LEARNING POLITICS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2016 :: RMTnews 20 The political school took place at the RMT education centre in Doncaster, the home town of two railwaymen Thomas Steels and Jimmy Holmes accredited as founding fathers of the Labour Party, to which there is a plaque dedicated to them at railway station. As I walked up to the building a stone tablet on the front lawn indicated that I had arrived at the Bob Crow education centre and gave me a strange feeling of pride to be associated to such an establishment. RMT political officer James Croy, dressed in a black suit with only an RMT badge on the lapel breaking the shade, took us all to the class room for introductions which revealed the stark differences of those attending the course in backgrounds, locations, jobs and significantly in opinions. RMT president Peter Pinkney gave us a brief history of how trade unions became interlinked with politics and their involvement with the Labour Party as a movement and other political parties of the left to improve working people’s rights. “Every generation has to fight the same battles for peace, justice and democracy and there is no final victory nor final defeat,” he said. The next speaker Professor Roger Seifert clearly came with a high level of intellect, dealing with Darwin’s theory of those that adapt to change survive to discussing a doubt that people believed they were being unable to change anything. He pointed out positive examples of this not being true such as women gaining the right to vote and victories in campaigns for workers’ rights. He made an incredibly important point by taking the Marxist definition of the working class as being anyone that has to sell their labour to live and those that own capital and can stop working tomorrow is not. Looking at socio-types of class such as working class, middle class, upper middle class and so on removes the pride of being working class and enables the divide-and-rule culture to help prevent working people coming together and challenging those in power. Making working people more compliant through creating a person’s sense of self- importance and dividing the working class was a system advocated by prime ministers such as Benjamin Disraeli and Margaret Thatcher. This sparked heated debate pushing people’s passions to the forefront that had not previously been present. He left everyone wondering if he was actually that aggressively arrogant or purposely engaging people’s passions. The coming days saw delegates trying to create ways that they would change policies to improve the transport industry and then being pressed on the methods of implementation. Regional organiser Craig Johnston shared ways of campaigning learnt through fighting proposed Northern rail cuts under scrutiny from mass media. A live link to RMT Parliamentary Group member Kate Hoey MP explained why people should vote to leave the EU and some of the different reasons to those taking up the same stance but from the perspective of the right. RMT journalist Brian Denny spoke on the same topic and explained in a beautifully erratic manner how the European Union works. It so succinct that by the time he had finished all but one of the group had moved their opinion to leave the EU. Hasan Dodwell from Justice for Columbia spoke of why working people in other countries are no different to working people like ourselves and when trade unionists are being shot for standing up for their rights it becomes important that those in such countries get the support of those that do not have to endure the same thing. Paul Mezaros from Hope Not Hope came to speak about the threat of far-right groups such as Britain First, National Front, EDL and BNP which split communities through scapegoating and racism. The end of the week brought a trip to the House of Commons. LEARNING POLITICS RMT Crewe branch member Dan Robinson reports on a recent RMT political school