In Sheffield, July 13th 2002

The text which follows was delivered as the introduction to the above meeting which was attended by about 30 people from a number of towns in the Midlands and North of England, as well as Scotland. They represented a wide divergence of political opinion from anarchists, anarcho-syndicalists, left communists, (organised and individual) as well as individuals originally from a variety of Trotskyist backgrounds.

The meeting was divided into two parts. The first part discussed the political basis of the NWBTCW coordination. Most of this was taken up with the rejection of the politics of a Third Worldist Castroite who tried to insist that both that the peasantry were the real revolutionary class and that Cuba was socialist. He voluntarily took himself out of the meeting when the second half on the practical nature of NWBTCW was discussed.

The outcome of the Sheffield NWBCW meeting on Saturday July 13th was that the original proposal made to the meeting was amended. The original proposal stated that we in Sheffield NWBCW would like to see:

1. The creation of other groups in other cities.
2. Ultimately we would like to see this coordination become international and internationalist by reaching other countries.
3. These groups to be active locally in opposing STW and the Socialist Alliance and any other left manifestation that sporadically claims the title of revolutionary.
4. These groups also to take on the anti-globalisation movement and draw those in it towards class politics.
5. These groups also engage in discussion and debate to deepen our understanding of where we stand in the process of change and how we can then help to create the conditions to bring it about.
6. These groups would organise discussions between different tendencies as part of our ongoing activity.
7. After some discussion a seventh point was added (which was an amalgam of two other proposals). NWBTCW doesn’t limit its activity to theoretical discussion or mobilising for demonstrations but actively works to take its message into every area where workers collectively congregate.

This resolution was approved by the meeting and the individual members of the Midlands Discussion Group promised to take it back to their next meeting for further discussion.

The next meeting of the Sheffield NWBCW is in the Rutland Arms, Brown St Sheffield at 8.00 p.m. on Monday August 12th. The main theme will be “What is the Working Class?” but will also discuss plans in response to the current build up for war against Iraq (Stop the War demonstration planned for September 28th). Midlands Discussion Group have a meeting on “What is Communism” on Saturday August 10th in Birmingham to which all are invited.