Comments on: True Woodies vote Labour

By: Danny

Danny — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:09:55 +0000

It’s interesting how many established middle class people want to ignor the fact they are middle class, and try to pretend that they have no more choice than the working class.

This of course is no true, and although I hate the term underclass it is what our society has created and continues to push.

For people worrying about getting damp in their accomindation fixed, they couldn’t give a dam about tridant. It isn’t relevant to them. As a movement the Woodcraft Folk has a moral responsibility to ensure that we can have some input into these communities which for many in the movement will be foreign.

Like the young people who will not go to Uni because of the debt. They don’t have parents to fall back on as a safety net with the means to support them.

Just a bit feed up of woodies pretenting that we cater for the whole of society. The Woodcraft Folk is an exclusive white middle class movement with good intentions with pockets of really good work in diverse communities and until it is brave enought to face up to this it will not change.

By: Allie Cannell

Allie Cannell — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:29:26 +0000

oh and i would say that revolution isn’t an answer to how.

How do you get to revolution? and what comes after revolution?

By: Allie Cannell

Allie Cannell — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:26:07 +0000

I agree with some of the basic philosophies. But how can the Labour Party and even the Trade Unions bring about the required change?

The Labour party has proven over 13 years in office that they are a big business party. They may be funded by the Unions but the unions don’t seem to have much say in what goes on. You’re more likely to get a say if you want a place in the Lords.

I don’t think a general strike will ever happen, what could happen though is that worker cooperatives take over. Worker cooperatives are completly anti-capitalist, the capital is in the hands of the workers, and are proven to work.

However the Unions have never supported worker cooperatives. Why? Becuase their traditional role doesn’t work in a workers cooperative. They don’t want to see a change as it would destroy their role.

Marx himself said “Tell the working men to invest their efforts in producer (worker) cooperatives rather than consumer owned cooperatives (like the Coop). The latter merely scratch at the surface of capitalism while the former undermine its foundations.”

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:26:28 +0000

the lib dems try and take votes from whoever they can – which in some places makes them look towards more labour-ish policies and in others towards the conservatives. and then they look for the student vote on top up fees.

in my area (newcastle) once a labour strong hold they’ve been terrible…seems like the only thing they’ve achieved is no council tax rises which is hardly revolutionary.

By: Ciara

Ciara — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:09:00 +0000

I see Lib dems as the lefty-ish version of Conservatives, the party and most of their supporters are still committed to neo-liberal economics and the savage public spending cuts they’ve proposed are just as bad if not worse than labour

By: Ilya

Ilya — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:49:37 +0000

They did cut our funding, allegedly due to our anti-iraq war stance, although obviously they used different reasons.

OK, essentially socialist politics are supposed to come from the people, but last I checked, which is obviously some time ago (I don’t bother that much as I won’t be old enough to vote) lib dem were proposing more public spending projects than labour. Even if there isn’t a direct link, the left wing principles exist in them.

By: Ciara

Ciara — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:32:05 +0000

although didn’t the Labour party try to cut woodies funding not long ago?!

By: Ciara

Ciara — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:29:59 +0000

I agree in the lib dems there is no organic link between workers and the party, as crap as Labour have become they still have a bulk of Working class supporters and Trade union support which we can’t simply ignore and react with simply ‘all 3 are exactly the same’, vote socialist/greens, etc where you can, Labour everywhere else!

By: Rawnsley

Rawnsley — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:11:03 +0000

I disagree with the idea that the Lib Dems are in any way socialist. The point of the crash course in Marxism was to demonstrate what is commonly meant by socialist. I emphasised the importance of a political party controlled by and speaking for the working class. The closest thing to that (though it admittedly is distant from it) is the Labour party. There is no organic link between workers and the Lib Dems. In fact the Lib Dem candidate for the London mayoral said he would ‘sort out’ the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMT). Check out this article by Ed Maltby, who some of you may remember. http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2009/09/24/don%E2%80%99t-be-fooled-lib-dems

By: Kieran

Kieran — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:16:10 +0000

There seems currently Ilya, actually to be a complete split in the Lib Dems with Nick Clegg seemingly pro-Tory in order to try and woo votes from there. He wants bigger spending cuts and all. And, if he enters into any sort of Tory coalition there’s threats of resignation from all accross the Lib Dem left. It could get really interesting to watch.

By: Ilya

Ilya — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:24:26 +0000

Nice little crash course in Marxism there!

I’d actually argue that Lib Dem are further left (more socialist) than Labour