O. M. G.
As is well-known, John Rees of the SWP has been given the arse from its CC, scapegoated for the political wreck that is Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community, and Trade Unionism. The Weekly Worker provides a good summary of the situation in ‘All that was once certain now melts’, Weekly Worker, No.750, December 18, 2008 (“As John Rees launches his long awaited war on the central committee, both factions of the SWP leadership are coming under fire from sections of the membership. Peter Manson reports”), while Splintered Sunrise provides some of the best analysis (and laffs): Rees protests his defenestration (December 15, 2008); Molyneux contra Davidson contra Rees contra Harman ad infinitum… (December 18, 2008); and More juice for the mango (December 22, 2008).
Anyway, so what? So John Rees’ letter in defence of his role contains the following passage:
But contrast treatment of the [Organising for Fighting Unions] cheque with another donation made to a united front earlier this year. [Unite Against Fascism] received a £75,000 cheque from the singer Morrissey in the run up to the [Love Music Hate Racism] Carnival. This was never reported to the CC. Morrissey was at that time embroiled in the court case arising from the NME’s accusation that he had made racist remarks during an interview with an NME journalist. The donor of the OFFU cheque got nothing in return for his money~no publicity, no soft-peddling on PFI. But Morrissey did get something for his money~anti-racist credentials during a court case in which he was accused of racism.
Should we have accepted this cheque? We were never given the chance to discuss it. Earlier money for the Carnival from the NME might also be an issue for debate. The NME is published by IPC, a firm with an anti-union record. Moreover it also publishes Nuts and Loaded. The former’s advertising slogan was ‘The best boobs in Britain, get them every week’. Should we have taken the money?
My view is that if the only way of saving the Carnival was to take the money, then we should have done. We are not moralists but Marxists for whom the advance of the struggle sometimes requires difficult compromises. After all, Lenin accepted the help of the German state in the midst of war to return to Russia even though he was accused of being a German spy ever after.
£75,000. £75,000? £75,000! As Rees states, Morrissey was involved in a dispute with the NME at the time; the NME had dropped its sponsorship of the Carnival; and so Morrissey, who hates racism and loves music, stepped in with a big fat cheque in order to save the day. Hooray! Odd that Rees appears to think that the passage of a cheque from Morrissey to LMHR should have been reported to the SWP’s CC, however. I mean, what with LMHR being completely independent of UAF. And UAF being completely independent of the SWP.
Lenin helped by the German state? Well yeah: by way of Parvus, the Patron Saint of Leftist Trainspotters (aka Alexander Gelfand/Israil Lasarewitsch Helphand). See: The Bought Revolution: How the German Reich Put Lenin in Power in 1917, Author: Marc Brasse, Michael Kloft, Length: 52′ ~ versus ~ Der Spiegel churns out old lies on the October Revolution, Peter Schwarz, wsws.org, December 15, 2007. Also: Michael Pearson, The Comfy Chair The Sealed Train, Putnam, 1975.
