Ed Milliband's election as leader of Labour represents a massive radicalisation of the working class and a whole layer of middle class youth! It is only by understanding the Dialectical Materialist method of seeing contradictions which in this case saw Milliband went from being part of the Bourgeois New Labour faction to turning into his opposite of becoming a Social Democratic Populist demagogue! His election means the end of the New Labour project. This is why the ruling class are hysterical.
Milliband for opportunist reasons which he has utilised to defeat his brother knows there is a profound radicalisation of the working class and layers of the middle class. The middle class youth are the forefront of this process. Since the general election there has been a move away from ultra-leftism towards a serious orienatation to the Labour Party from Counterfire and Workers Power. In order to understand why the radicalisation is deepening now you have to trace it back to where it originated with the massive landslide for Labour in 1997. It is very important for Trotskyists to understand how these processes go back and then to see their complex evolution in order to comprehend what is unfolding now! The rise of Blarism was by-product of a number of historical factors such as the Capitalist crisis which necessiated a turn to neo-Liberalism; utilising the Liberal Bourgeois ideological offensive against Socialism by claiming the crisis of Eastern European and Russian Stalinism meant the end of Socialism; and the defeats of a number of key 1980s strikes within Britain. There has been resistance within Western Europe to neo-Liberalism after 1989 reprsente by the election of Social Democratic governments! Important strikes and mass mobilisations against this Bourgeois offensives have also occured in these countries. The most exploited and oppressed have also rebelled in such upheavals as Autumn 2005 riots in France.
Landslides for Social Democratic parties such as for example the Britsh Labour Party represented the beginning of a fightback against neo-Liberalism by the working class and layers of the middle class. Mandel argued that one of the factors which led to the mass radicalisation of middle class students during the late 1960 was that a lot of the middle classes within public services were becoming Proleterianised! This is why layers of the middle class threatened with public sector cuts can be easily won over to the workers. One of the factors which could have influnced Miliband's break from New Labour towards Social Democracy could be a reflection of the mass psychology of this middle class layer looking to the working class to fight for an alternative society. It is basic Marxism that you have a mass following among the social layer you represent! Milliband also knows how to speak to the working class even if it is demagogic. His acceptance speech showed this when he spoke of how Labour did not champion the poverty wages of long hours and low wages; and the need to challenge xenophobia effectively by a campign for social housing and fight for an increase in available jobs! He could potentially and Trotskyists should demand that he and Labour lead mass protests against possible evictions of 82,000 Londoners in potential high rent arrears which will not be covered due to housing benefit cuts.
There is a cross-fertilisation of an inter-linked working and middle class radicalisation which is being fused together by the massive coalition government's cuts! Trotsky always stressed how important radicalisations of middle class layers are and how it can influence the working class. The British Ruling Class have traditionally adapted to previous radicalisations and survived by dividing and ruling. British Capitalism's crisis is so great that it has to attempt to attack all gains by workers, and most of the middle class. They could be making a major strategic error of attacking all the workers and most of the middle class due to deluding themselves it can be accomplished due to to sucesses of Thatcherism and Blairism. I wrote as early as May 2007 that the ruling class's over-confidence could dialectically turn its oppostite if they carried on with their neo-Liberal attacks creating mass radicalisations which could potentially dangerously for for the ruling class explode into tendencies towards pre-revolutionary crisis. The Trade Union Bureaucrats went in behind Milliband in order to contain the mass workers radicalisation beginning among their rank-and-file. During his four month election campaign he went around the country organising for his Populist Social Democratic programme. I know he addressed mass youth meetings. Amongst Trade Unionists I do not know how many meetings he addressed as I have not followed his campaign. Sections of the Liberal Bourgeoise represented by the Guardian were worried about their universial attacks on workers and middle class layers by the coalition government could unleash all kind of radical forces which Miliband's election is a distorted reflection of. They are also worried about the Lib Dems destroying themselves among the middle class and confused workers who wrongly voted for a Bourgeois party!.
The ruling class has had a shock with Miliband's election as leader. They are going to have to decide what they do next. In the last few hours there are three initial reactions by differnt ruling class factions. Poly Toynbee representing the devious Liberal Bourgeos wing of muddying the waters and poison the wells by saying there was no major difference in social base between the Miliband brothers. Cameron has congratulated his election as leader. This could represent two different tactics. New Labour has been decomposing for three years, but the Bourgeoisie could put pressure on them to keep aspects of New Labour policies and personnel in the shadow cabinet. If there arises dangers of a pre-revolutioanry development the ruling class may dump the coalition government and let Miliband run a Social Democratic government to salvage Capitalism from a Socialist revolution.
The main response of the ruling class even by some Liberal Bourgeois elements is for the Bourgeois wing to declare war on Miliband and orgasnise an SDP-type split. Micheal Crick's intervention on News 24 tonight reflected this development. In this context it seems the majority of ruling class elements are going to launch a witchunt against the unions influence within the Labour Party. This seems to be counter-productive in deepening the dual working class/layers of a middle class radicalistion and destroying what remains of New Labour faster. Due to the ruling class's strategic and tactical errors the more devious elements such as the Toynbees will be marganlised in trying to salvage even a small element of New Labour. The main danger which Trotskyists have to fight against is a Labour and Lib Dem coalition government which would attempt to isolate the radicalising forces within the organised working class. Miliband has indicated in the last few weeks he might join a coaltion government with the Lib Dems. Trotskyists should utilise any move by Miliband towards a coaltion government with the Lib Dems to win his base over as the forces that led to his rise among the working and some middle class elements who could likely oppose any move in that direction. If there is another general election the Lib Dems will probally be electorally wiped out which will make it considerably more difficult for the Trade Union Bureaucrats and Stalinists to justify such a coalition government.
The main thrust of this article has been to argue why it is important for Trotskyists to understand what the election of Miliband represents. In this framework it is important Trotskyists challenge the Miliband leadership to deepen the radicalisation towards Trotskyism by breaking millions of workers from Social Democracy but until this happens having a united front approach with this leadership against the Capitalist witchunters and their New Labour agents. There are enormous opportunities for Trotskyists as this dual radicalisation but if we do not fill the vacumn there are dangers in two or three years of renewed reaction and even possible attempted counter-revolution especially if a revolutionary situation is betrayed. If we do not change the balance of forces against Miliband the hopes of the middle classs could turn into its dialectical opposite of despair which could then influence the Lumpenproletariat to carrying out Capital's agenda. This is where the danger of Fascism arises. As Trotsky said Fascism only becomes a mass movement after the Labour Bureaucrats (Trade Union; Social Democratic; and Stalinist) smash an attempted Socialist revolution.
In the beginning of this document I noted the positive move towards the mass movement of Counterfire and Workers Power particulary towards the Coalition of Resistance and the Labour Party. Trotskyists can work in a united front in the Coalition of Resistance and possibly building a left wing within the Labour Party but they have to be defeated on major programmatic mistakes. The Reesites have followed others from the IS/SWP tradition of breaking from sectariansim towards the mass movement but move in a movementist and opportunist direction. They lost the SWP leadership becaue of their Popular Frontism with Islamic Bourgeois forces. Martin Smith's leadership is a sign of a serious internal crisis within the SWP that somebody like that comes to the top. Smith has went from an opportunist line on Respect to the opposite side of the coin:- adventurist tendencies. Workers Power may have been interviewed on Russia Today because of their possible turn towards the mass movement. On the workers' states Workers Power have moved rightwards. They had an extreme Stalinphobic approach to the 2008 Chinese olympic games comparing it to the Berlin 1936 games! During the Russian-Georgian war they were to the right of Alex Callinicos who saw Russia's victory as a major blow to Imperialism.
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