On July 3rd MP Zarah Sultana resigned from the Labour Party and declared that she would co-lead a new party with ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Her announcement is a shot in the arm for all those who have been campaigning for a new worker’s party. Many on the Left will argue that Jeremy Corbyn should have started this process four years ago, when under attack from the elite and the right in the Labour Party. But the fact that Zultana has stepped forward is to be welcomed because it has broken through the deadlock around the timing of announcing such a party.
The mood to launch a new party has been growing over the last twelve months in the light of the Labour government’s policies on welfare, Gaza, civil rights, the NHS and a range of other issues. There have been moves to curb this mood by some figures on the left, with arguments such as “it is not the right time”, “we can reform Labour,” or that “attempts to build a new party in the past have all failed”. Others have diverted into activism. However, the circumstances in Britain today are very different from when Scargill launched the Socialist Labour Party in the 1990s or Respect was launched 20 years ago. We now have a Labour government that is not only on the right economically -supporting fully a neo-liberal agenda- but is also on the right in its social, immigration, militarisation, and environmental policies. For many, it is hard to comprehend the lengths the current government has gone to in order to satisfy the demands of the capitalist class and the states of Israel and the USA. There is a thirst for a left alternative.
The most recent example of the depths of duplicity that the Labour government has sunk to is illustrated by the proscribing of the peaceful activist group Palestine Action. This means that it is now illegal to show support for this group because they are seen by the state as a “terrorist” organisation. Sentences of up to fourteen years can be handed down by the courts to anyone showing support for Palestine Action.
Zarah Sultana should be applauded for the step she has now taken and for her bold announcement. There have been discussions going on “behind closed doors” for some time as to whether it is the right time for a new party. Jeremy Corbyn, previously mooted as the interim leader of such a formation, has seemingly been reluctant to step forward. It looks as though Sultana has now forced his hand and the formation of a new party will be managed via the joint leadership of Corbyn and Zultana.
As we understand, the decision to back their joint leadership was coordinated with those in the secretariat of Collective, the formation that has been consulting across the left for over twelve months on the possibility of a new party. The Campaign for a New Worker’s Party, which we engage actively with, has been attending the open Collective meetings and had been attempting to steer the formation of a new party towards a democratic process. The sudden announcement by Zultana has raised some concerns because of her placing herself and Corbyn in the driving-seat of the new initiative, but as long as they can be accountable throughout the process of building such a party by the rank-and- file, then it is entirely possible that a healthy democratic organisation will emerge.
In her announcement Sultana said quite clearly that, “Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country.” This seems to be a desire to engage widely with a process towards a new party. Sultana also finishes her statement with the prophetic words that, “In 2029 (the probable year of the next UK general election) the choice will be stark: socialism or barbarism.” The clear mention of socialism in the strap-line of her statement is encouraging and those on the left reading it need to build a socialist, not social democratic approach. The mistakes made previously in setting up new left Formations across Europe must not be repeated. The hopes and energies on the left in Greece for example with the well documented betrayals of the Syriza government and its top-down methods need to be avoided.
The setting up of a left block within the new party with comrades who already talk to each other and cooperate, could be an avenue for devising a transitional approach towards encouraging the principles, policies, and democratic structures possible within a socialist framework. There will be many differences of course and already debates have begun about how to engage with or affiliate to the unions, what the key policies and principle will be, and what the party structure will look like. One thing is clear, it cannot replicate the structures and methods of the Labour Party, with a reliance on “leaders” who can’t lead and processes that shut down debate. Let’s trust that Sultana and Corbyn are in favour of a new methodology which finds consensus and incorporates ideas without wanting to win every argument or impose minority positions. Many joining the new party will have similar ideas. 28% of British people describe themselves as socialists and what the socialism of the new party looks like will be a journey we should all travel together and we should all struggle for.
This is the start of an exciting process. There will be many hurdles to overcome in the coming period and the media, state and elite class will attack it every step of the way. We need an open and transparent form of democracy that can reveal the corruption and violence inherent in the British state and convince people that there is another way. That way is socialism. That means that those who get involved are listened to and their ideas taken seriously. The initial discussions will reveal differences, perhaps some significant ones but a culture of respect and tolerance around a shared set of principles and ideas is essential. At the time of writing 35,580 people have signed up the Sultana’s support page. This number has been reached in just over twenty-four hours. Let’s get involved and build the support into the hundreds of thousands.
Struggle for socialism. Struggle for accountability. Struggle to cut through the noise created by our enemies and build a better future.
