This report (and discussion) has to be a DSP party-building report and discussion. Peter Boyle’s report is not, it’s still in the framework that we can build the Socialist Alliance as the “New Party”. Even if he puts building “two parties” in inverted commas, or says building two parties, but two “different types of parties”, or ambiguously interprets the phrase “new party project”, switching back and forth between interpreting it as our long term goal, perspective, (for the last two decades) of working to find ways to build a mass workers’ party, and on the other hand treating the SA as that new party we’re building.

In their contribution to the pre-congress discussion printed in The Activist Vol. 15, No. 5, comrades Karl M and Margarita W begin by agreeing with John Percy that we should eliminate “the hype, over-exaggerations, and substitution of hopes for a sober recognition of realities.”

How should we carry out our international work and international relations with other parties in the period ahead? As the DSP, as the Socialist Alliance, or both? And what has been our experience internationally functioning as the Democratic Socialist Perspective, an internal tendency within the Socialist Alliance?

The National Executive’s draft resolution for the 22nd DSP Congress on “The DSP and the Socialist Alliance” provides the political motivation for a new party-building orientation in which the DSP ceases to operate as an internal tendency of the Socialist Alliance and returns to functioning as a public revolutionary socialist organisation that recruits members from within and outside the membership of the Socialist Alliance, while continuing to be affiliated to the Socialist Alliance, to build it as a campaigning alliance in the social movements (particularly the trade union movement) that seeks to build a mass workers’ party.

The National Executive’s draft resolution for the 22nd DSP Congress on “The DSP and the Socialist Alliance” provides the political motivation for a new party-building orientation in which the DSP ceases to operate as an internal tendency of the Socialist Alliance and returns to functioning as a public revolutionary socialist organisation that recruits members from within and outside the membership of the Socialist Alliance, while continuing to be affiliated to the Socialist Alliance, to build it as a campaigning alliance in the social movements (particularly the trade union movement) that s

ALISTER BLACK is an assistant national secretary of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), which had six comrades elected to the Scottish parliament on May 1. Black visited Australia in May. He spoke to Green Left Weekly‘s JOHN PERCY.

The following letter was sent on November 11 by Democratic Socialist Party national secretary John Percy on behalf of the political committee of the Democratic Socialist Party to the national executive of the International Socialist Organisation.

The following letter was sent on November 7 on behalf of the national executive of the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) to the national executive of the International Socialist Organisation (ISO).

In your letter of November 3 you stated that the International Socialist Organisation (ISO) National Executive (NE) felt it had no choice but to recommend to your December National Conference that it terminate your affiliation to the Socialist Alliance (SA) if the DSP’s 20th Congress were to vote to implement our National Committee proposal to convert the DSP into a tendency within the SA.

We were extremely disappointed to receive your November 3 letter threatening to “terminate” the ISO’s affiliation to the Socialist Alliance (SA) if the DSP goes ahead with our proposal to stop building ourselves publicly and just become a tendency in the SA.