Last week Ken Livingstone, a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Labour Party, announced his candidacy for mayor as part of a deepening struggle over the direction of the party.

At a March 10 rally here, 300 firefighters enthusiastically applauded Livingstone after he pledged support for their fight. The rally was organized by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in defense of 11 of its members facing disciplinary action for supporting the union's ban on working overtime.

Flanked by firefighters wearing T-shirts reading, "Fire Brigades Union: Ken for Mayor," Livingstone said 94 percent of FBU members voted for him in the Labour Party selection process compared to 2 percent for Frank Dobson, the nominee backed by Prime Minister Anthony Blair, the leader of the Labour Party.

Despite this and similar votes in all the other unions that conducted ballots, as well as majority support amongst party members, the Labour leaders organized the election in such a way as to ensure Dobson was selected to run as the Labour candidate in the May 4 election.

Livingstone at first called on Dobson to stand down, but announced an independent campaign when Labour leaders refused to do so. Livingstone was suspended from the Labour Party for the move, but says he does not want to split Labour and seeks to return to the party. He called for a second preference vote for Dobson and says that he would campaign for the return of a Labour government in the next election.

The day following his announcement, opinion polls gave Livingstone 68 percent of the vote, 55 points ahead of Dobson's 13 percent. In addition to the London leaders of the Fire Brigades Union, leaders from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and the public sector workers union, have pledged their support to Livingstone. Leaders of the Transport and General Workers' Union said that in spite of their union ballot casting 85 percent for Livingstone, they will recommend a vote for Dobson.

The decision to press ahead with Dobson has also been met with a deep unease in the Labour Party. Stephen Pound, a pro-Blair MP, said on the BBC that it is "having pretty devastating consequences for the Labour Party in London," with many party members indicating they won't be actively campaigning for Dobson.

At the firefighters protest, Reg Williams from Southend explained his view: "As far as I'm concerned Labour is now a conservative party. It's Livingstone who is running for Labour." Another firefighter added, "Even though most firefighters are staunch Labour, most will vote for Ken Livingstone, as he has always opposed cuts." Also speaking at the protest were a team of four strikers from the 16-month-long Skychefs strike. After Livingstone spoke they made a beeline for him, keen to discuss their fight.

Amidst this discussion and debate, Jonathan Silberman announced that he is running as a candidate of the Communist League (CL) for the London Assembly in the Lambeth and Southwark constituency.

Silberman, a member of the Transport and General Workers' Union, pointed to an undemocratic aspect of the election law that requires a £10,000 deposit to run for mayor. This regulation prevents the League from running a candidate for the post. Even for the assembly, CL supporters need to raise a prohibitive £1,000 deposit (£1 = US$1.57).  
 

Deepening resistance today

"The deep support for Livingstone, rooted in the ranks of the unions," Silberman said, "is a reflection of not only the growing unpopularity of the Labour government but also the deepening union resistance today. Our campaign explains that capitalism is the cause of the social devastation, attacks on the unions, harsher conditions on the job, racist attacks and discrimination, imperialist wars, and the continued occupation of northern Ireland.

"Our campaign charts a course of revolutionary struggle to establish a government of workers and farmers," the Communist League candidate said. "That victory will open the fight to overturn capitalism and to start on the road to establish new social relations and a new society, socialism. This is what we have to offer fighting workers, farmers, and youth who are today standing up and resisting the impact of the world capitalist economic crisis."

In an interview, Silberman commented on Austria, where fascist Jörg Haider's Freedom Party and the conservative People's Party are now in a coalition government. "This is not the first time this has happened in recent years in Europe," he said. "It points to the importance of working people charting a revolutionary course to counter the rulers' drive toward imposing fascist solutions to their crisis."

Speaking at a Militant Labour Forum in London on March 10, Young Socialist member James Neil welcomed Silberman's campaign. "A few months ago, some 15,000 students protested the government's imposition of tuition fees and demanded free education as a right," Neil said. "When people fight like this they cease to underestimate themselves and learn about their place in the world. Young people form a bedrock of this resistance. That is what the Young Socialists are about," he said, appealing for youth to join with Silberman's campaign. Jaswinder Pal, a Skychefs striker, appealed for support to Silberman's campaign at the same forum.

Silberman said the communist campaign will raise a voice in opposition to the "London first" framework set by the capitalist parties. "All other political parties talk of 'Londoners' and 'London's interest' to get a greater share of the national cake," Silberman said. "But London is class divided. Working people here have the same class interests as working people from Belfast to Havana."  
 

A worker-farmer alliance needed

Today, he said, a centerpiece of advancing the resistance against the assault by the employers and government is for working people and the unions to "build an alliance with working farmers who are fighting the devastating impact of the crisis on the land." Silberman pointed to the protest by 250 dairy farmers in Wales demanding a price increase. The farmers are losing money to produce milk.

One example of how issues are posed in the struggle within the Labour Party is that of "crime," said Silberman, who pointed to Blair's statement that Livingstone "would be a disaster, a financial disaster, a disaster in terms of crime and police and business." Livingstone said in response that he wanted to put thousands more police on the streets.

Silberman said that approaching crime in this framework was a deadly trap for working people. "The entire system of the cops, courts, and prisons is designed to do one thing: protect the private property system of the super-wealthy ruling families and keep working people intimidated and in check," he said.

"Capitalism itself is a criminal system, with the brutalities and divisions it imposes on society. Even many crimes committed by working people against each other can be traced to the prejudices, second-class status of women, and dog-eat-dog mentality inherent in the class-divided society of capitalism," he continued.

"This has the effect of taking our eyes off the unity and solidarity we can gain through struggle. It instead seeks to criminalize a section of working people, especially Blacks and youth."

Silberman explained that his campaign would urge a vote for Livingstone. "Although he is not the official Labour candidate, his campaign is still part of the Labour Party. Through its links to the unions, the Labour Party is looked to by the vast majority of working people. Fighters take sides in this division and should extend critical support to Livingstone. A strong vote for him will boost fighters and be a blow against the capitalist rulers."

"This does not mean that Livingstone's policies are a way forward," continued Silberman. "On the contrary, they point working people in the same fundamental direction as Blair. The issue is that the ranks of the unions see his candidacy as a way to strike a blow against the course of the Blair leadership. We are 100 percent with that."

"In constituencies where the Communist League is not standing in the Assembly elections," he said, "we recommend a vote for the Labour candidates."

Pete Clifford is a member of the Transport and General Workers' Union.  
 
 
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