Zack Polanski has revived hope that the left can turn the tide of British politics. But to actually do that, we need a party that can walk the talk, building working-class power from the ground up, write Your Party leadership candidates Candi Williams and Anahita Zardoshti.
Building power in our proto-branches hasn’t been without its challenges. Hundreds of members in Bristol and Islington alone have signed up, but we can’t connect with them because HQ won’t give us their data.Around 60,000 people – more than have been members of a UK socialist party since the second world war – have been paying dues for months, and proto-branches have no access to that money nor clarity on where it’s going. We’ve tried to make contact with HQ to advertise meetings, grow the branch and support members, but received no response. The Grassroots Left slate we’re standing on will change that on day one, delivering members’ data and money back to them, rather than hoarding it at the top
Two competing slates have emerged: The Many, backed by Jeremy Corbyn; and The Grassroots Left, backed by Zarah Sultana, on which both of us are standing.
The Grassroots Left has endorsed both Corbyn and Sultana as co-founders, because this is not a clash of personalities between the two, as some believed it was last summer. This is about resolving a political and ideological difference about what the party should be. Do we want Your Party to be a top-down imposition of Labour 2.0? Or do we want it to be a democratic, member-led, socialist party capable of bringing about the systemic change we so desperately need?
hmm sounds rather divided but would be interesting to see
hmm sounds rather divided but would be interesting to see