7th May is the latest D-Day, or so we are told. For then there is another large scale round of that popularity racket, known as election time. This is the time when many of us are supposed to rubber stamp our local overlords or for those living in Scotland and Wales, to stick crosses in boxes at a national level. Either way, as is often the case, offered up is a media sc(r)um fixated on statistics, casting judgement upon a UK level of who is up, who is down and why on earth it’s supposed to make such a ruddy difference?
It’s your say, so they say. As if as members of the working class, we really get one in this system of state and capital. They’re taking us for fools. For if we believe we have a stake or a real say as things are, then we’ll believe anything! As some long lasting local graffiti used to inform, “Slit your own throat! Vote!!”
This time around, we are told we have the incredulous primary (non)“choices” of Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Conservatives and Reform. Despite claims that local elections are to elect the most effective individual candidate in your area and are about day to day issues (potholes, building problems etc), in reality you can bet your life that the main political parties will treat it as a national contest and boast afterward as such. So let’s look briefly in turn at this shower:
Labour – emerging at the beginning of the 20th century to represent the upper echelons of the organised labour movement. Even at its supposed most sexy in the 1940s, witnessed was the hideous spectacle of the armed forces being sent to break the actions of striking workers and the development of “placing a union jack on nuclear weapons” at home. Whilst support for right wing forces in civil conflict (in Greece for one) occurred.
Nowadays, this Party seems to spend most of its time in government dreaming up new ways to screw the working class in a supposedly slightly less enthusiastic way than the conservative party. Either way, the reality is we face yet more attacks and oppression, especially if we are poor, live in substandard accommodation, dare protest, happen to have a disability, are young, old, trans, refugees…. The list is long for sure! Meanwhile, more dodgy dealings with the rich and powerful, including characters with links to those preying upon young vulnerable people, are revealed on an almost weekly basis. Whilst at times, like in a recent meme, you could actually imagine the Prime Minister donning a Reform jumper. Them and the Labour Party generally, having enabled that motley crew so well over the last couple of years.
Some claim that the current Labour Party isn’t really the Labour Party. However, given this party’s crap history, says who? They certainly aren’t averse to obsessions with attacks on civil liberties in the name of “law and order” and with dealings with militaristic oppressors of migrants and with those engaged in other viciously regressive causes – e.g. link ups with Palantir or seemingly even backroom talks with figures in Reform (as is said to be possibly happening in Scotland and is certainly happening with Labour Party backers in Unite the Union in Birmingham).
Liberal Democrats – a party so ludicrous that it largely emerged from considering the Labour Party too left wing! Consider that!
Largely insignificant unless it “holds the balance of power”. We saw the result of that in the early 2010s, when its vote share collapsed after jumping into bed with the conservative led government; it craving power at any cost and ending up being labelled the “Fiberal Democrats” or “Fibs” for short!
Conservatives / Tory Party – historically the natural home of ruling class representatives. For 200 years, this organisation has headed up the majority of governments within the UK. Credited (if that’s the correct term?) by some as one of the originators of pushing through on the latest phase of capitalist attacks, the so-called, “neo-liberal” garb. Often the bête-noire of many in the working class, they clearly have nothing to offer but enriching themselves, austerity, vicious class and divide and rule culture wars. Were last seen claiming intellectual superiority over the rest of us whilst getting pissed at parties during a pandemic and being headed up by a perpetually useless buffoon. May or may not finally be increasingly irrelevant?
SNP – often does rather well in elections by claiming to simply not be the Tory (or Labour) Party at Westminster. However, were actually labelled the “Tartan Tories” with some justification. Clearly helped enable the formation of the Boris Johnson led Tory government after triggering an election in 2019 with the Liberal Democrats when the outcome was clear to all. Its record in government is not nearly as “progressive” as is claimed and is obviously nationalistic, with all the dangers that that entails for us as a class.
Plaid Cymru – as with the SNP, picks up support by officially differentiating from the useless parties at Westminster. May again come out the elections as being the largest party in the Welsh Assembly but despite claims to be “socialist” in its texts since the early 1980s, clearly does not support the abolition of capitalism nor does it support internationalism.
Greens – the latest darlings for political nerds and those who feel homeless in the current incarnation of the Labour Party. If as claim, try to actually put “People before Profit” within capitalism (using notably increased taxation etc), the result will very likely be downturn, capital flight and recession. Whilst, if they actually head up a government, much potential opposition to them may well be worryingly quiet and disillusioned. This amidst claims of, “If not us, then you’ll get them” (the forces of the right).
If, as some in this party claim, as a government they could simply print money to spend on needs and the environment, then an inflationary spiral will result. They fantasise that capitalism – the profit system – can be reformed to meet human need, when all experience shows the opposite. In reality, the Greens (English and Welsh, and Scottish variants) are much more likely to go the way of past dreams of reformism (e.g. in the Labour Party) – i.e. died at the altar of capital whilst government gets used for its usual state role, as a means of oppression and enforced exploitation of the working class.
Much of the previous talk of the challenges facing the environment and climate change have already gone rather quiet as it now follows a more traditional liberal left populist route. Meanwhile, the new Green Party leadership declared that in a desire to “placate the Daily Mail”, it must look “respectable”. This meaning manipulations, so that its upper bodies control what the membership and local party “activists” get to vote on and who to pick as local candidates. Unlikely to be long before it follows its counterparts in Germany and elsewhere, on the right of social democracy, cheer leading capital, war preparations, NATO and social attacks upon the working class. “Respectable”? Oh aye!
Reform / Restore – darlings of the nativist wing of capital and notable parts of the media. Xenophobic, nationalistic but currently, mostly snake oil sales people and grifters. Fans of out and out authoritarianism, wars (especially in the Middle East), fossil fuels…. You get the picture. If it’s a really crap idea for humankind and planetary well-being, you can bet your life they’ll champion it! A few years ago were castigated as “swivel eyed loons” but are now seen as possible saviours of capital by turbo charging it and its attacks, in the light of economic crisis after crisis.
Claim to be on the side of the “white working class” and figures of the “people” – always the non or ill-defined, “people”. Who of us have mates hanging about in steak houses in red or orange corduroy trousers, landowning tweeds and wellies, whilst ordering meals that cost hundreds? If we want to hang out about with a bloke talking bollocks in a bar whilst getting pished, we could just find some poor sod of that ilk down a local watering hole. At least they might have actual moments of incisiveness, clarity and positivity? In reality of course, they are clearly part of the actual ruling elite and no supporters of the working class. Their only role they see for us is to fall for their manipulations, vote for them, and get possibly used as suckers to divide up any effective opposition to them and the current system they support.
These three word sloganeering bullshitting wonders, these multi millionaire non wage earning parasites, clearly would cheer on further attacks upon us whilst rolling around laughing, taking us for mugs, enriching themselves at our expensive. What they do love unsurprisingly, is the bourgeois – petit and more so, large.
So, with that bunch and with electoral representatives representing an executive of the ruling class, why on earth would we engage in electoral voting at a local or national level? After all, the government and state bodies will win again. That, we can be sure of. We clearly all need to do something about this!
Yet, if we tell people that we are refusing to vote, we will likely get castigated as enabling the far right or at least not stopping it. Voting, like the belief in there being no alternative to capitalism and state has become somehow sacrosanct. However, voting over the past century and a half has done nothing to undermine the present system, not even to pull the rug from its most right wing elements. Voting in elections does not escape us disappearing down the plughole of vicious reaction, let alone lead to any kind of liberation.
We in turn however, will not take any delight in return in saying, we “told you so”, after we all face more shit on an ensuing daily basis. Any attacks hurt us just as much. We are members of the working class and hope that many more will achieve a level of confidence and class consciousness through direct engagement in the class struggle that will help provide the basis for turning the tables and in gaining a world of equality and liberty. The vast majority of us have that potential. We are not in any way special in this.
Meanwhile, for those who genuinely believe that Parliament can be used as an instrument to further a revolution (no not you, the farce of fantasy that is Your Party), we say how can this be so when this is an arena where we as a class are at our weakest and where for standing now as a candidate, you can pretty much go bankrupt trying to pay a lost deposit? Then there’s the long time thorny tactic of setting out to abolish the state by first capturing it. A questionable case of, “Now you see it, now you don’t”? There being a clear temptation to hold onto the state, “Until such a time as….” – this time then never arriving. William Morris was right in seeing Parliament being necessarily turned into a massive dung heap in any future of emancipation.
So, on 7th May, despite naysayers, we and like minded comrades will go on vote strike. We may be giving out revolutionary literature and may perhaps “spoil” / propagandise our ballot papers? We may be discussing alternatives to the current horrific situation with our workmates, friends and neighbours? We may be busy carrying out care duties or other responsibilities? We may simply decide that the best option is for us on the day is to “stay home” and even actually enjoy some much needed “down time”?!
All of this shows a desire to assert our autonomy and is more useful than providing a mandate to be exploited and oppressed. Yet, we realise it is far from enough. For a start, if we spoil the ballot paper and they are seen as invalid often to the annoyance of our dear master class, they are still included in the votes cast tally. If we stay home, we are often seen as merely apolitical, uninterested and uninformed – the cheeky sods!
Moreover and more importantly, we clearly cannot transform and abolish this profit driven and state based system alone. Real change and liberation doesn’t only take much more effort than simply sticking an “X” on a piece of paper every 2 to 5 years or so. It entails mass resistance, class wide, possibly through autonomous strike committees, the emergence of networked popular assemblies and workers’ councils?! These bodies and organisational types displaying clearly recallable delegates engaged in rotations of posts and responsibilities within a horizontal structure; ones that have similarly appeared in the past. Or they may be novel new bodies? There is no blue print in a mass collective movement for emancipation and by a class moving to abolish itself as a class and as such, class divided society.
Here, what matters most is that any content can lead to social revolution, a transformation of the social relationship and material conditions of capital and end that monopoly of a body of violence and oppression, the state. At the moment, this may be seen as a real stretch. After all, working class struggle appears to be at a very weak point in the “West” and any anarchist movement here, on the surface, seems tiny and badly divided; practically on its arse.
Yet, an emancipatory victory in the class struggle is still required to ensure our well being, our collective and individual potentials. It’s required now for possibly even our very survival? And even locally, small direct action based skirmishes can end in at least temporary victories, e.g. in self managed small scale strikes and against property developers at times and for renters. Obviously, this is barely a start in itself and only a social revolution can guarantee any victory to be permanent. However, they can provide some much needed confidence.
Meanwhile, class struggle anarchism may yet emerge in surprising strength. In parts of the world that were seemingly miles away from its known strongholds to us, movements have expanded recently, e.g. in South Asia and on the African continent. Closer to our own locale, internationalist class struggle anarchists are now beginning to co-ordinate themselves in networks with like minded comrades and organisations in opposition to capitalist wars and militarism in an increasing number of regions, and against the social peace at home. This in itself offers some hope for the future.
By refusing to take part in the electoral farce, we have every right to complain and oppose daily attacks upon us. We have not supported in any way, the murderous wars of capital fuelled by resource exploitation, power expansion and an increasingly frequent desire to deal with its crisis caused by overproduction and / or a falling rate of profit, possibly combined with economic sector disproportionality etc, by armed conflict. We won’t provide a mandate to parasites to exploit and oppress us, not any of us! Nor in any way, support or cheer on our immiseration.
We argue against voting and then having to run to the nearest toilet! We will continue to argue for our liberty and emancipation and we wish this for every single one of our class members – and with it, humankind. We will continue to organise with members of our class to attain this aim.
We do recognise that the emancipation of the working class is clearly the task of the working class itself. It ever was and we must look forward to a future based on liberty and egalitarianism with determination, in the face of an era of seemingly perpetual pessimism and gloom! The alternative hardly bares thinking about. Instead of engaging in the electoral farce, let’s organise, learn together, agitate and speed the day! There’s still a world to win!
AnarCom Network 