Anarchists to contest 2012 London elections

Oh dear.

Does anyone anarchist hear support this idea? Isn't it either a contradiction in beliefs and action? or just a waste of time?

Ian Bone et al in 'youse are all do-nothings look at this publicity stunt' shocker.

http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/nottingham_forest-chants/you-dont-know-what-youre-doing-NFFC/

yes, ian bone is a fucking idiot, but its unfortunate that good people are following his bullshit. good folks mind you, who its disturbing will waste time propping up the crumbling illusion of politricks.

who gives a fuck about elections these days?

This meeting is to announce a bold departure. We intend to stand a couple of candidates in the East London super constituencies on an anti-authority populist patform.Obviously not to gain votes but to utilise, in those months before the Olympics, an opportunity to unite all disaffected grass roots groups,isolated individuals, and rebellious elements into a new movement.

yeah? like fuck you will.

before I even hovered over that link I thought I bet that's on Ian Bone's blog.

Of course, it's a counterproductive waste of time.

He will get a tiny number of votes, which will make anarchists look even weaker and more useless than they do at present (which is already extremely useless)

It's all part of a wider strategy. The candidate is a visionary who knows the exact date of the revolution.

When Ian Bone is rightfully laughing at you for being a fantasist you might as well give up. Unless he turns around and supports you less than a year later.

I forgot to mention the most important thing, which is that this gives the impression that anarchists think that voting and the electoral system can actually change things. And that others can change things for us, rather than we can only rely on ourselves and solidarity from other workers. Oh well...

I know he aint talkin about me there. This morning I counted to infinity...twice.

So a bit like the English Democrats only moar anarkye. Flawless plan.

But what if they promise that they are not leftist ment..."nutters" but regular man in the street types? Surely that would make it more palatable.

tbf, they're explicitly not standing to win ("Obviously not to gain votes"). but if that seems pointless, don't worry, it will cause a "controversial and rowdy" meeting at the bookfair... stuntism, sigh.

You do realise a Solfed member who sometimes posts here will be involved right?

DUN DUN DUN

L&S next?

I am not opposed to using the Sinn Fein tactic in elections if your alluding to me. In this circumstance I think the reasons are misguided. I genuinely fear that this is more about personalities and that an already active group like WAG could waste time and effort on something that will more than likely bomb.

Yes, yes, yes!

What is the Sinn Fein tactic in elections, vote early vote often?

It was coined by Guy Aldred and predates the recent turn to taking elected positions which split the republican movement a la Real IRA etc.

But SInn Fein did take elected positions in councils.

Also it wasn't the sitting in westminister or stormont that created the split with the Real IRA it was not bombing shit.

also I just googled Guy Aldred and he snuffed it in 1963 so the Sinn Fein he was referring to must have been the pre partition one.

I don't see how it's relevant to this discussion, though I don't see how an anarchist wouldn't have a problem with the Sinn Fein tactic since they didn't so much not take up their seats as set up their own Government and take up seats in it.

Aldred only called it the Sinn Fein tactic because he, like Sinn Fein candidates originally, wanted to run in the election with no intention of taking up a seat and entering parliament. That's where the comparison ends. Instead it was to use the opportunity to spread propaganda and, indeed, part of the reason he was relatively famous in Glasgow was because of his running in successive general elections. (Obviously, he never came even close to winning).

In that sense, it's very relevant and has absolutely nothing to with being complicit with bourgeois democracy. Of course, I'd criticize it as a tactic because of its focus on personalities and, inevitably, celebrity. Even if your campaign is run along directly democratic lines it all too easily separates the candidate from the others working with them and, more importantly, reinforces the gulf between voters and politicians. That, and the fact that it's very easy just to pass the candidate off as a crack-pot.

Re: Aldred, more specifically the essence of the Sinn fein tactic, we're looking at 1921 here, to quote John Taylor Caldwell: Guy Aldred & the background to the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation. Proletarian Aspirations Pt.2. Anti-Parliamentarism & Communism in Britain 1921-1945.

He goes on:

Mark Shipway writes in Anti-Parliamentary Communism: The Movement for Workers Councils in Britain, 1917-45

Interesting stuff - I have read Shipway et al. but don't remember that!

There's something very SPGB-esque about thinking you can vote through workers' power. You might argue it wouldn't be disconnected from the militancy of struggle because it's only then that you'd win a majority. I'm skeptical, tho.

http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/20C/Parliament_update.html

Whoever it is, they are not "contesting" the 2012 election. Like Lord Bucket Head and the 1960's Bread and Circuses Party, the activist is demonstrating for people that power structures can and should be mocked.

As a by-product, the term "anarchist" gets a welcome airing. Finally, Anarchists and anarchism cannot be harmed by it, because we are not in the business of reassuring the Undecided Centre,--- are we?

Yes we know its a publicty stunt, its just a tedious and time consuming one. Having been involved in publicity raising election campaigns before i can assure you its just a waste of time and money that leaves everyone burnt out and demoralised.

its not like martin wright is doing anything new theres always some joker or some lefty standing in elections as a pirate party or an anti-capitalist party or whatever, fair enough its a bit of a laugh but it means absolutely fuck all to most people.