The far Left attempts a comeback in Britain

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MAY 25. The ``new'' Britain may be unabashedly devoid of ideology, but the traditional Left - old-fashioned, almost past its ``use-by'' date - has not given up completely and occasionally it can even overcome its fatally self-destructive differences in order to be heard above the din of ``mainstream'' politics.

There are nearly a dozen Left groups in Britain and many of them have come together on a common platform of ``Socialist Alliance'' to fight next month's general election, as an alternative to Labour and the Tories - the British version of a ``third force''. The Alliance, comprising the Communist Party of Great Britain, the Socialist Party, the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and the Alliance for Workers' Liberty, among others, is contesting some 100 seats in England and Wales projecting itself as a platform for the ``millions and not the millionaires'' - a jibe at Labour for its proximity to the rich and the beautiful. Its manifesto, ``People before Profit'', promises nationalisation of more than 100 companies, re- nationalisation of key public services, and sharp increases in the minimum wage and pension.

The Alliance chairman is a former Labour M.P., Mr. Dave Nellist who was expelled from the party for his extreme Left views. He has no pretensions about the electoral prospects of the Alliance but believes that it is important for the far-Left to register its presence. It is significant, he thinks, that so many groups which have been historically opposed to each other have decided to come together despite the fact that differences persist. ``...now we can talk about it over a pint,'' he told a newspaper suggesting that it was more important to rescue Left from New Labour than quibbling about what happened in the Soviet Union in the Seventies. And it is perhaps because of its anti- Labour posturing that the Alliance is being noticed in the Right- wing press. After all, the story of the conservative Left pitted against the modernising Left has always made good copy. The Alliance, however, is up against a number of other Left groups which are fighting on their own, dismissing it as a ragbag of Trotskyites with no clear sense of direction. Its most implacable foe is Mr. Arthur Scargill, the former miners' leader and described as the most influential voice on the far-Left in the past 30 years. His Socialist Labour Party has fielded 114 candidates, 35 of whom are fighting the Socialist Alliance nominees - and as The Telegraph pointed out - on a ``platform so similar as to be indistinguishable.''

The Communist Party of Britain and the Socialist Party of Great Britain have put up their own stalls - all of which may give a strong ideological flavour to the election campaign but would only end up dividing the few Left votes that Britain still has. But then who would be interested in a story of the Left not divided against itself?

Meanwhile, Labour has been accused of moving further towards the Right after the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair announced plans to give private sector a bigger role in running public services such as hospitals and schools. Trade unions have warned of a backlash amid fears that the move could lead to job losses and a poll today indicated that four out of five voters were opposed to the plan. ``The same hostility has been picked up by Labour's private polls and grass roots party workers have warned that some voters might switch to Liberal Democrats,'' said The Independent. The Government's assurance that people would not have to pay extra for the services contracted out to the private sector and that workers' interests would be protected has not convinced many. The Socialist Alliance is expected to seize on it to attack Labour for ``betraying'' its socialist origins.

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