The Left may not have a fighting chance in
many constituencies, but it certainly seems to relish the chance to fight
election campaigns. The latest party to launch its campaign is Peace and Progress, founded
by actors Corin and Vanessa Redgrave and Azmat Begg (father of Moazzam Begg,
the former Guantanamo Bay detainee). The
Redgraves – formerly of the Communist Workers’ Revolutionary Party – seem to
have undergone a Respect-style makeover and are now promoting human rights, respect
for international law and the UN system. Azmat Begg will stand in Birmingham
Hodge Hill and Sylvia Dunn, founder and president of the National Association of
Gypsy Women, will contest Michael Howard’s Folkestone seat. At today’s press
launch, she compared the Tory leaders’ proposals on travellers to those ‘of the
Gestapo’.
Elsewhere, the Socialist Party
is promoting a slate of candidates in over 15 seats, including former Labour MP
Dave Nellist in Coventry North East and local councillor Ian Page in Lewisham
Deptford. In 2001, Nellist picked up 2,638 votes, which was the best result for
any candidate of the the now-defunct Socialist Alliance.
Maurice Leen is the candidate
for the Independent Working Class Association (IWCA) in Oxford East. The Association,
which promotes ‘working class rule in working class areas’, currently has 3
seats on Oxford City Council. OR
Part one
of ‘around the left’
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