Dear All (especially the electorate in Bethnal Green & Bow)

The reason why the protest movement has failed over the Iraq War II, anti-capitalism, reclaim the streets and other major issues is because these genuine, organic, spontaneous protest movements have been infiltrated and poluted by the activities of the deeply misguided Socialist Worker Party.

Any protest against ANYTHING is the target of the SWP to try and dominate and subvert to their own extremely narrow agenda......which seems to be to take money for the sale of their shite newspaper...which is very strange for a pseudo-marxist political organisation (or is it?). Their organisation is based on the work of many deluded, but usually with hearts in the right place, volounteers who are bullied by local organisers.

I was a member of the SWP for a year.

I joined the SWP in 2000 at the same time as when Ken Livingstone was ejected from the Labour Party for standing as an independent in the London Mayoral Election.

Initially I was optimistic because I believed that the SWP were the only socialist political movement that had any real organisational structure with a network of volounteers in the London area.

Very quickly it became apparent that debate within the SWP was, basically, frowned upon. I and other 'workers' were told by our local 'captain' (the name of the person in any area who is to organise the SWP members until the time comes for an uprising and....and then no-one really knew..) that the policy of the SWP was decided by un-named persons at the top of the party who we might get to see speaking at rallies but basically were unable to be approached by persons as lowly as us. Their judgement on issues was final and that that was the end of the matter.

The most important thing for us was to facilitate, above all other considerations, the selling and distribution of the SWP newspaper...which was written by these esteemed grandmasters. We were also to deliver leaflets to doors in our local area which were sent to us with extreme regularity (about three times a week). Many of which were on a variety of causes, seemingly chosen to be confrontational or of extreme minority interest, and I often did not agree with.

I worked at it for a while. But as my enthusiasm for being an SWP clone waned, and the path to enlightenment within the party was blocked to me by a jealous matriarchal core of militantly nepotistic lesbians (at least in my area, not that I have any problem with lesbians at all).

The SWP has no plan to actually DO anything. It's leaders actively discourage any member from taking part in any other political cause not yet twisted to their aims. It's only policies were this:

Sell "The Socialist Worker".
Oppose anything the government does, no matter what it is.
Oppose anything by any other leftist political group not yet infiltrated by the SWP.

The Unity Coalition is an ramshackle alliance of convenience by two extremist groups both of whom are totally unelectable on their own, and hopefully together. The alliance of the SWP and the radicalised Moslem community.

The election of George Galloway will cause enormous problems for the multi-ethnic and multi-faith community of this constituency. It will inflame already tense relations, empower the worst elements of local radical islam, and alienate the minority of non-moslems around here and cause genuine fear.

Bethnal Green & Bow has many local issues of real importance to people. Neither of these groups intends to do anything to help them. It is extremely concerning that a "left wing" politician - George Galloway - is depending on election by pandering to the extreme right wing views of some moslems in east London. Without exaggeration isn't this how the National Socialist Party began in Germany during the 1920's?

I think the best bet in this area (with a realistic chance of success) are the Lib Dems.

James F