Back ThenAbout 20 years ago, when our paths last crossed, it would not have been possible. A Clause 4 organiser, a Militant full timer and an SSiN member of NUS Exec round a table in a pub. Back then such an encounter was likely to end up in the type of chaos and recrimination which closed NOLS conference at Hull. And yet here were people convivially drinking and reminiscing who had "witchunted" each other, scrapped like pit bulls at YS Conference and engaged in political abuse of the worst kind. Over the evening we discovered we now only had minor differences and rather had significantly more in common: the intervening twenty years of political inactivity seemed to have mellowed our sharper edges and given us all these key common threads:
This was one of many similar conversations which took place in the Spring of 2005. And the chats have not been limited to the three main warring factions. They have been over dinner with former UJS members, ex "tankies" we would never have previously given the time of day to, and even anarchists. What always characterises these encounters is a palpable sense of relief that "we are not the only ones thinking like this now". It's a story which has been publicly played out in places like the blogs linked to here but also in recent practical campaigns. At every turn this has made indisputable the conclusion that there are a number of homeless lefties looking for shelter. This is a limited attempt to provide this. This site's immediate goals are:
What to do now?
The last thing we all seem to have in common is a shared memory of having fun during our active days — in all we do from here we aim to replicate this. |