5 people were present, and 4 gave their gave their apologies.
A brief discussion of the Socialist Equality Party’s recent booklet Jeremy Corbin and the Labour Party; for a new socialist movement against militarism, austerity and war reminded us of the socialist arguments of the seventies and how the Trotskyite position understands the present situation (against Corbyn; maintaining a principled opposition to voting for either Remain or Brexit; opposing all “imperialist”wars.)
Continuing on a more down to earth path we identified instances where the Green Party was prepared to support Labour in the forthcoming General Election and other instances of anti-Tory candidates gaining wider support. There was some disappointment – though it was understandable – that the Labour and Liberal leaderships expressed opposition to progressive alliance arrangements to oppose Tory candidates. However, we noticed that the Lib Dems were standing down in Brighton in support of Caroline Lucas.
The idea of vote swapping was suggested. See the website www.swappingvotes.uk where you can organise this for yourself.
We were impressed by reports of Ruth George, the Labour candidate in the High Peak who gave an excellent speech at a very lively and sizable meeting at Glossop Labour Club. We were also encouraged to see quite a lot of Labour posters and boards up. We emphasised the importance of getting young people registered and voting (very successfully organised for students registering at Sheffield University; but not so effectively managed at Hallam).
Those of us from Derbyshire Dales were asked to consider canvassing and supporting candidates from more marginal constituencies, such as High Peak who were opposing the Tories. Momentum has set up a website which enables you to identify nearby marginal seats where you can offer support to Labour candidates. Do the Green Party have a similar facility.
We had an interesting discussion concerning the preparedness of people to discuss political issues amongst the wider public in their communities and noticed how politics still appears to be a somewhat taboo subject in many rural communities. Displaying political advertising posters and boards can stimulate such conversation.
‘Social media’ such as face book enable rapid sharing of views across large numbers, but represents a different quality of communication that face to face conversation. We need a better understanding of the differences and their significance at a time when traditional institutions (church, trade unions, etc) play a lesser role in social cohesion and identity.