‘Peter’s last meeting’ was the most special.
Linda, Katie, Nancy and the rest of his family, our comrades and friends, put together a day that will never be forgotten by those of us who had the privilege to participate, as well as those around the world who were able to livestream the ceremony.
It was a day filled with understandable sadness and sombre reflection but also, in the positive character of a ‘socialist funeral’, the nearly 400 participants, plus almost 200 on Zoom, needed little encouragement in applauding the tributes, laughing at the humour, and singing loudly to Peter’s favourite songs.
This incredible day started in the bright, morning sunshine, with comrades spontaneously singing the Internationale, and our long convoy of cars, red flags flying, making its way down Vicarage Road, Leyton, being respectfully honoured by Peter’s neighbours and passers-by. As a sign of the times, even the short journey to the ceremony venue had motorists beeping their horns in support of what they probably believed was some kind of trade union protest.
Witnessing the impressive, young, guard of honour, crossing the coffin with our red flags on entering the ceremony hall, and then to be met with a packed audience, put more than one lump in our throats.
A magnificent ceremony, reflecting on Peter’s giant political role and extraordinary commitment to building our party and the CWI, was accompanied by some very moving and personal tributes. From Peter’s wife Linda, which brought a tear to our eyes, their daughters Katie and Nancy, along with granddaughter Mahri – who spoke beautifully on behalf of all the grandchildren, Archie, Rosie, Tommy and of course the new apple of Peter’s eye, great grandson, Con.
Everyone loved the balance that was brought from all the tributes in combining memories of Peter’s enormous political authority, commitment and sacrifice, with his more personal and family side which, for a revolutionary leader, had inevitably been less on public display.
Naturally, there were a few mentions of his genuine footballing talents on the field, where his fight and determination to win every game almost matched his political enthusiasm to never give up. And he never gave up on his beloved Everton, despite the comradely taunts from his close friends who supported the red side of Merseyside.
At the afternoon wake, with fantastic food and drink, there were more political and personal reflections, laughing, singing, music and even more fond reminiscences, with Phillip Stott admirably performing Peter’s favourite social party piece at our international events, ‘Buddy can you spare a dime’; afterwards an incredible finale with the whole of Peter’s family doing a Taaffe version of ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’, including the whipping actions, much to the astonishment and pleasure of those comrades rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
As the wake finally wound down, comrades and friends continued the day by celebrating Peter’s life in a nearby pub, the family and some others returned to the Taaffe’s home for a last farewell drink.
And I couldn’t help thinking, as we were standing out in the garden, next to an almost empty barrel of son-in-law Rupert’s delicious beer, and with one eye on the bottle of Penderyn whisky on the kitchen cabinet, that there was only one special ingredient missing – Peter. He would have been so proud of his family and comrades for organising such a brilliant day, and he would have definitely helped us finish off that bottle of whisky.
What a revolutionary leader. What a husband and comrade. What a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. And what a tremendous friend. We all wish Peter could have lived forever.
Alec Thraves, Socialist Party National Committee
The service and wake included contributions from Peter’s family and friends, as well as comrades who worked closely with him. We print extracts from some of those speeches.
Hannah Sell, Socialist Party general secretary
Peter was a political giant.
The first time I heard him speak was 40 years ago in the Albert Hall. I had travelled down by bus from Wolverhampton as a school kid. 5,000 people crammed into a Militant rally to hear speakers putting the case for Marxist, Trotskyist, ideas.
What made the biggest impression was Peter’s speech. He was a great orator, but it wasn’t a question of tricks, or even his Merseyside accent; it stemmed from his deep understanding of Marxism, his absolute determination to tell the working class the truth – “to say what needs to be said”, as he put it – and to do it in the language of working-class people.
Peter said of Trotsky that “his ideas were never for the meeting room alone but were preparation to intervene wherever the working class is and win them to socialist and Marxist ideas”. Peter stood unparalleled in his era, not only for his theoretical clarity but for his ability to do that.
As a result, in the 1980s we built the strongest Trotskyist organisation in Europe, with real roots in the working class. He was central.
He was central to the Liverpool City Council struggle – which saw citywide strike action, and demonstrations of 50,000 in support of the council, because it dared to fight. It took on the government and demanded funds to meet the needs of the population. We forced £60 million out of Thatcher to fund local services and jobs.
In 1990, Peter was again at the heart of the battle against the poll tax – where 18 million non-payers defeated the tax and turned the Iron Lady into iron filings.
Thatcher herself described it as one of the greatest ever victories against a Conservative government.
Peter’s political role was primary. But that can’t be separated from his party-building skills.
He was a team builder. He knew how to give comrades confidence and bring out their talents. He was very kind, and understood to the marrow of his bones that we have all chosen to dedicate our lives to the struggle for socialism. He had huge respect for whatever contribution every individual is capable of.
In my view, Peter’s most important role came later, after the tide of history had temporarily turned against us.
When Stalinist regimes in Russia and Eastern Europe collapsed in 1989, even though they were brutal dictatorships which bore no resemblance to genuine socialism, there was a deluge of capitalist triumphalism; that their brutal profit-driven system was the only alternative, and that socialism was dead and buried.
Peter was among the first to recognise that defeat for what it was, which enabled us to hold firm; not to retreat politically and look for seemingly easier solutions, but to continue to base ourselves on the working class as the only force able to overthrow this rotten capitalist system.
Peter’s realism was combined with unquenchable revolutionary optimism. As he said in a more recent article: “1989 did not bury socialism or Marxism. It only temporarily blurred the vision of the working class, which is now begun to be cleared through the incapacity of this system to solve even the basic requirements of the mass of the peoples of the planet.”
We are going into a time in which the Socialist Party and CWI have great opportunities to build on the strong foundations that Peter was central to creating.
All of us are here to commemorate what Peter meant to us. For those of us in the CWI, the most important way we can do that is to rededicate ourselves to building the CWI in memory of Peter’s truly wonderful life.
Tony Saunois, Secretary of the Committee for a Workers’ International
55 years ago I first met Peter as a 15-year-old schoolboy in Leicester. I went from school in my school uniform to meet him, and he changed my life. Like he did for hundreds, probably thousands, of others, on listening to him.
He was a marvellous internationalist. He made a crucial contribution analysing the Cuban revolution, which was a great benefit to me later, as I did work in Latin America. His role in analysing the collapse of Stalinism and its consequences, and his unique method of dealing with the national question, were amongst his most important theoretical contributions.
Look at the countries he visited politically: Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Greece, Germany, Austria, the list just goes on. In all of those he visited, he was a force of nature. Everybody, whether they agreed or disagreed with him politically, could not but be touched by his intervention and his contribution.
Peter was fearless in struggle, but he was also fearless politically and theoretically. He never shied away from dealing with changes in the situation, complications, difficulties or obstacles.
He bequeathed to us so much, that we have nothing but gratitude to give for his contribution on a personal level and on a political level. He’s bequeathed memories, but he’s bequeathed ideas and method. Now we have to live up to his legacy, to continue the struggle that he began so many decades ago, and which has inspired and shaped the lives of so many of us. So, thank you Peter. We will miss you, but we will not forget you.
Clare Doyle, former member of the International Secretariat of the CWI and Militant Editorial Board
Peter was devoted to the struggle for socialism. He made enormous sacrifices, including travelling abroad to help establish and develop sections of our socialist international. The books he wrote remain a treasure house of material for future generations of class fighters to draw on.
We came to trust his clear political judgment on all major issues politically, and personally, Peter was as solid as a rock – the meaning of his name. We all will miss him.
Peter himself was fond of this quote from the revolutionary author, Nikolai Ostrovsky: “A man or woman’s dearest possession is life, it is given them but once, and they must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past so live, that dying they might say all my life all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world, the fight for the liberation of humankind.”
A socialist world is possible, a world without wars, without borders, without poverty and exploitation. We rededicate ourselves here today to fight for it with all our might, in memory of a very special person. Peter.
Dave Nellist, Socialist Party National Committee and socialist former Labour MP (1983-1992)
As a theoretician and strategist, we couldn’t have asked for better. For those of us who became involved in the 1970s and 80s, Peter played a key role politically and organisationally arming our party for the struggles in Liverpool, the Miners’ Strike, and against the Poll Tax. Later, in our responding to the consequences of the fall of Stalinism, and our campaigning – even more necessary today – for a new mass workers’ party rooted in the organisations and communities of the working class.
The leadership Militant gave over the Poll Tax, with Peter at the helm, produced the biggest UK campaign of civil disobedience of the whole 20th century.
To show the scale of mass non-payment, between April 1990 and September 1993, the number of cases of people unable or unwilling to pay the poll tax going to magistrate courts in England and Wales was 25,016,828. It was that mass non-payment that brought down Thatcher.
Peter’s place in our movement, as an individual and as part of our leadership team, developed a memory for the working class – in a whole range of struggles and revolutionary movements – drawing the lessons so that the next generation he encouraged to pick up the baton, could start from a higher level.
That is a major way in which his legacy will live on.
Sascha Stanicic, Sol (CWI Germany)
Peter was intellectually superior to most of us, but he never acted like it. He often said that, in the new era, it is impossible for just one or two leaders to develop analysis, perspectives and programme, but that it is necessary for it to be a collective effort.
Peter was sensitive to the moods and opinions of comrades and would act on that, asking questions, provoking – in a positive way – comrades to express their disagreements and dissatisfactions.
I have thought a lot about debates in which Peter was patient, and those in which he was less patient. In which situations he acted like a mediator, and others in which he pushed for decisions or to bring the discussion to a head.
He was the latter when it came to the principled question of the class orientation of the organisation, and also when he saw the working-class character of our organisation being in danger. But when it came to questions of tactics and analysis, he was very patient.
It was a privilege to know him and it was a privilege to be his comrade. It is a privilege to continue the fight for socialism in the organisation and international which Peter, more than anyone else, created and formed.
‘A sensitive and tremendous goodbye’
I feel a great compliment is due to all those who put in so much thought and effort into giving comrade and my best friend, Peter Taaffe, such a sensitive and tremendous goodbye. The procession drivers, the colour parties at the beginning and at the hall, the food and drinks makers and servers, the pall bearers, the speakers, the communications technicians and the undertakers’ staff for all wearing an Everton badge.
Perhaps the best compliment to the whole event, and all those in attendance, came from someone who had just seen the funeral procession of cars with flags flying.
He was in the pub garden after the event, sitting alone with his daughter. I asked the comrades if they had seen him at the funeral, or was it a coincidence that he was wearing a red tie? He spotted me looking at him and came over to explain.
After he had seen the procession, he phoned his father who is in a care home in Barnsley to tell him. His father said: “It must be the funeral of a good socialist. Put your suit and red tie on, and go and pay your respects”. His father had always told him to get into the socialist movement but he had met various groups but couldn’t identify with them. He said that listening to the speakers, and talking to comrades at the wake, he decided: “These are my people”. He had picked up the Socialist on the way out and read the obituary; he asked who had written it, we left him to speak to Tony Saunois.
Keith Dickinson, Socialist Party National Committee and former member of the Militant Editorial Board