The SWP and the House

The unease in Respect ranks over GG's sojourn in the Big Brother house has not, it seems, been limited to the pages of Gramsci's Grill. The unease detected at certain SWP-aligned blogs came bubbling to the surface at the SWP conference which recognised that Galloway's decision (it was, it seems, his own) has been poorly received by Respect members and supporters. John Rees says: "what matters is the stand George has taken against war and neo-liberalism. That’s why we continue to support him and Respect. We stick by our allies, even if we feel they have made a mistake." That's broadly true and one can only concur with the conclusion that, "come May, people will not decide to vote Respect or New Labour on the basis of Big Brother. Our main job is to stick to the perspective we put forward when we formed Respect and concentrate on the preparations for the May elections."

That will be true if George and the rest of Respect can go forward in tandem and not pull in opposite directions or undermine good work done in the past.