The death of Hugo Chavez shook the foundations of Venezuela, but the shock waves reverberated across the world. As huge crowds gathered to mourn the death of their president, here in Hackney Diane Abbott tweeted:
“Hugo ?#Chavez has died. Commiserations to his family & the people of ?#Venezuela. Tragedy for Latin America & Caribbean.”
The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington has always been vocal in her support of the late leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and has a reputation for supporting socialist policies. Last October she was reprimanded for skipping a local NHS meeting to fly to Venezuela to support Chavez in his re-election.
However, Abbott’s comments reflect the strong undercurrent of socialism that has always played a pivotal role in Hackney’s history and continues to be relevant today. The borough was home to the Diggers – agrarian communists – in the 17th Century, as well as a number of radical thinkers in the 18th century. Enlightenment thinker Richard Price, feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe all lived in Hackney and were educated in Dissenting Academies.
Yet, there are concerns from today’s local socialists that political heavyweights like Abbott, who are too quick to define themselves as left-wing, are detracting from the real issues at stake.
“Diane Abbott is not a socialist,” says Mick Carty, the general secretary of the Young Communist League (YCL). “She sent her son to a private school. She is not the worst person to have been elected, but she is not the best either.”
“Lots of different people call themselves socialists because they think that they can take the word and say whatever they like,” Carty adds.
The YCL, which is the youth wing of the Communist Party of Britain, aims to achieve a socialist society founded on public ownership and democratic control. Based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism, it seeks to encourage young people to develop a political consciousness and struggle for “peace, jobs and socialism”.
“Socialism comes before communism,” Carty says. “Communism is the ideal, but socialism is the transition period between capitalism and communism; it is something we can achieve now.”
The Hackney branch is part of a long-standing history of communism in the area – in 1907 Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky and Rosa Luxemburg all attended the 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, held in a De Beauvoir church.
In recent years the Communist Party has still made subtle waves in Hackney. In the 2010 mayoral election Communist Party candidate Monty Goldman managed to secure 2033 votes. Although this figure only represented just over two per cent of the total ballots cast (winner Jules Pipe earned 51 per cent of the vote), Goldman was jubilant: “This is the highest Communist vote ever achieved in my lifetime as a candidate in Hackney.” He attributed his success to the grass roots work carried out by the Communist Party in the borough over the past few decades.
These days, Goldman’s election campaigns are behind him. At 82, he is no longer “a young thing”, but he is still fully immersed in the communist cause and is well known for his long-standing fight against fascism and the far right.
“The Communist Party has always been close to ordinary people in Hackney – if you are not in contact with people and you do not know them, then they won’t vote for you,” Goldman says.
“We have always been and still are very active in the borough. There’s a need for communists everywhere to campaign to get their message across.”
Twenty-seven year-old Carty explains that the pull of communism in Hackney is stronger than in other areas because of its predominantly working class population. “In general, Hackney has always been a class conscious borough in that they vote Labour and there’s only ever a fraction of Tory and Liberal councillors, but people have recognised that Labour cannot deliver.”
However, while Carty played a key role in Goldman’s canvassing strategy in 2010, like Goldman he is aware that the Communist Party is far from ready to step in just yet. “Our work is slow and steady and about building up a relationship with the people.
“We’re not waiting for a significant event – the party always places the needs of the working class first. Maybe we will have a councillor or two at the next election; maybe we won’t.”
Carty explains that the key concerns at present are government cuts – £82 million has been taken out of Hackney Council’s budget over four years, including this financial year – and the privatisation of public services, particularly in education through the introduction of academies and free schools.
“Education and healthcare are major battles. These are the last two areas where the public still controls the service,” Carty says.
Fighting on the same side is the Hackney branch of the Socialist Party, which campaigns against “all the attacks of the government and big business – from national and local government cuts in services, the privatisation of the NHS, to the destruction of our environment.”
Judy Beishon, member of the executive committee, says: “We have always had at least one branch in Hackney and we are always active out on the streets.”
Although the party is doing better in other areas – in Walthamstow they stood in the 2010 parliamentary election – continuing Hackney’s radical history, this Saturday they will assemble with other socialists from north London to demonstrate against public service cuts.
“The present system is not working,” says Beishon. “It is not offering anyone anything and this is a particular issue for young people, who are struggling to get jobs and cannot earn enough money to live.
“There is more and more interest in our ideas – The Communist Manifesto is one of the best-selling books of all time.”
However, like Carty, Beishon is aware that there are still obstacles to overcome, particularly when it comes to people’s wider perceptions of what socialism really means. “Socialism is a broad term but people tend to associate it with Stalinism,” says Beishon. “We are revolutionary socialists but what we are looking for is a system that is democratic.”
If it’s new thinking Beishon is after, then she’s in the right borough. Hackney’s rich history in radical thinking and dissidence suggests it’s the right place to start.
