For those who follow the IS blog already, I don't need to point out that this week has seen a lot of activity.  After my own critique of Party Notes, now commonly referred to as 'Pravda' among members, we learned of one of the ways in which the document had lied to members.  We have also had a number of exceptional articles challenging the arguments of Central Committee members and loyalists, above all this incisive piece by Gareth Dale.  

As part of our remit of communicating practical information to assist members, we carried a sample motion for a special conference, and yesterday an update on how many branches have already passed critical motions, and motions demanding a special conference.  This last is essential, because members would otherwise have no way of knowing how far there is to go before achieving that goal.  From now on, we will try to give members as much practical, up-to-date information as possible.

There is also an anonymous letter to the National Secretary, which every party member needs to read and reflect on.  Note the trigger warning.

On Friday, there was an almost ceaseless stream of open statements by local Socialist Worker Student Society (SWSS) groups, from Kings College to Manchester, condemning the Central Committee and supporting the opposition.  This is hardly surprising given the leadership's willingness to sacrifice SWSS and its successes for the sake of winning its internal battles.

Today, there is an open letter of support from an Irish SWP member, and a further, excellent piece by China Mieville addressed to party members.

For those interested in critical reflections on the longue duree, I would refer you to this intelligent perspective piece by Neil Davidson, which we posted up on Monday.  And also, this thoughtful, acerbic article by our resigned comrade, Tom Walker.

In the week since the IS blog went up, it has had over 170,000 page views.