Socialist Alliance members voted by a margin of 73 to 63 to
dissolve the organisation at a conference in London on 5 February.
Moving the closure motion, Andy Newman from Swindon SA said it
was a recognition that the SA no longer existed as a national organisation. He
said the largest component of the SA, the Socialist Workers Party, did not share
the ambition of many members to turn the SA into a broad socialist party and had
not taken opportunities which could have built the SA into a real force.
The debate was delayed by objections from a number of members
that the closure motion was unconstitutional, but this was rejected by the
conference. Members also forced the chair, Nick Wrack, to allow further time for
debate than the original agenda allowed.
The SA Democracy Platform put a motion demanding that all bodies
of the SA start functioning again, but this fell with the passing of the closure
motion. There were four speakers for each motion, although it was remarkable
that the SWP did not submit any motions or put forward any speakers.
The only other motion considered by the conference was to repay
Walsall Democratic Labour Party a sum of money it loaned to the SA in 1999 for
an election deposit, which members endorsed.
According to the terms of the closure motion, the Socialist
Alliance will cease to exist on 28 February 2005.
