism have in the perspectives and practice of the militant left? These and many more questions will be raised and discussed at the seminar.

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Book now: Tickets are 10 pounds waged / five pounds unwaged / two pounds students. Pay to/order from "Resistance", PO Box 1109 London N4 2UU or email contact@socialistresistance.net

You can download the flyer for the Socialist Resistance dayschool on the European experience of broad parties here. We will have speakers from the Communist Party of Britain, Respect, the Green Party, the LCR from France, the Left Bloc from Portugal and the Dutch Socialist Party and Sinistra Critica from Italy.

Register at 10.30 for a prompt 11am start on Saturday 28 June in the University of London Union, Malet Street.

It’s £2 for students, £5 unwaged and £10 waged.

Send your cheque payable to "Socialist Resistance" to PO Box 1109, London, N4 2UU.

Early booking is strongly advised as tickets are selling quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Socialist Resistance supporters in Birmingham have launched a new website.

Click here to visit it

Their next public meeting is on Tuesday 17th June at 7.30 in Bennett’s Bar at which Alan Thornett will be talking about the need for political trade unionism. Download the flyer from the link below.

Flyer.

Socialist Resistance meeting with Farooq Tariq

Pakistan after the elections

Meeting with: Farooq Tariq (Labour Party Pakistan), Jane Shallice (Stop the War Coalition Officer) , Gilbert Achcar (author The Clash of Barbarisms)

Thursday 8 May, 7.30pm, ULU, Malet Street,WC1