You are not the problem, your Party and its Leadership are.

While this site is critical of the Socialist Worker Party, that criticism doesn’t extend to everyone who would call themselves a member.

Maybe you got into this situation because you saw their advertising campaign and took it in earnest.

If you want to leave, that is an option. And afterwards, we can still be friends and you will find love and support from your local community.

I can think of a number of reasons why you may have chosen to sign up;

Joined because they seem to be at all the protests.

This is one of the party’s tactics; to leverage the work of activists outside of the party to advertise the party. Now you’re inside, you can clearly see; This isn’t activism, it is advertising.

Joined because they seemed to be the only ones doing anything.

There are other groups who are in-fact actually doing activism. The SWP work to suppress the efforts of other organisations and make them appear to be less effectual.

Joined because you hold socialist values.

Socialism is all about ensuring resources, and the means of production are in the hands of the workers. When it comes to movements and activism, the SWP actively work to hoard power, directing it to their leadership. By working to silence instead of empower the activists they claim to align themselves with, and quelling dissent within the party itself, the SWP are essentially engaging in bourgeoisie behaviour.

I feel like its important to stress that they’re not the only game in town, but they are the most reckless. When a reputable organisation runs a demonstration, they usually wait until a date relatively close to the actual protest before announcing anything. They will also coordinate with other organisations to present a united front. They do these things to maximise the safety of those who come to participate. When the SWP run a protest, they usually announce it weeks in advance, and they don’t work well with others. They do these things to maximise their message, in spite of the safety of those participating. And it’s important to remember, it’s not just external activists being put in danger, it’s your safety being put at risk too.

I have read accounts by former SWP members, reporting on the internal culture. The stories paint a picture of a party which pries on the young and vulnerable to find their new recruits. One that is prepared to lie to new recruits about the true extent of their insular nature. A party that tries to control the sorts of friends you’re allowed to have. From the descriptions left by former party members, it really seems as though the SWP are employing the same sort of tactics internally as those employed by cults. From limiting the opinions you’re allowed to share in meetings, to calling each other “comrade”, these are tactics designed to break your will and turn you into a compliant drone who won’t ask questions. Now you’ve been in the party for a while, you can see it happening first hand. Maybe you feel too invested in the party to leave now. Or perhaps you feel like people will judge you for having been associated with the SWP.

Its important to remember that if you are feeling this way, if you think they may have used these tactics on you; That doesn’t call your intelligence into question. Smart people fall for these sorts of tactics all the time. You possibly believed them in earnest because you’re an honest person and you care deeply about your community. It’s important to note though that the sort of people who use these tactics are not your friends or your community; you are a victim and they are your abusers.

Being a socialist means being accountable.

Socialism is fundamentally the idea that the many should hold collective power instead of the few. Collective power can only work if decisions are made transparently, mistakes are acknowledged, and that no one is above scrutiny. These things are fundamental to building trust, which is absolutely essential in a flat structure in which no one person is above another, and maintaining it in a movement which claims to speak for the people.

Ask yourself; Do you hold these values? Surely, unless your reasons for joining a party called “Socialist Workers” were totally disingenuous, the answer is a resounding “yes”.

Ask yourself; Does your party and it’s leadership hold these values? If you find they don’t, consider that your own “trustworthiness” may be incompatible with SWP membership.

The party you deserve would listen to you. Socialism is supposed to be about opposing hierarchies and dismantling class structures. I would encourage you to apply this internally.

They’re exploiting the workers! (That means you and me)

They like to portray anarchists as violent thugs hiding behind a mask. But the party you represent wears a mask all the same to further its agenda and protect its leadership. The mask it wears is your very face! It hides behind you, at the detriment to your own feelings, opinions and safety.

All I’m aiming to do here is to share honestly the tactics the SWP employ. If everything were above board, this shouldn’t be a problem and the SWP would be happy that I’m sharing all the awesome work they do. If exposing their tactics poses enough of a threat to the party that it de facto makes me an enemy, then it’s probably not something honest peoples should be doing anyway.

If you’re reading this and feeling uneasy, that’s okay. You don’t owe them anything. You owe yourself honesty and safety.

You don’t have to stay.

If something about the SWP feels off to you; trust your instincts. You’re not imagining it. You’re seeing what a lot of us saw, eventually.

Leaving is a viable option. I believe in you. It doesn’t mean you’ve given up. It means you’re paying attention and you’ve had enough of being exploited.

Plenty of people have left already. You won’t be the first, and you won’t be the last. And that means you won’t be alone. People on the outside are prepared to forgive and forget.

And if you still care about liberation, you’ll have more freedom to fight for that once you’re out from under them. You can join us, your fellow comrades in greener pastures.

You can walk away. That’s all this is.