Our Conference, Our Manifesto Not Theirs

John McDonnell MP, Chair of Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MP's and Chair of the Labour Representation Committee writing for Labour Left Briefing

Be warned, New Labour will go into hyper drive to ensure that this year's party conference is the glitziest pre-election rally seen since George Bush walked on stage to a fanfare of the 'Stars and Stripes' at the Republican convention. I can almost hear 'Land of Hope and Glory' playing now. Every form of moral blackmail will be used to demand unity before the election.

The conference will also be the first major public platform to launch the leadership campaign of Tony Blair's anointed successor, Alan Milburn. New Labour apparatchiks will use every opportunity to start the process of assembling the votes for the post election transfer of power to the new US backed puppet regime. The main focus will be on lining up the trade union vote, in particular the 'Big Four' of the TGWU, GMB, AEU and Unison. Cynically New Labour is increasingly confident that the majority of the union vote can be stitched up in the same way the unions were sorted for the election of Blair.

They boast already of Unison's vote in the bag, believing that they can manipulate the undoubtedly sincere Dave Prentice to deliver his union. They contemptuously dismiss Derek Simpson as too insecure in his own union to make waves and believe that they can work within the GMB to undermine Kevin Curran. New Labour views its main problem as Tony Woodley. They believe that their only hope is whether Jack Dromey can do a job for them in neutralising the TGWU. Failing which they accept writing off this union's vote and determine to work around it.

Confidence among New Labour is so high that the talk in the Westminster village is already about not so much a coronation of Milburn but more of a papal succession.

The task of the Left at this conference is to demonstrate that we are back and back in force. In fact, to coin a phrase 'we never went away, you know'. Instead of being trapped in a sterile debate about which new ruler is to take over the party, treating party members like peasants, our aim is to transform the discussion in the conference hall, at the fringe meetings and in general debate from gossip and manipulation about who will next wear the crown into a real and live discussion of the policies needed by a Labour Government to win back the disillusioned supporters and members who have walked away from our party in their millions. The manifesto will only succeed in this aim if it reflects the widespread demand for policy change within the movement.

This means forcing a vote on the contemporary resolutions on the war in Iraq, on privatisation, on the job cuts in the civil service, on the European constitution and on the minority report on public ownership of the rail industry. This will also be the first conference since the launch of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). The conference will provide the ideal opportunity to proclaim the arrival of this new and critically important rank and file organisation. At long last we have the organisational form which can give members hope of the reclamation of the party we have been calling for over recent years. Our aim will be to state quite forcefully and clearly that this is our conference not theirs' and our manifesto.

Labour Left Briefing website