Ron Brown banned from Parliament

Ron Brown from Parliament

In April Ron Brown MP, much to the delight of the poor all over Britain, made a protest during the Parliamentary debate on the social security cuts. During his protest the ‘mace’ (no, we don’t know what it is either) was damaged. For this ‘crime’ Bon Brown was thrown out of Parliament for four weeks. You can treat the poor with as much contempt as you like but not the mace. Ron Brown talks to LORNA REID about his protest, the cowardly reaction of the Labour Party leadership and AEU, and the fight against the Poll Tax.

What exactly did you do and why?

I don’t think it’s a big issue. The capitalist media have at­tempted to make a mountain out of a molehill. What hap­pened was that Tory minister Michael Pertino was giving the government view on the social security bill in the even­ing. He arrogantly refused to listen to the views of the Lab­our MPs present. At the end I picked up the mace intending to place it on the Tory bench. I said ‘This is a load of rubbish. Parliament has become a rub­ber stamp for the Tories.’ The mace fell out of my hands on to the floor and I walked out leav­ing it there.

With hindsight I could have done it better but it was instinctive. If Labour MPs aren’t angry with the Tories then there’s something wrong. I was certainly angry. My action reflects my feelings from my work in Leith working with pensioners and other working class people who are on the breadline thanks to the Tory government and the crisis in the capitalist system.

You have been pilloried by the Labour leadership and the Amalgamated Engineering Union have withdrawn their sponsorship of you. Was your protest worth it?

Any protest against the Tories is worth it if it raises the politi­cal understanding of the work­ing class which the action clearly did. I’ve received hun­dreds of letters in support. It struck a raw nerve in the working class movement.

The Parliamentary Labour Party and the AEU have misunderstood the mood of the working class. Having a go at me won’t help the working class, it exposes their class collaboration with the Tories.

Have you had any support from within the Parliamentary Labour Party and the AEU?

The left wing in the PLP sup­ported me and rallied round to vote against my expulsion from the Commons. I wasn’t present at the AEU national committee despite requesting an opportunity to have a hear­ing. A substantial minority on the National Committee voted in favour of sponsorship of Leith Labour Party. This ‘pun­ishment’ is suffered not by me as such but by the party. Some individuals in the hierarchy of the AEU believe that financial inducements will affect voting patterns but I wasn’t selected or elected on that basis.

What has been the response from within your own consti­tuency and from your own Labour Party branch?

In the main Leith Labour Party think it’s a storm in a tea-cup bolstered by the capitalist media to have a go at the left wing in the Labour Party and trade unions.

The vast majority in the constituency are in favour of what I did. I’ve only received one letter out of the hundreds supporting me which express­ed concern. I’ve not had any hostility.

The Poll Tax is a major issue for the working class in Scotland. What has been your response and do you intend to carry this opposition into Parliament?

One of the reasons there was opposition to my expulsion from the Commons is because I believe in total opposition to the Tories on wide ranging issues including the Poll Tax. At the end of the clay you say to the working class don’t pay because the Poll Tax is a class law which benefits the rich at the expense of the poor. At the Mound in Edinburgh I took part in a ritual burning of government information leaf­lets on the Poll Tax. I be­lieve this represented the fire and hatred of Tory Party policy in general and not just the Poll Tax.

The difficulty in Parliament is the procedures prevent you presenting your case as fully as you could. The Poll Tax needs organised opposition so that the employed, the unemploy­ed, students, pensioners are all united in opposition on the question of non-payment. His­torically Parliament was set up to impose class rule and any­thing gained has been from the direct struggle of the working class. This must be developed because at the end of the day it is the working class which will change things and not a few MPs at Westminster.

This is not the first time you have been suspended from Parliament. In 1981 you were suspended for a week for calling the Scottish Solicitor General a liar after he denied the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act against two sellers of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! Do you see yourself being disciplined again?

I don’t look to be disciplined. On certain occasions an issue may arise and I don’t think I should stick to rules I don’t ag­ree with if it prevents an issue being raised where it can’t be raised outside of Parlia­ment. The seamen’s dispute is a case in point because now we should be demanding that the TUC General Council should be calling a general strike ag­ainst the Tories in support of this group of workers.

All these things can only be changed if we challenge the source of them – the Tories – with the strength of the work­ing class movement remem­bering that unity is strength and if we pussyfoot around like the right wing in the PLP it will lead to further defeats. Speaking as one of the few MPs who turned up on the picket, speaking to the seafarers, men and women, they want action, they want to Labour Party to put their words into action.

How would you like to see MPs using Parliament to represent their constituents?

I think MPs should use every opportunity to put forward the case which has to be linked to the overall struggle against the capitalist system otherwise it won’t be effective. Socialism is about changing and replacing capitalism to provide real democracy for the vast majority of people in this country and other countries.

FRFI 78 May /June 1988