George Galloway: My part in his downfall

Yesterday I received a couple of jolly emails from comrades, who told me that the blog site Socialist Unity, had a post by its editor, Andy Newman, suggesting that “Dave’s Part” and “John’s Labour blog” are responsible for the current split within diss-respect!

Apparently the SWP Central committee are claiming, that one of the major reasons for the split, is that SWP members (who “had gone native” and supported George Galloway) in early September 2007, had “leaked” very sensitive information to the deputy editor of the East London Advertiser, Ted Jeory. This is why they expelled a number of long standing SWPer's and led to a complete and utter breakdown of trust between the Central Committee and the Gorgeous one

The Socialist Unity post refers to a draft article being circulated by a SWP Central Committee member, Chris Harman (who apparently who was the model for a character in a play by Tariq Ali called “Nutty Shardman... who menaces others on the left with whom he has theoretical disagreements” – yep, this figures).

“Nutty” Harman implies that the leak was by the now expelled SWP member and Respect national officer, Rob “where has the money gone” Hoverman.

If true, then of course this would have significantly contributed to the breakup. However, “Socialist Unity” is now a “born again” fervent supporter of the Gorgeous one. They claim that the pure and honest Hoverman did not leak the information; Ted Jeory got it instead from my blog and Dave Osler’s.

“Ted [the journalist who wrote the article] confirmed that he had picked up the letter on two websites, one run by sad sectarian Dave Osler and the other by right wing Tower Hamlets New Labourite John Grey (moi?). Ted had also read comment on the letter on those websites and the key paragraph five was based on what he had read there”.

I think my post that he is referring to is “Respect is cursed; moribund; weak; exhausted; amateur, mismanaged; unhealthy, irresponsible…says Galloway “ 2 September 2007
No further comment on the sources of this post.

Of course, I personally would have been very pleased to have contributed in anyway to the break up of diss-respect. I have been told that I will be awarded the Order of the “Silver Ice Pick" for some old reason?

However, the duplicitous old rogue Galloway is still a MP for now. I still think he is doomed politically. He may have got rid of the SWP and got some new “useful idiots” such as “Socialist Unity” for now. However, I think that he will just “use and abuse” them and they will eventually, just like the SWP, retire hurt licking their wounds. I know this is really political “la la” land, but just check out the posts at Socialist Unity even a few months ago about Galloway, when they all hatred him. Now (1984-ish) he is their hero.

For example... “Even were .....Galloway to have a damascene conversion, would anyone on the activist left trust them?.

It’s equally ironic and enjoyable to see Andy Newman “defending” Rob Hoverman. When in the past Andy (bravely to be fair) published this very personal retort from Rob about him.....

Andy....."You were a complete tosser the last time you flickered on to my radar and clearly nothing has changed. Now flicker off.”

PFI firm run by Tory Peer fund SWP "Fighting Unions"

Just when you thought that fact could not get any stranger than fiction with regard to the Diss-respect farrago, it appears that their general secretary, John Rees (pre-split) accepted a dubious $10,000 company cheque from a Dubai construction company, Khansahed Civil Engineering.

This is owned by Interserve, who are a leading Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contractor, chaired by Tory Peer and former Head of the John Major’s policy unit, Lord Norman Blackwell.

It was I suppose pretty amazing was that this cheque had been previously been sent back by Galloway (unheard of him to refuse money!). However, apparently he suspected a “sting" by an undercover reporter.

The money was later used by Rees to cover a £5,000 loss made by the SWP/Respect backed “Organising for a Fighting Trade Union”. There may have been nothing “illegal” about this payment but it is particularly shameful of the SWP who have constantly jeered at the Labour Party and other democractic political partes who have dug themselves into big holes over funding. For them to now deliberately take money via a company cheque made out by a foreign construction company on behalf of trade unions? A company who in the UK openly makes money out of privatising British schools and hospitals?

I wonder what it is like to be a member of the SWP at this time. Their activist's excuse may be that they are “Lions led by Donkeys” but in reality are they just “Sheep being led to Slaughter”?

Another Hat tip to Ted Jeory at the East London Advertiser

"LOGO 'NO GO' FOR UNISON'S JOHN"

Hat tip to East London Advertiser Deputy Editor, Ted Jeory, in his “Trial by Jeory” Column last week.

I couldn’t possibly comment.

“ALTHOUGH better now, Tower Hamlets council's press office has, over the years, developed a well-earned reputation for control-freakery.

But judging from the following tale, they're 'little angels' compared to their cousins at Newham.

John Gray, a Tower Hamlets Unison official who lives in West Ham, runs an excellent and thoughtful blog site. Last Thursday, he posted a comment attacking Newham council for sacking his union colleague and Respect member Michael Gavan.

To illustrate the comment, he included an image of Newham council's extremely dull logo.

Within days, Ian Tompkins, Newham's communications chief, fired John the following email: "We've noticed on your blog site there is a reproduction of our council logo. I cannot trace any request from you for permission to use this so would ask that you remove it immediately."

In his reply, John expressed "surprise that senior managers spend time scouring the blogsphere on the lookout for errant Newham council logos."

He added: "I am not sure that this is a good use of my council tax.

"I have replaced the offending logo with a photo taken from a public place. I assume that this is OK? If not please let me know."

As they say, good work fella!

Just to update about Michael - there will be a hearing at Stratford Employment Tribunal on December 14 to hear UNISON solicitors argue for what is called “interim relief” for Michael. What this hearing will be asked to decide is “whether or not” there is a case to answer, that Michael was sacked due to his trade union activities. If the tribunal decide there is - then Newham Council will have to continue to pay his wages until there is a full tribunal hearing on the matter. This could be a year or so.

Respect are “bickering, immature and self-serving” – Councillor resigns

Following my post last Tuesday about Tower Hamlets Councillor Shamim Chowdury resigning from Respect and that there was rumoured to be a “hot press release” about, the “East End Advertiser” has now published the gory details.

Here are some of the choice quotes about "Respect" from former Councillor Chowdury, who is actually a well respected (in the proper sense of the word) local community activist.

Respect … "It was formed mostly by militants kicked out of the Labour party in the various phases of its reform agenda…..It is those militant extreme Left groups now controlling the Respect coalition."

“The party had no vision to improve the lives of East End families…… no ability to solve the housing crisis and no policy for youth”.

"The leadership has taken a course to oppose all that is proposed by others without giving a thought to the merits….This mindless opposition is damaging to the prosperity of our community".

"The leadership is immature, inexperienced and has a militant tendency in its attitude…..Internal bickering is ongoing, displaying little respect to party colleagues".

"A party that cannot unite in policy and struggles to keep its house in order has little prospect of leading the council at any time."

He follows Respect Councillor Waiseul Islam, who in May defected to Labour.

A by-election is set for 9 August 2007

"Baader-Meinhof" Losing Candidate joins diss-Respect

Former Baader-Meinhof suspect Johanna Kaschke, who was one of the 64 candidates hoping to be nominated as the next Labour Party MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, has resigned to join diss-Respect/SWP. I read about this first in the East End Advertiser where she was quoted as saying that the reason was over the Council’s decision regarding its housing policy. I was going to run a post on why the Advertiser had failed to even consider that a reason for her defection could have been her utter failure to pick up any nominations (or I think any individual votes). A case of “sour grapes” rather than a conversion while on the road to Damascus?

However, this being Tower Hamlets the story developed, Dave Osler blog “Ex-punk. Ex-Trot. Unchanged attitude problem” (definitely not a New Labour Supporter) picked up that Johanna was also a former Baader-Meinhof (Also known as the “Red Army Faction”) suspect who was detained for 3 months on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities. Baader-Meinhof was a particular nasty Left wing terrorist gang who murdered many people in Germany mainly during the 1970’s (and up to late 1990’s). They were found to be partly funded and supported by the communist East German secret police, the Stasi.

German born Johanna is quite open about this (and other things) on her website. It would appear that she was released without charge and that she was given compensation by the German government for wrongful imprisonment. However, she does give the impression that she was involved in fund raising activities for the terrorists although this is unclear. To be fair, she is now firmly and openly against terrorism. Dave points out that she is a small business woman who is opposed to the minimum wage and wants more support for small businesses!

I (think) that I have met her a couple of times and she seemed quite pleasant. However, reading her “New Labour, New Britain” Parliamentary Section CV again, I now understand her declaration on it that she “managed to get through life without any convictions whatsoever”. I am a little concerned that she should describe her family as working class, and then state her father was a Chartered Accountant. It seems that she was only active in the Party since Feb 2007. I note that she does not appear to be a member of a trade union, so she should fit in well with diss-Respect/SWP