- RSW 03 Page 12 & 13 -
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In a sense the Bridgwater conference this November was a chance for the RSN to return to its roots. The Revolutionary Socialist Network started from two conferences held in Bristol in 1993. We’ve been around the country and round the houses since then: people have come and some have gone; and there’s been some falling outs along the way. So it was good to get back to the South West, to the biggest meeting we’ve had for a while (over 30 people) and to re-affirm that what’s good about the RSN is still strong.
There’s a bit of a personal angle here for me. I was part of the group, which organised the original conferences, but I left Bristol shortly afterwards. So Bridgwater felt a bit like coming home to me. But dewy-eyed nostalgia aside, it was a great weekend, with 40 people attending.
Glen Burrow’s opening on ‘Solidarity Lost?’ got things off in the right way. I’m probably a bit ultra-left on these things so didn’t agree with all of Glen’s conclusions but she gave a well-judged overview of the history of working class struggle in Britain: it was honest, critical but looking for positive ways forward. The discussion was much the same: lots of different points of view, some disagreements but no stupid squabbling and, not least, no undue pessimism. The history was grounded in where we’re at now and what we need to do.
It was good. We were sat in a room above a pub talking seriously about the working class changing society. There were anarchists, libertarian Marxists, Trotskyists and Labour Party members listening to each other and exchanging ideas. There were more women than I’ve seen at an RSN meeting for some time. And the walls were draped with deep red banners. It was how it should be.
As I didn’t take any notes I can’t say much about the specifics of the discussions. The topics were a good mix. Dave Chapple continued a history of black people’s experience in Britain, which he’d begun at our previous meeting in Wigan. Dave’s general point is that black people have a rich tradition of struggle which has been neglected by the predominantly white left. But it was a history illustrated with great music; more of which followed in the ‘Black Music social’ on the Saturday evening.
Dave’s first instalment (in Wigan) on Black struggles had indirectly led to the on ‘Working Class Culture and Social Change’. From what originated out of (semi-) drunken post-conference blather in Wigan Tony Taylor set up a wide-ranging and insightful discussion about whether there was such a thing as working class culture and how it might be characterised. Personally, I think there is but, as I recall, we didn’t reach a consensus; certainly not about the relationship between black music and supposedly "crap" white pop. That’s one we’ll probably return to.
Malcolm Ball cut through the bleary-eyed Sunday morning fog to get people thinking seriously about the current state of bourgeois politics, the global economic instability and what they implied for socialism. We then turned to hurried but inspiring reports of people’s activity. There are two things here. First is that Laurens Otter has accurately dubbed the RSN as ‘a talking shop for activists’. So we didn’t get around to deciding how we could ‘intervene’ to save the working class. The second point, however, is that we are socialists and revolutionaries, for us the class struggle is real. I can’t do justice to all that people are doing but three reports stood out for me: John Granna on the campaign against council house privatisation in Yeovil; Dave Chapple’s discussions with Somali refugees working in the new mail sorting office in Bristol; and Dave Hussey’s account of the Four Winds mental health user’s group in Cardiff. Maybe they’ll all write something up for Red South West?
We finished by agreeing to meet again in Bristol next February. Again we’ve got a good agenda lined up, including: French/European trade unions, mental health, sexuality and morality and, of course, current struggles and activities. There was a lot of enthusiasm to carry on where we left off, as there usually is. Glen Burrows and Dave Chapple did us proud in organising the event. But the main thing is, what keeps the RSN going, is that it works: socialists of all sorts come together to listen and learn from each other. We’re nothing if not open and friendly. If you fancy it and can get to the Bristol meeting you’d be welcome and, who knows, it might be a Saturday well spent. For more info contact either: Glen Burrows (tel. 01278 450562) or me, Dave Backwith (tel. 01638 669551)