By Mark Buckley
Voting has opened in elections for the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Your Party. The possibility of developing a viable mass-oriented party of the left depends on victory for the slate headed and backed by Jeremy Corbyn, ‘The Many’.
It is obvious that British politics is in turmoil and has been for some time. The eye of the storm has shifted to the Labour Cabinet currently because it is in office administering the same diet of austerity and racism as its Tory predecessors, with the addition of a war drive and authoritarian policies that remove fundamental rights.
This is the fundamental crisis that Your Party must address. It can only do that by authentically occupying a political space where the mass of voters would normally expect Labour to be. This is what The Many offers.
It is no accident that the Greens have surged in the polls as Starmer has led Labour sharply rightwards. They have not done so by posturing as socialists who are preparing to overthrow capitalism. They have prospered by offering a programme much closer to the outlook of the mass of progressive voters who want to reverse the current reactionary trend in British politics.
Your Party could have achieved that. Potentially it still can. Crucially, The Many slate has already said that, if elected, it will nominate Jeremy Corbyn as their parliamentary leader. Once that is achieved, following all the necessary democratic processes, it will be a significant step forward for Your Party, as Jeremy Corbyn’s is Your Party’s most visible and it most valuable asset. That should pave the way in the future, again after the necessary democratic steps are taken, to elect Corbyn as party leader. This will maximise the party’s visibility and its appeal.
The alternative is quite stark. Britain has a myriad of small socialist groupings. Some have had moments when they made important contributions in the class struggle. But none has ever achieved a sustained electoral breakthrough. If Jeremy Corbyn and The Many slate is rejected, Your Party would soon resemble these small groupings in politics, influence and size.
As Corbyn has said: “A vote for The Many is a vote for a mass, inclusive, powerful campaigning force. We have an opportunity to build a genuinely mass party that unites our diverse communities on the issues that matter to us all.”
The full list of The Many slate and who to vote for in your region can be found here.