The Party Conference season

[Týr]

Before I make any arrangements concrete, I'm minded to add one more party conference to the traditional parade at the beginning of October. I've penciled in either or both of the last weekend of September in London and the first weekend of October in Bristol.

It costs £150 to register a political party with the Electoral Commission if the intention is to stand candidates in Westminster constituencies at national elections as a party rather than as independents. There are around 80 on the register, give or take a few. By the end of October there will be at least one more.

Fringe socialism has become a discussion pit with no long-term aim or even desire to persuade the electorate to allow them to form a government and enact a coherent stable program. Continually formulating positions around current events is a distraction from persuading, one by one, enough of the electorate that a party's principles might underpin a desirable state of society for a properly socialist government to result.

Mainstream socialism within the Labour Party was assassinated, killed stone dead by the Prince of Darkness and his sparkle-eyed frontman Tony Blair.

I have no problem discarding both fringe socialism and the Labour Party as irrelevant to bringing any future socialist policy to the statute books.

We are, despite not wanting one, required as a process of registration to nominate a party leader. One can only hope such a person emerges from Conference itself along with a measure of agreement on our foundational principles. It is a post I abjure.

[Týr]

This week I put a page onto the web to get the party website started and I registered a Twitter account from which to build. The latter has so far attracted two followers, one of whom is a cabinet member. That, I admit, I had not been expecting. I wonder whether I can tempt him to tweet about our policies.