Your Party to launch – now build a mass party of the working class

Editorial from the Socialist – October edition – the paper of Socialist Party Scotland

Starmer’s Labour has, as we predicted, proven to be a vicious anti-worker government from day one. His is a government of crisis. Collapsing poll ratings, now down to around 23%, has created a mood of revolt among even sections of Labour MPs.

They can envision hundreds of lost seats at the next general election, and being thousands of councillors down after next May’s council elections in England.

In Scotland, Labour are languishing at less than 20%. Starmer’s approval rating in Scotland is currently – 63%. Even the austerity-laden SNP government at Holyrood are currently 10% ahead of Labour in the polls. As a result, a challenge to Starmer by Labour MPs is not ruled out, possibly after next May’s elections.

The loss of deputy leader and housing minister Angela Raynor, who underpaid her tax bill after buying a home in Hove for £800,000, was bad enough. Within days the “prince of darkness, Peter Mandelson, was forced to resign after being too supportive of the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer is on the ropes, battered by a slowing economy, rising inflation and fears that the bond markets will move against the UK economy.

After being forced by an MPs revolt to abandon most of their planned welfare cuts, Rachel Reeves’ budget in November is likely to unleash further austerity on already ruined public services, and a return to taking the axe to benefits as well. Pay freezes for workers are also possible.

The so-called workers’ rights legislation has been watered down to within an inch of its life. With the sectoral bargaining element of the workers’ rights bill not going to be implemented. Big business is lobbying hard and this was reflected in the architects of the bill being removed during the recent cabinet reshuffle.

No wonder then that the drop in support for Labour is highest among those on incomes of less than £30,000 a-year. And these are the key reasons why Reform UK has gained in the polls.

The betrayals of Starmer have opened an even bigger political vacuum, that is in part being filled by Farage and co. Labour have responded to this threat by adopting his own anti-immigrant rhetoric and imposing even more severe restrictions on asylum seekers.

The other side

The rise of Reform UK is only one side of the equation. The other side, and by far the one with the most potential, has been the overwhelmingly response to the announcement by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana in July of the intention to create a new party.

With more than 800,000 filling in a form online to register their support, the opportunity to construct a mass working-class alternative to the parties of cuts and capitalism is posed.

Even before the party has been created, and in part a result of the vacuum created by the delay in anything concrete in terms of how to actually join the new party, hundreds of local unofficial meetings of Your Party have been taking place. This shows the enormous enthusiasm that exists.

Party launch

As we go to press, plans have been announced for a series of regional assemblies in October and a founding conference in November.

Transforming an 800,000 strong mailing list into a democratic socialist party is a difficult task, but the process outlined is not a way to achieve it.

There appears to be no place for elected representatives of trade union bodies, socialist organisations or working-class community groups to be represented at a founding conference.

Nor is it proposed that members of the new party at local level will be able to elect delegates via local branches. This would have allowed them to choose the delegates who best represent their collective views but instead ‘delegates’ are proposed to be randomly chosen by lottery.

Socialist Party Scotland will engage in the proposed debate on these issues, including at the regional assemblies, putting forward the steps needed for the development of a workers’ party with a socialist programme, and for the federal structure that would best enable that at this stage.

We will step up our campaigning for a workers’ party in the trade union movement, arguing for trade union organisations to put proposals to ‘your party’ on the steps needed for it to develop in that direction.

It is also important that a name is registered with the electoral commission so as to be able to stand candidates next May as well as putting in place a democratic selection process for candidates.

Alongside these important tasks are the crucial questions of discussing a socialist political programme for the new party. As well as making it clear from the start that it must be a party seeking to involve and represent the trade unions and the working class as a whole.

That doesn’t mean not appealing to radicalised middle class sections of society to join. It does mean the leadership of the Your Party must make it clear that it stands on the basis of seeking to become a workers’ party.

This is based on the understanding that the organised working class are the key force in building a new society – socialism. And that the organised working class, in the six-million strong trade unions and organised politically in a mass workers’ party would, be the decisive force is cutting across racism and division.

A better way to have started the process of Your Party would have been to have invited representatives of socialist organisations, trade union left organisations,  leading trade unionists and groups of independent councillors and genuine community campaigns to a meeting.

On this basis – it would have been possible to harness their collective organising capacity to get the party off the ground. At the same time there should have been organised discussions with those forces in the trade unions who are supportive of the new party, to discuss how the workers’ movement could be central to its democratic structures, and how to fight to win the trade union movement to it.

As it is, Socialist Party members in the trade unions have been crucial in building support for the process. We have organised a series of trade unionists for a new party meetings. Starting with the 1000-strong online meeting in July at which Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana spoke.

Since then meetings have been held in eight different unions to discuss building support in the trade unions for the new party. This has included drawing up union specific resolutions to take into the structures of each union.

History of struggle

The Socialist Party – and our predecessor Militant – have a long history of being able to win mass support among the working class for a fighting programme.

A record that Includes the spearheading of the struggle of the socialist Liverpool City Council in the 1980s, and building the mass non-payment campaign of the poll tax that brought down Thatcher.

We played a crucial role in these victories because we based ourselves on the working class and young people and their capacity to struggle.

And vitally because we were armed with a socialist programme that understood that mass struggle is the key to winning reforms, but that only the struggle to overthrow capitalism can make those reforms permanent.

That’s why we will campaign in the Your Party process for it to adopt a socialist manifesto. One based on mobilising the working class to fight for a £15 an hour minimum wage, for wage rises that at least keeps pace with inflation and for massive spending increases to build council houses, rebuild the NHS and shattered public services.

The money for this can be secured by taxing the super-rich and big business, but crucially though the nationalisation under democratic workers control and management of the major corporations that dominate the economy.

On that basis an end to poverty, inequality and racism would be possible. 

Holyrood 2026 – October 4, 1pm, Renfield Centre, Glasgow 

Come to the Holyrood 2026 Conference organised by Scottish TUSC, Your Party Scotland, Socialist Party Scotland, the SSP, Scottish Left Alternative and a range of leading trade unionists from across Scotland. Help build a trade union and socialist election challenge for the Scottish Parliament elections next May.

Register for the event here