SWP: more wings than a Chernobyl Chicken

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday October 24, 2002 16:39 by Enda

The latest news on the various wings of the SWP has come to the fore. In this article I name the various wings and the rivalries etc that exist in Ireland's SWP

The SWP political committee are split in three ways on the question of elections.

1. Kieran Allen: He supports total absention from Parliamentry election
2. Grace Lally: She want the SWP to abstain from Parliament if elected (somewhat like SF's old stance)
3. Richard Boyd-Barrett: He supports running for election and using seats in Parlianment. This is the majority view.

The wings within the SWP are fairly obvious to many. There is clear difference between the 'Intellectual' wing and the 'Community Activist' wing. This is due to different political outlooks, and also a clash of perosonalities between Kieran Allen and Boyd-Barrett. These are the two biggest wings of the party, and the source of the greatest clashes on the SWPs leading bodies.

We cannot forget the Anti-Globablisation wing of the SWP. The main figures in this wing are Joe Carolan and Rory Hearne, however Hearne has taken a more backseat role lately.

The 'Trade Unionist' wing cannot be forgotten. This is probably the smallest wing of the SWP due to their low number of workers. The likes of Jimmy Kelly and Carol-Ann Duggan populate this wing.