Neprimerimye

Complaints have reached us here at neprimerimye blog, or so my staff tell me, that out readership, now thought to number in the double figures, are concerned that I have not helped those of them who live in England and Scotland decide how to vote. Clearly this is a failure on my part so what follows is a brief set of guidelines as to how one should vote in the mock elections tomorrow.

First of all lets be frank and admit that these elections don’t really matter very much. For the most part because local councils have very few discretionary powers and are subject in every area of policy to central government as well as a powerful bureaucracy which is not subject to the ruling party on any given council. As for the Edinburgh parliament it has some powers it is true but is essentially as far removed from the active participation and control of working people as the Assembly of the United Nations. The only real purpose in socialists standing then can be to make propaganda as no substantial reforms are possible from such toothless bodies.

With the above in mind then and mindful of the need at all times to develop proletarian independence from all the parties of the boss class this blog has to say, very reluctantly, that in 99% of cases a Labour vote is the only possibility. There will be a very small number of exceptions which we discuss below.

First of all in Scotland it is principled to vote for candidates of both Solidarity and the Scottish Socialist Party. Both are miserable sects with no future before them embroiled in a nasty personalist feud based on their shared elevation of that doyen of cheap demagogy Tommy Sheridan with almost identical politics. As to their rotten politics little need be said but their shared support for Scottish nationalism and opposition to proletarian internationalism stinks. As does the adulation of tyrants such as the Caribbean tyrant Castro common in both sects. But do vote for them if you can stomach their politics.

In the council elections in England fewer alternatives to Labour are on offer. Some candidates are standing in the name of Respect the populist coalition but nobody with an iota of self respect will vote for that rotten alliance. One can but hope it falls apart soon if only for the sake of the poor members of the Socialist Workers Party who must loathe seeing their efforts treated with such clear contempt by both their own leaders and their communalist allies both. So save the SWP don’t vote Respect!

More realistically the Socialist Party, led by Peter Taaffe the former office manager for the late Ted Grant, are standing a few candidates. All are well worth supporting as they are usually good solid reliable comrades. Although what they hope to achieve is beyond my ken given that they do not raise openly evolutionary politics in their campaigns and rely instead on presenting themselves as some kind of continuation of the old Labour Party they yearn to recreate. I suppose it keeps the operation functioning even if it contributes exactly nothing to the development of a revolutionary leadership.

To close if you happen to be French vote against Sarkosy. That is vote for that horrid woman standing for the Socialist Party.