Respect — the Unity Coalition, the first British political party to the left of Labour to win a seat in the Westminster parliament since 1945, has split. In May 2005 George Galloway confounded pundits by winning an historic victory in the East London constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow. A former Labour MP, Galloway was expelled for his vociferous and unflagging opposition to the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, and with others in the anti-war movement — notably the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), which plays a leading role in the Stop the War Coalition — formed Respect.
It was the first time that the English left had sunk deep roots among non-white disadvantaged inner-city communities, with opposition to the Iraq war leading to many Muslims voting for Respect. In May 2006, Respect built on its success by winning 15 council seats in East London, and one in Birmingham.
Yet, despite electoral success, there were problems. Membership was shrinking. A key layer of former Labour Party left wingers who had been active in the Socialist Alliance (an earlier attempt at uniting England's highly divided far-left) either never joined Respect, or left it within the first two years.
National conferences in 2004 and 2005 saw numerous independent socialists resigning afterwards, due to an intolerant atmosphere where any disagreement was shouted down.
One of Respect's greatest achievements has been bringing to national prominence a very impressive Muslim woman, Salma Yaqoob. Yet after a tactical difference in 2006 between Yaqoob and Respect national secretary (and SWP member) John Rees, Yaqoob was marginalised.
Outside the strongholds of East London, Birmingham and the smaller northern town of Preston, Respect attracted very few activists who were not also SWP members.
The decision of Galloway to enter the reality TV show Big Brother damaged Respect's reputation, and exposed the weak relationship between Galloway and Respect national officers. Galloway's judgement on that occasion was questionable, but his subsequent media exposure, and his own radio talk show, have allowed him to reach a truly mass audience for socialist politics.
The inertia and breakdown of relationships within Respect are linked to its numerically largest component — the SWP. Its concept of Respect as a "united front of a special type" has led it to try to build two organisations in parallel, the SWP and Respect. When relating to wider campaigns, they wear their SWP hat. At demonstrations SWP members carry Socialist Worker placards, they sell their own newspaper, and have blocked launching a Respect paper. They seek to recruit to the SWP, not Respect.
They have also blocked Respect moving towards becoming a political party under the control of its own membership, viewing Respect as a coalition, allowing the SWP to act independently.
In August, Galloway sent a letter to other national council members that acknowledged some of these problems for the first time. It was a measured and reasonably conciliatory document that criticised neither Rees nor the SWP by name. This was followed by a remarkable document by Yaqoob that spelled out a vision of the role Respect could play in building alliances with all progressive political forces in a spirit of democracy and openness.
Unfortunately, the SWP has ignored the still generally favourable political context, and has been careless with the considerable electoral assets that Respect has accumulated. Its response to the criticisms of Galloway and Yaqoob has been to go onto a war footing to preserve their position within Respect. Its members were briefed with the fictitious claim there was a witch hunt against them.
A compromise agreement reached by the full national council was overturned by the SWP-dominated group of national officers. They blocked the conference arrangements committee from being balanced by non-SWP members, and there has been a breakdown of trust over delegate selection meetings and student delegations.
Finally, negotiations that were being mediated by an independent third party broke down with allegations of bad faith on both sides.
As a result, the organisation has divided — on one side the SWP and almost no-one else, and on the other the majority of independent activists. Supporters of Galloway and Yaqoob are boycotting the national conference on October 17, which they have no confidence in, and will be holding a launch on the same day of a new organisation that hopes to keep the Respect name, but which will no longer include the SWP.
The argument of the SWP that revolutionary Marxists must retain their separate identity in a "united front of a special type" has now failed in both the Socialist Alliance and Respect. In the Scottish Socialist Party, the SWP also played a similar role in a destructive split. Respect has now taken off the straightjacket. What the future holds we don't know, but it will be decided by Respect's membership, not the SWP central committee.
[The unfolding split in Respect is causing a wide-ranging discussion and debate among the left in Britain and internationally. Some important contributions can be found at: