Forsakia
23-04-2008, 14:04
THE Soviet Union may have collapsed 17 years ago, but Wales has just elected its first Communist councillor for decades.
It may not rank alongside storming the Winter Palace in St Petersburg but gaining a foothold on Hirwaun and Penderyn Community Council is being hailed as a sign of things to come.
Clive Griffiths, 48, was first elected to the council in 1999 when he was a member of the Labour Party. Now, having defected to the Communist Party (CP) of Britain, he has been re-elected unopposed.
Yesterday Mr Griffiths was unveiled to the world as Wales’ first Communist elected to public office since the 1970s, when the party had two councillors in Pontypool.
The unveiling took place during a press conference – attended only by the Western Mail – at the Cayo Arms pub in Cardiff, named after another rebel, Cayo Evans of the Free Wales Army. Party general secretary Rob Griffiths (no relation) was not happy about Clive Griffiths being photographed beneath the pub sign depicting Mr Evans, because of the latter’s admiration for the Spanish dictator General Franco.
Asked how he would put Communist principles into practice on a body that has extremely limited powers, Clive Griffiths, who is also standing for election to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: “There’s a very important local issue at the moment which is a very good example of why I left the Labour Party.
“In Hirwaun, there’s an old school building that the local NHS Trust would like to turn into a health centre. But the council, which owns the building, says it has to be sold to the highest bidder and wants to sell it to a property developer. I am sure a way could be found to get it converted into a health centre but it seems the council doesn’t want to know.”
Mr Griffiths, who has been a peace activist for many years, said he left Labour because of the decision to invade Iraq.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t square the circle and stay in New Labour any more,” he said. “I have quite a few friends in the Labour Party but it’s clear to me that the party has moved so far away from socialism that there is no point staying in if you are a socialist.
“The Communist Party reflects what I believe in and I feel comfortable in it.”
Rick Newnham, the CP’s Welsh secretary, told the press conference: “Unlike the other parties, we are prepared to talk about the issue that is the elephant in the siting room – the fact that our society is built on inequality and that a very small percentage of people own the vast majority of the wealth.”
Mr Newnham said that on a local government level, the CP stood against the privatisation of local services and wanted councils to be given back the right to build homes.
Rob Griffiths said: “It is outrageous that the UK Government was easily able to find £55bn to bail out Northern Rock when it got into financial difficulties, yet it says that a £1bn deficit in the NHS is completely unacceptable. And there is always money available for wars.”
Asked what the CP could achieve in Wales even if all its eight candidates at the May 1 elections won seats, Rob Griffiths said: “That would send out a powerful message that would be picked up loud and clear. More and more people are becoming disillusioned with the policies of the mainstream parties, all of which want to prop up the fundamentally unequal and unjust system of capitalism.
“We are offering an alternative which more and more people are turning to. Young people are our future. For the first time for many years, we have in Wales a Young Communist League that is campaigning for genuine socialism. We are on the way back.”
Challenging the system
Britain’s Communist Party was formed in 1920 after a convention held in London attended by delegates from the British Socialist Party, the Communist Unity Group of the Socialist Labour Party, the South Wales Socialist Society and other groups.
The following year, the party stood for Parliament for the first time at a by-election in Caerphilly following the death of Labour MP Alfred Onions. The Communist candidate, Bob Stewart, came third with 2,592 votes.
In 1924 Shapurji Saklatvala was elected the first Communist MP, in Battersea North, having previously been elected as a Labour MP when Communists were allowed to stand as Labour candidates.
Unlike in other Western European countries, notably France and Italy, Britain’s Communist Party has never enjoyed much electoral support.
The high point for the Communist Party in Wales came in 1946 when it fielded 35 candidates. Would-be councillors stood for Glamorgan and Monmouthshire County Councils in a range of seats including Rhondda, Ogmore, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath, Pontardawe, Cwmbran, Pontypool and Aberdare. In 2004 the party fielded six candidates in the last council elections in Wales, getting its highest percentage vote (21.6%) in Shotton, Flintshire. It hosted a “Communist University” in Pontypridd.
link (http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/politics-news/2008/04/15/wales-gets-its-first-communist-councillor-since-1970s-91466-20764172/)
Thoughts anyone?
I'm reasonably pleased by it (though it's a shame it was unopposed) it's a seat away from Labour, he won't be able to do much, and it could be fun.
It may not rank alongside storming the Winter Palace in St Petersburg but gaining a foothold on Hirwaun and Penderyn Community Council is being hailed as a sign of things to come.
Clive Griffiths, 48, was first elected to the council in 1999 when he was a member of the Labour Party. Now, having defected to the Communist Party (CP) of Britain, he has been re-elected unopposed.
Yesterday Mr Griffiths was unveiled to the world as Wales’ first Communist elected to public office since the 1970s, when the party had two councillors in Pontypool.
The unveiling took place during a press conference – attended only by the Western Mail – at the Cayo Arms pub in Cardiff, named after another rebel, Cayo Evans of the Free Wales Army. Party general secretary Rob Griffiths (no relation) was not happy about Clive Griffiths being photographed beneath the pub sign depicting Mr Evans, because of the latter’s admiration for the Spanish dictator General Franco.
Asked how he would put Communist principles into practice on a body that has extremely limited powers, Clive Griffiths, who is also standing for election to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: “There’s a very important local issue at the moment which is a very good example of why I left the Labour Party.
“In Hirwaun, there’s an old school building that the local NHS Trust would like to turn into a health centre. But the council, which owns the building, says it has to be sold to the highest bidder and wants to sell it to a property developer. I am sure a way could be found to get it converted into a health centre but it seems the council doesn’t want to know.”
Mr Griffiths, who has been a peace activist for many years, said he left Labour because of the decision to invade Iraq.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t square the circle and stay in New Labour any more,” he said. “I have quite a few friends in the Labour Party but it’s clear to me that the party has moved so far away from socialism that there is no point staying in if you are a socialist.
“The Communist Party reflects what I believe in and I feel comfortable in it.”
Rick Newnham, the CP’s Welsh secretary, told the press conference: “Unlike the other parties, we are prepared to talk about the issue that is the elephant in the siting room – the fact that our society is built on inequality and that a very small percentage of people own the vast majority of the wealth.”
Mr Newnham said that on a local government level, the CP stood against the privatisation of local services and wanted councils to be given back the right to build homes.
Rob Griffiths said: “It is outrageous that the UK Government was easily able to find £55bn to bail out Northern Rock when it got into financial difficulties, yet it says that a £1bn deficit in the NHS is completely unacceptable. And there is always money available for wars.”
Asked what the CP could achieve in Wales even if all its eight candidates at the May 1 elections won seats, Rob Griffiths said: “That would send out a powerful message that would be picked up loud and clear. More and more people are becoming disillusioned with the policies of the mainstream parties, all of which want to prop up the fundamentally unequal and unjust system of capitalism.
“We are offering an alternative which more and more people are turning to. Young people are our future. For the first time for many years, we have in Wales a Young Communist League that is campaigning for genuine socialism. We are on the way back.”
Challenging the system
Britain’s Communist Party was formed in 1920 after a convention held in London attended by delegates from the British Socialist Party, the Communist Unity Group of the Socialist Labour Party, the South Wales Socialist Society and other groups.
The following year, the party stood for Parliament for the first time at a by-election in Caerphilly following the death of Labour MP Alfred Onions. The Communist candidate, Bob Stewart, came third with 2,592 votes.
In 1924 Shapurji Saklatvala was elected the first Communist MP, in Battersea North, having previously been elected as a Labour MP when Communists were allowed to stand as Labour candidates.
Unlike in other Western European countries, notably France and Italy, Britain’s Communist Party has never enjoyed much electoral support.
The high point for the Communist Party in Wales came in 1946 when it fielded 35 candidates. Would-be councillors stood for Glamorgan and Monmouthshire County Councils in a range of seats including Rhondda, Ogmore, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath, Pontardawe, Cwmbran, Pontypool and Aberdare. In 2004 the party fielded six candidates in the last council elections in Wales, getting its highest percentage vote (21.6%) in Shotton, Flintshire. It hosted a “Communist University” in Pontypridd.
link (http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/politics-news/2008/04/15/wales-gets-its-first-communist-councillor-since-1970s-91466-20764172/)
Thoughts anyone?
I'm reasonably pleased by it (though it's a shame it was unopposed) it's a seat away from Labour, he won't be able to do much, and it could be fun.