There is a sad story in the Weekly Worker of a certain “Comrade Simon” who has been expelled from the Socialist Workers’ Party for “bringing the party into disrepute; leaking internal party documents; factionalism; and non-payment of dues”.
“Comrade Simon” explains that he earned the wrath of SWP National Organiser, Martin “The Enforcer” Smith by putting up an account of a Tower Hamlets RESPECT meeting which was “disrespectful to the Party and “defamatory” of John Rees and Chris Nineham.
Reading between the lines, my guess is that “Comrade Simon”‘s real crime was to have been the source for this account of the John Rees RESPECT selection meeting debacle.
To the extent that we exacerbated the situation by broadcasting the difficulty that the SWP was having in getting their senior party officials nominated by rank and file local RESPECT members for winnable seats, we apologise. I also hope that Comrade Simon will be able to bear the cruel punishment inflicted by the Socialist Workers’ Party upon him with fortitude:
I am writing to confirm with you the message I left on your mobile the other day.
…[A]n expelled member of the SWP cannot attend SWP public events (that includes Marxism/rallies/public meetings). You are also barred from attending SWP internal meetings (conferences/branch meetings/caucuses/fraction meetings). You are also not allowed to sell Socialist Worker.I hope that clarifies the situation
The poor fellow.
