[Militant International Review, No. 31, Spring 1986, p. 16-17]
At the 1985 Labour Party conference a resolution calling for the setting up of black sections in the Party was defeated with 1,169,000 votes in favour and 5,358,000 against.
Prior to the conference the Labour Party NEC had set up a “Working Group on positive discrimination“ to discuss the participation of blacks in the Party.
In July 1985, the group produced its report which favoured the setting up of „black sections“ – despite the opposition shown to this idea in the decisions taken at national Labour Party conference 1984, and also at the 1985 London Labour Party conference.
The Working Group’s support for setting up black sections, however, came as no surprise as black section campaigners were in a majority on the group.
The report is an example of the mistaken and confused ideas circulating among some sections of the labour movement on this issue.
While paying lip service to the need to campaign against racism and improve Labour’s policies, the arguments of the black sections campaigners centre around organisational questions, changes in the constitution, and structures, of the Labour Party – as if somehow these were a short cut solution to fundamental political problems.
No amount of juggling with structures, reserved “token“ appointments or nominations for committees, can reverse the disillusionment caused by the failure of past Labour governments to end racism, and solve the problems facing working class people.
The mass of black people themselves do not support the idea of a “black section“. The Channel 4 TV network commissioned a poll, which interviewed 2,500 Afro-Caribbeans, and 2,600 Asians in 50 constituencies with more than 10 per cent black voters; the poll result was that 63 per cent opposed creating black sections and 18 per cent were in favour. Opinion polls are not always totally correct, but they nevertheless can reflect a general mood or opinion.
US Democratic Party
The authors of the Group Report drag in the Democratic Party of the United States in their defence, commenting that that Party has black caucuses, and reserved places for women, Hispanics etc. But the US Democratic Party is a capitalist party – which upholds a system using racism and discrimination as a weapon to divide working people. It’s not correct to compare it to the British Labour Party. The Labour Party, despite its leadership, historically represents the aspirations of the working class, and stands opposed to capitalism.
There is in fact no reason to believe that black sections will transform disillusionment, build a bridge between blacks and whites, or draw black workers towards‘ the labour movement.
The Group Report cites Vauxhall CLP and its „‚Black Section“ as a ‚particular success story“. A number of completely exaggerated claims are made which bear no resemblance to the situation in the constituency. There is little or no outward campaigning activity by the „Vauxhall Black Section“, and it has shown a complete inability to address itself to the problems of the black working class.
A case in point is the police shooting of an innocent black woman, Cherry Groce, in Brixton on 28 September, which provoked clashes with police throughout the Lambeth area. The Vauxhall Black Section sat on the sidelines, and played no role in the campaign around these events.
Rather than involve themselves with the local community in the protest against police brutality, members of the Black Section at one stage attended private meetings with black media owners and other self-appointed leaders, who were trying to cut across the genuine campaigns in Brixton and Tottenham. Unfortunately, the role of Vauxhall Black Section and of the CLP, in those events in Brixton, was far from a “success story‘.
Moreover, no attempt has ever been made to initiate a discussion amongst the black party members as to whether they wanted a “black section“‚. It was just presumed (by those who “knew better“) that blacks would want one! The Vauxhall Black Section has a pitiful membership and meeting attendance, not reflecting the local Party’s black membership, let alone the black working class in Vauxhall.
Vauxhall Black Section
However, it is not just the organisational methods and tactics of the black section campaigners in Vauxhall that are at fault – but their whole political approach. If they achieved the impossible and gained support amongst the working class for their ideas, then it would jeopardise the building of unity amongst blacks and whites. Fortunately, their ideas have little chance of achieving this. Nevertheless, it is useful to look at some of their views, as a means of clearly illustrating what should be the socialist position on these questions.
A pamphlet produced a year ago by the officers of the Vauxhall CLP “Black Sections – Here to stay“ showed a haughty contempt for working people (It is interesting to note also that, despite the rhetoric, this pamphlet was written without consultation at any meeting of even the Vauxhall Black Section!).
In the first few paragraphs the pamphlet claims: “. ..the history of the labour movement is placed firmly within the framework of British imperialism. Most of the gains won by the British working class have been at the expense of the working class in other countries – and this is not just a historical phenomenon, it continues today. Just compare the wages of British workers with those of black miners in South Africa or tea-pickers in India or Sri Lanka.“
If this rotten argument were followed then surely it could be said that higher paid workers in Britain, technicians etc. were responsible for low-paid workers –hospital ancillary workers for example having an abysmal standard of living?
The gains of the British working class have been achieved through struggle and not benevolently handed down by the capitalists, who, if they could, would pay British workers .as low wages as those in the Third World. This has obviously been lost on the authors of the pamphlet.
The pamphlet goes on to say “the organisational form and practices of the Labour Party reflect the divisions within our class. The majority of Party members and supporters are excluded from access to power within the Party – women, the unemployed, those with disabilities, pensioners, tenants, and black people, being the most obvious examples.”
Presumably, then, the solution to gaining “power” is for every “group“ not adequately represented to form a section, class becomes just another category, along with race, sex, disability, age etc. The idea of building the unity of the working class is thrown out of the window.
But the contemptuous attitude in the pamphlet is not reserved only for white workers. Apparently, according to the Vauxhall pamphlet – “lmmigrant Black people joined the Labour Party in many instances as a show of gratitude and solidarity with the host community. They did not expect to get anything out of membership. …“(!)
Labour’s representatives must reflect the composition of the working class as a whole, which must mean more black councillors and black MP’s – but these representatives must first and foremost be chosen on the basis of their policies.
It is not enough, as is the practice in the NEC Working Group’s Report to cheer on the selections of a number of black councillors. What will count, in the eyes of black workers, will be the concrete results achieved, in terms of housing, employment, social services, and so on.
The report itself states that membership of the Labour Party is irrelevant „for most black people, who face disproportionately high levels of unemployment, unequal job opportunities, poor housing, racial harassment, and other disadvantages.“
The task now for the labour movement is to initiate a bold campaign against racism, as part of an overall programme to end the social and economic ills facing working people.
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