[Marxism] Respect in split

[Jscotlive at aol.com]

Lenin's Tomb:
 
The SWP claims about 6,000 registered members and
roughly 2,000  unregistered members, and these figures are accurate.
Secondly, the party  grew substantially during the poll tax riots 
 
Reply:
 
This figure is disputatious in the extreme. I have spoken to SWP members  who 
even acknowledge that. As for the Poll Tax, the SWP opted out of that  
particular struggle I seem to recall. That said, whatever the actual number of  
members is, the SWP are easily the biggest Marxist formation in the UK and  
probably in Europe. All credit to them for that, they are very serious about  what 
they do.
 
Lenin's Tomb:
 
I have a lot of respect for Daphne
Lawless, but I fear the main problem  with this letter is that it was written
without really checking anything, and  with an unfairly hostile tone to boot,
and that is unfortunately happening  quite a bit over this issue.

Reply:
 
Daphne's statement is largely based on statements released by the SWP CC.  To 
dismiss it in the way you do is a mistake. Again, circling the wagons on this 
 will not help either the SWP or the Left in the UK. This is a time for sober 
 reflection as to the role the SWP leadership has played in Respect and the 
SWP's  orientation towards Respect in general. You may feel that people on this 
list  and elsewhere are being hostile, but I don't think anyone worth their 
salt as a  Marxist derives any satisfaction from what is going on. Such a 
crisis  demoralises everyone. The determination by the SWP to hold the Respect  
national conference in Nov is a blunder; it will only lead to chaos and an even  
worse situation than exists now. It must be postponed. The expelling of SWP  
members over this was ludicrous. It smacks of a leadership in  crisis.