The Welsh Committee, meeting in Shotton, on 28th January welcomed the launch of the Wales Trade Unions Against the Single Currency campaign in Cardiff two days earlier.
In the light of the current crisis in the steel industry in Wales the launch of Wales TASC is a clear recognition, by a significant section of the Labour Movement, that the European Union policies of freedom of capital, privatisation and a Single European Currency run by bankers will not save British manufacturing.
The Communist Party has taken the lead in campaigning against the Single Currency especially within the trade union movement and the Welsh Committee urges all trade union members to join this campaign and to ensure that their trade union branch and region affiliate and provide financial and practical support.
While strongly supporting a campaign that aims to shatter the illusion that manufactoring can be saved by joining the EURO, the Communist Party in Wales will also be raising the call for an Alterantive Economic Strategy.
A strategy that includes:
· lower interest rates to boost investment and exports - take back powers from the Bank of England
· public ownership and democratic control of railways, motor manufacture, shipbuilding, coal, steel, textiles and the public utilities
· control on the export of capital - challenge the EU and its pro-big business rules · selective inport controls to protect employment in Britain
· £20 billion more in government spending on construction & public services
Heather Jordan, Welsh delegate to the Communist Party’s Peace Advisory reports on the Peace Advisory meeting held, in London, on 20th January 2001.
The meeting discussed the Executive Committee’s request for the Advisory to put together a proposal on peace to be kept to 120 words, this was felt to be insufficient as the subject couldn’t be adequately covered so briefly.
The chairperson of the Advisory, Geof Bottoms had received a response from Terry Sheridan SMP to the CP’s message of support sent to him after his jailing.
The meeting then discussed ways in which the CP could best support/take part in actions of the Stop Trident campaign, it was decided to suggest to the EC that an ‘affinity group’ be set up to co-ordinate with Faslane actions.
It was also decided that the CP needed to show a distinct presence at demos (i.e. banners, placards .. etc) but in order to avoid the allegation of sectarianism the type of presence should be determined by circumstances on the ground.
The Advisory will be seeking greater publicity for peace events, especially Trident actions, through the pages of the Morning Star and through circulars to branches; members should be encouraged to be come active on these issues.
Two members of the Advisory spoke of their willingness to take Non Violent Direct Action, so long as the EC agreed, and this approach was agreed but that these actions need to be supplemented by mass actions, demos .....etc.
The Advisory also heard the following proposals:
· that future CP Congresses should allow CND a stall free of charge and to invite a CND officer to address congress
· that it be suggested that the Morning Star should appoint a specific staff member to cover peace issues
· that the CP prepares a document on peace issues (the need to reduce military spending, information on the nature of imperialism ....etc
· that branches to be urged to affiliate to CND
Material on Menwith Hill/Fylingdales were distributed to the meeting, this will be used to draft a needs of the hour motion. The Advisory agreed to publicise the Menwith Hill/ Fylingdales issues and a representative of the campaign be invited to the next meeting on May 19th.
2001 will be a General Election year and the Communist Party has committed itself to standing at least 6 candidates across Britain, this will cost £6,000 in deposits alone.
As you will see in the Welsh Committee report (back page) the Communist Party in Wales is seeking the finance to contest two seats Deeside and Newport east, two of the constituencies most hit by the recent corus closures; we therefore need to do more than our fair share in contributing to this appeal.
Last year, thanks mainly to Workers Beer Company (WBC) volunteer’s money, we managed to contribute £1,400 towards the Britain wide appeal.
This year the onus is on you, with the cancellation of Glastonbury our WBC income will be drastically reduced.
I know that some comrades have consistently given generously to the annual appeals but I also know that too many of you have not given at all.
In order to fulfil our political commitments, which go beyond the electoral work, every comrade will need to contribute no matter how small the amount.
Those people who do have a wage the Party is asking you to donate one days pay. I know that if everyone responds to this appeal then we will have no problem in meeting our obligations.
Cheques should be made out to WCCPB and sent to WCCPB, c/o CCTUS, 131 Crwys Rd, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4NH
Transcript of Gareth Miles address at Bob Jones funeral.
Good afternoon, on behalf of Bob Jones’s family and the Communist Party, both of which he was a most valued member. Welcome to this act of remembrance, affection and farewell.
I stand before you because a couple of weeks ago, Bob said to his daughters, Sian and Karen: “If I snuff it, I don’t want no religious funeral. Speak to Gareth Miles. He’ll do the sermon.”
You’ll be relieved to hear that I don’t intend taking him up on that. I shall limit myself to summarising my thoughts and feelings at this time and introducing the other contributions and those who make them.
I promise not to preach. Neither will I make any religious allusions or references. But I hope you’ll allow me to make use of a rhetorical device favoured by the stars of the Welsh pulpit of yesteryear, tri phen y bregeth, by paying my tributes under three headings. Three words which appear in our family’s memorial notice in The Morning Star:
Robert Griffiths will speak at greater length about Bob’s activities as a member of the Communist Party. Let me just express the opinion that any fair-minded non-communist, who came into contact with Bob Jones, for any length of time, would be immunised for life against the virus of anti-communism, one of the most pernicious and reactionary ideological disease of our time. No one who knew Bob could fail to be impressed by his generosity, his kindness, his good humour, his moral and physical courage, and many other fine human qualities. Neither could any honest person deny that Bob’s natural goodness prevailed, not in despite of his political beliefs but, that on the contrary, Bob’s Communism developed and sustained his many innate virtues.
It has to be admitted that on occasion Bob’s political commitment conflicted with his attachment to his family. I would maintain, however, that any failings of his in this context were born not out of selfishness but selflessness. Bob loved his family. His family loved him.
I never heard Bob say that he was “proud of being Welsh”. I am very proud that our country can produce men like Bob. He embodied our best qualities and values as a nation. Egalitarianism. Anti- authoritarianism. A Belief in social justice. Loyalty to community. A patriotism that is outward looking and internationalist.
Bob didn’t speak Welsh but supported and encouraged one-hundred-per-cent the efforts of those of us who seek to reinvigorate our national language and develop and extend its use.
Bob loved the Welsh countryside and appreciated the particular and sometimes peculiar characteristics of those communities in which he had spent some time. Taff’s Well and the surrounding area, Merthyr Tydfil, the Rhymney Valley, Cardiff’s old Docklands, Anglesey and many others.
But when Wales played rugby against England, Bob Jones was the only Welshman in Wales, let alone Taff’s Well Rugby Club, who supported England. He justified this eccentricity on account of his grandfather coming from Somerset. The truth is, I suspect, that his anti-populist stance was the expression of a deep, fundamental, uncompromising, spirit of non-conformity, a mischievous urge to challenge conventional thinking and perceptions; and a contempt for Arms Park Nationalism and WRU Welshness, those spurious, debased expressions of patriotism which heartily approved of cultural and sporting links between Wales and Apartheid South Africa.
Bob Jones was the best, the kindest, the most supportive friend one could wish for. We all have memories of the fun we had in his company. Of stimulating discussions and furious arguments. The jokes. “Talkin’ tidy”. Hilarious autobiographical anecdotes, especially those depicting scenes from military life, in which our hero brought disgrace and dishonour on the British Army.
But Bob’s friendship was not confined to those of us who were fortunate to be close to him. Neighbours, chance acquaintances and even total strangers could count on his help in times of need. The down cast and the downtrodden, victims of injustice and those in rebellion against their oppressors, ‘the wretched of the earth’ and red revolutionaries, from Taff’s Well to South Africa, Latin America, the USA, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Belfast, Merseyside, Wapping - wherever - all could count on his support and his best efforts on behalf of their struggle.
At the end of the service Bob Jones’s hat was used for one last Morning Star Fighting Fund collection raising over £550 for the paper. The Welsh Committee of the Communist Party in addition donated £100.00 to Marie Curie Cancer Care in Bob’s memory following a request from his family.
The Communist Party had an influential presence at the Wales Pensioners event in Swansea on October 25th, thanks in the main to Bill Williams political and organisational skills but also thanks to the presence of of a number of other Communist pensioners.
The event was deemed to have been very worthwhile and successful but with significant limitations.
The limitations were:
· financial issues were not fully discussed due to the Welsh Assembly’s lack of powers in this area
· a number of speakers came across as patronising, “it sometimes felt that here were the various social agencies striving to deliver help to the needy poor
· the audience was mainly from the south and central Wales and few looked as if they had to survive on the basic state pension
· there was no announcement of the next event or action to be carried out
A meeting of the Executive Committee in the lunch break agreed a compromise deal put forward by Communist Bill Williams which ensured that the ‘progressive officers’ rescue plan (to prevent the collapse of the Wales Pensioners organisation) was not lost but could be acted on pending the next AGM.
All in all it was good at least that there has been an opportunity for pensioners, if they wished to do so, to put questions or opinions to personnel of ‘the system’ above them.
Our need is to win the Wales Pensioners to organise something which engages active pensioners all over Wales to pressurise the MP’s (especially Labour MPs) in the issues.
It is us communists, working in close collaboration with the Wales Pensioners ‘rescue team’, who can inject the ideas needed and so tip the balance between failure and success.
The Communist Party can still do more, all branches should develop a list of pensioners in their own branch and encourage them to get involved in the Wales Pensioners organisation. The Welsh Committee will then facilitate a meeting of Welsh Communist Pensioners to assisting in building on the good work done to date.
For further information on the Pensioners movement in Wales contact Bill Williams on 01600 715054
Communist students in Bangor have been involved along with other student activists in drawing up a charter for a fair deal for education in Wales, the list of campaigning aims was named the Glanrafon Charter.
The Communist Party say:
students cannot afford to stand alone. An organised campaign within UCMC/NUS Wales and within local Students Unions is needed to demand the introduction of the points of the Glanrafon Charter by the National Assembly education review.
We must work towards a broad mass of public support for the Charter involving Trades Unions, parents, lecturers and other campaigners. To do this we must advertise the Charter as widely as possible and get as many organisations to adopt its clauses as we can. All AMs and MPs in Wales need to know our demands and the mass of public support for them.
To this end the Communist Party has produced a bi-lingual campaign leaflet to assist in promoting the aims of the Glanrafon Charter and will be urging Student Unions and trade union branches around Wales to support its aims and will be working to win over the Wales NUS at its meeting in March.
For further information on the Glanrafon Charter and this campaign visit our web site: www.headworks.net/cpb
The first meeting of the new Welsh Committee took place in Shotton in the last weekend of January.
New faces on the secretariat
The Welsh Committee looked to the future with the election of Dave Brown as the Chairperson of the Communist Party in Wales. This probably marks a couple of firsts in the history of the Communist Party; Dave is probably the youngest Welsh leader ever and is definitely the first Welsh Afro-Caribbean leader.
In the other elections Dominic MacAskill was re-elected as Welsh secretary, Brian Williams as Treasurer and a newcomer to the Welsh Committee, Carol Virgo, was elected the Morning Star Organiser. These four officers will constitute the Welsh secretariat for the next 2 years.
Campaigners commended
Dave Morgan and Nikki Hardman from Bangor were commended by the Welsh Committee on their tremendous work in organising for the Terrorism Bill demonstration in Cardiff. Special thanks was given to Nikki who stepped in at the last minute to replace Rob Griffiths as the Communist Party speaker. Criticism was however made about the poor attendance by south Wales comrades and it was accepted that greater efforts needed to be made to turn out for future events.
Red November success
The annual CP dinner in Wales, held this year in a Greek restaurant in Cardiff, attracted over 50 people and raised around £200 towards the CP National Appeal. Mick Rix, General secretary of ASLEF, the main after dinner speaker gave a personal account of what the Russian revolution meant to him and then gave a rousing appeal to intensify the struggle for socialism.
Two Communist candidates?
The Welsh Committee agreed to write to the EC to request sufficient finance to contest Alun & Deeside and Torfaen at the next General Election, after a strong case was made for Glyn Davies to contest the north Wales seat. Since this Welsh Committee meeting the Gwent branch approached the chairperson and the Welsh secretary requesting that, due to the threat of mass redundancies in Llanwern, the CP would have much more of a political impact if it contested Newport east instead of Torfaen. This was agreed by the Welsh secretary subject to the ratification of the EC.
Projects set priorities
In a new way of working the Welsh Committee set up 9 work projects along with co- ordinators to oversee the work and ensure that the aims are realised. These projects detail the work that the CP in Wales intends to concentrate on for the first 6 months of the year and reflect the decisions of the Welsh Congress held in November 2000.
They are as follows:
Rebecca Books/CCTUS development (Dave Rawlings), Students/ Education (Dave Morgan), Election manifesto (Brian Williams), International solidarity (Dave Brown), Morning Star (Carol Virgo), Wales TASC (Dominic MacAskill), Marxism-Leninism Education (Nikki Hardman), New programme for Wales (Brian Williams), and Branch Development (Dominic MacAskill)