THE OLD DAYS

Chris Dillow's memories of the Militant Tendency are a lot more positive than mine. I first came across the entryists when I was a 16 year-old member of the near-moribund branch of the Labour Party Young Socialists in my home town. Even to my unworldly eyes, it was obvious that the two Militant organizers who ran our weekly circus, muttering all the while about the need to build "cadres", regarded themselves as part of a wholly separate organization to the Labour Party. And even I could see that their talk about empowering the workers was a well-meaning mirage; real power, in their ideal world, would lie with the elect few. Although the clincher for me, really, was that the duo reminded me an awful lot of the crankier members of my Mum's former congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. When I saw more of the Militant leaders later on TV, that impression just deepened.

BTW, I ought to have replied to James Hamilton's query about my response to Chris's forthright post on private schools. James rightly makes the point that it's unfair to look down on people just because they've been privately educated. Absolutely. I don't disagree. Public school Hooray Henrys are a different matter altogether, so part of me still sides with Chris. Besides, two of my sons have spent time in the private system, so I'm in no position to throw stones. (My wife and I decided it was worth bankrupting ourselves because we had both been to uninspiring comprehensives.)

Comments

[chris]

There might be a simple reason for the difference. I saw Militant/Tendency members when they talked amongst themselves, and so were reflective and undogmatic. If you only saw them in meetings, you'd have gotten an impression of stridency and dogmatism.

[dearieme]

Whereas I decided it was worth bankrupting myself because I had been to an inspiring comprehensive and the local ones weren't.

[Jerry]

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