This election year the Workers Party is standing candidates in the main centres of the country.
Discussing his candidacy with workmates at smoko time, one of our comrades was challenged:
“If you get into parliament and you’re walking down the road with a suit and tie on and we see you, you might not want to know us any more!”
Our comrade replied: “Mate, there’s not going to be any tie. Look at this publicity photo on my pamphlet. I’m in my overalls like you, and that’s how it’s going to stay. Our party is trying to do something different in this election. We’re not standing for ourselves, and we’re not standing to try and make the system work better. We’re standing 100% for the workers and against the bosses.”
Any Workers Party candidate elected to a position in national or local government will transform their seat into an active organising centre to push workers’ interests. Our members will take a minimum wage sufficient for genuine expenses and put the rest of their parliamentary salary towards the struggle. Successful socialist electoral candidates have already taken this road in Ireland, Australia and other countries.
Socialist parliamentary candidates stand against capitalism, to represent the ideas of the future, and to build the practical struggles of today. Inside this issue of the Spark you can read about some of the ways we’re trying to do that.
If you like the look of our new way with no ties to capitalism, please join us.
who are the candidates?
Click on the “Vote Workers Party” link at the top right hand corner of this page for a list of our candidates. We’ll update it as things progress.
“Any Workers Party candidate elected to a position in national or local government will transform their seat into an active organising centre to push workers’ interests.”
well, that’s nice. unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to student politicians affiliated to the WP.
What about workers who have to wear ties to work? Will they wear overalls to parliament too?
What’s wrong with “sharp dressing socialism” anyway?
Who the hell would wear overalls unless you had to????
Yours sincerely in struggle,
Mr Fred Perry.
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20050112091425690
If you’re going to engage in a debate don’t hide behind nom de guerres. Have the balls to stand up and say what you’ve got to say publicly.
If you’re referring to WP comrades who’ve been elected to positions at Vic University, you’re arguing about something different. That’s not a national or local govt position, it’s a STUDENT UNION position, and a lot less can be done with it. The same goes for WP activists who become union organisers – they can promote revolutionary ideas to workers through their job, and we’ve actually recruited some working class members through this, but they can’t create an organising centre in the way that they could if they were an MP, a councilor or whatever.
The WP has achieved a lot of good things on Vic campus. We’re now the only left group there worth mentioning (all the other ones either fell to pieces or never had anything that COULD fall to pieces), and we’re growing steadily. We’ve organised protests and campaigns, struggled for a better deal for students on all kinds of issues, pushed our revolutionary socialist ideas and won people over to them, and a lot more.
We’ve also tried to link students with workers as much as possible. We’ve organised events specifically for that purpose, inviting trade unions to come along and speak to students, and vice versa. We’ve pushed students to come along to strikes and other working class struggles, and we’ve always pushed the people we recruit towards the class, unlike most other left groups.
What specific criticisms of WP activity on campus do you have?
Sure, some workers wear ties to work. I do myself when I’m playing the piano somewhere.
the point of the original article was symbolic. The worker was not asking our comrade about dress so much as changed attitudes if elected to parliament. The aim of the Worker’s Party is to consistently advance ideas and attitudes and practices in the interests of the Working class. If elected to parliament we’ll maintain the same conduct as we do now, outside the house.
Comrade… A principal is principal, regardless of the level of involvement. …Victoria University or Parliament is just a question of changing venues, while ethics and ‘modus operantis’ are to be consistent anywhere. I suggest to forget the idea that divide the beginning true communism as practical and the exercise of the same. A true communist will have it’s position available to the cause even on PTA meetings… end off.
Ps. I like ties. It make me look good. make me feel good and don’t defy my personality or opinion. To be sincere, the tie issue is minimal.