Time for a new left party, yay! The end of Starmer! The rout of Reform! Replacement of neoliberalism! A new unicorn in every garage! Yeah, maybe keep the champagne on ice just now.
True democracy is an active process
What Zarah and Jeremy announced last week was the starting of the foundation of a new party. If you’re up for it, roll up your sleeves. It’s not called the workers’ movement for nothing.
Note Zarah’s wording. They “will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other Independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country”. That tells you two things.
One, it’s not yet ready for launch. You can’t just order a new party off the internet on next day delivery.
And two, this will not be a two-person show. We need layers of leaders at every level. Anyone who has worked for a living will recognise that talent exists at all levels. Just because someone is in a senior position to you it doesn’t mean that they’re more competent. Just look at the quality of prime ministers we’ve had.
So how do we build a mass movement with leaders at every level? That quite clearly is not Jeremy and Zarah’s job. It’s yours. At least it is if you believe in democracy.
And if we want to win in next May’s elections in England, Scotland, and Wales, we must start now, and not wait for saviours to, well, save us.
Democracy is an active process. It is the opposite of sitting back and complaining. It means stepping up and shaping. Like we do in Majority.
British politics represents elite interests. We represent the majority’s interests.
We founded last September in Newcastle, and members elected me as leader. We have members from Belfast to London, Aberdeen to the South Coast, from the Welsh Valleys to the Durham Coalfields. We are not based in the Westminster bubble. We’re a movement that allows you to be a member of a party too. We have members who are in the Greens, the Labour left (who keep it quiet!), smaller left parties, and even a couple of Lib Dems. By organising progressive alliances we increase our chances of winning.
We are called Majority because we represent the majority. Public ownership of utilities, a tax on assets over £10m, supporting disabled people, stopping the world’s climate from collapsing, and not engaging in genocide are all, in fact, pretty popular. Typically 65% to 80% of people like those policies. Take out the “don’t knows”, and it’s an even higher percentage.
Yet British politics is captured by lobbyists, special interest groups, and the revolving door between Westminster and corporate boardrooms.
That’s why this can’t be just a new party. It has to be a new kind of politics. I’ve been working with Jeremy, Zarah, and others to bring a broad base together. As he said, this will grow from a coalition of independents and progressives. So join us now, and be front of the queue. Democracy is messy, it takes time. But in the grand scheme of things, where nothing seems to change, this is happening at speed.
In May next year every city has council elections, Wales has Senedd elections, and Scotland has Scottish Parliamentary elections. Reform UK think they’re nailed on. I say we can stop them. The More in Common poll that put a new left party at 10% was based on a hypothetical. But if we have won control of a major city, it becomes real. People believe. That majority of people who support our policies and values stop thinking it’s a pipe dream. If we win, they start voting for us.
The North East showing the way for a new left party
In Newcastle in the 2024 Mayoral election, I got 25,000 votes compared to Labour’s 26,000. No one thinks Labour can win now.
We’ve been building since then. We’re stronger on the ground. We have better software and better data. We’ve run huge assemblies to shape our manifestos. With food poverty campaigners, transport user groups, disability rights and anti-racists, trade unionists and Palestinian solidarity groups. Their front-line experience brings a concrete reality to what’s needed. That authenticity resonates with the public.
When I was Mayor, we built eco-homes, created thousands of jobs on trade union terms and conditions, and recycled millions of pounds with community wealth building. We proved socialists are not just nice people. We are capable of running the country well. A radical programme of community wealth building can transform lives.
We leaflet at Metro stations. We run online training courses. We’re building from the ground up. Wherever you are, so long as you have an internet connection, you can play a part and help replace our broken politics with grassroots democracy.
As I said on Novara, the establishment have their billionaire newspapers and GB News. The 99% have mass movements. While you’re waiting for the new party, join Majority.
Featured image via the Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.