Your Party goes missing as local elections approach

Your Party (YP) has once again dragged its feet in establishing processes and structures since its inaugural conference in November. As a result, membership have grown frustrated at being unable to stand Your Party candidates in the upcoming local elections.

4,850 councillor seats will be up for grabs on May 7, with projections suggesting Reform will be a significant threat at the ballot box. The Green Party look set to be the real competition to the far-right, as YP appears set to miss the starting pistol.

However, socialists across the country are wary of the Green Party’s broad-church approach. After all, they justifiably fear it could follow a similar path to Labour – ultimately capitulating and abandoning its left-wing socialist base once in power.

As a result, Your Party members have refused to allow a failure of leadership to prevent socialist candidates getting elected. Forming their own independent groups and standing without the party machine behind them, they intend to fight the far-right in their communities themselves.

From the north of England to the south, socialism intends to be firmly on the ballot across the country.

Your Party in the South

Groups have formed in North Somerset, North Devon and Torridge, East Herts, and West Essex, indicating a growing wave of socialist energy at the grassroots level across the South. These areas have typically alternated between the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Greens and Labour, but socialist candidates now intend to give the established parties a serious challenge.

Championing socialism under a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (USC) banner, Paul Lenihan will be standing in Harlow in Essex.

The fact people who could have stood as Your Party candidates are standing under other organisations tells us something important. It underscores an inescapable reality: where there is the political will, there is always a way. The leadership of Your Party must take heed.

We also see a dogged perseverance in the London region, where we find the Camden People’s Alliance and Haringey Socialist Alliance. Both have told the Canary that they are coordinating with other progressives and setting up non-compete agreements to prevent the left vote from splitting unnecessarily.

Andrew Feinstein co-founded Camden People’s Alliance (CPA) alongside local activists and will be supporting six local candidates in the election. Working with other progressives to stop pointless infighting and push the left forward in unity, CPA are hoping to keep the far right out of Camden.

Having previously helped found MOU Ltd as a director, they have grown disillusioned with YP due to petty factionalism. No surprise, really – as Feinstein explained below, the crucial goal must be to kick Labour off our councils:

YP endorsement for Haringey Socialist Alliance

We have also learned that there is an endorsed group in London that will have official Your Party councillors standing for election: the Haringey Socialist Alliance (HSA). HSA have six councillors up for election across three wards. In Bruce Castle, the candidates are Amelie Cooper and Paul Burnham; in Northumberland Park, Alison Davy and Gary McFarlane; and in West Green, Meryem Ulger and John Sinha.

Crucially, HSA told the Canary that they maintain a functioning working arrangement with their local Greens, ensuring socialists do not compete against one another. This display of respect and shared purpose will work to genuinely unite people over and above party-political interests – a lesson YP would do well to take on board.

London has been a particular hub of activity for socialist organising, with other groups also contesting the elections in their areas as independents.

The Enfield Community Independents, led by Khalid Sadur, will be hot on the doorsteps, engaging with their local community ahead of the ballot. In addition, the Southwark Independent Socialists are fielding candidates as well as East London’s Waltham Forest.

There is also an impressive assembly of socialists participating in the All-London Delegate Assembly (ALDA).

“People are angry”

Jacob Garnham-Warnock of Southwark Independent Socialists proudly stated that their YP branch is “strong and successful,” built last year by three DIY groups of YP supporters. Showing ingenuity, the group collected their own database of members and have focused their energy on a high-need ward in Old Kent Road.

Highlighting that the area has the “highest concentration of social housing” within a local authority with the “highest proportion” of social housing outside of Birmingham, Garnham-Warnock told the Canary:

We have registered a political party with the electoral commission, because we realised that the Your Party headquarters might fail to put an appropriate system in place, either on purpose or through a kind of malign neglect. We were right.

We have been out campaigning every weekend for the last month and are getting a noticeably enthusiastic response. People are angry. They are angry that rent is going up. They are angry that housing repairs are not being actioned. They are angry at the lack of facilities in the area. And they are angry that developers are building expensive flats that they know are not for them.

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It is undeniable; Your Party members show they will not accept any excuses for not being ready. In Your Party’s absence, socialist candidates are set to be strongly represented in the upcoming local elections. Thankfully, this signals a coordinated and organised effort ready to mount a significant challenge to Reform UK.

Heading up north

Independent socialists are also fighting the far-right in our northern communities. Mike Forster of PACE in Huddersfield is sick to the back teeth of their local Labour council. Having been unable to secure official YP endorsement as previously hoped, Forster has been working hard in his community to put forward genuine socialist candidates for election.

Speaking to what can be achieved by principled, community-focused activism, Forster said:

I am a long-standing community campaigner and socialist in Huddersfield, best known as Chair of the Hands Off HRI campaign, which successfully pushed back management plans to close the hospital and A&E. The campaign was launched in 2016, continuing until 2020 when it was wound up during lockdown.

During that time, we raised enough money to bring a successful legal challenge and had numerous lobbies, demonstrations and public fundraising gigs. Our success was down to the huge public support we attracted. The outcome was to not only save our hospital, but also to secure a brand new A&E!

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Finishing:

We cannot go on like this and need elected councillors who will stand up and fight for local communities and services.

In the midlands, Harris Khaliq is standing in Ward End fighting Labour in Birmingham. Not too far away, David Hitchmough is representing Knowsley Independents with Steve Guy putting his arguments to voters in their community in Kirkby.

Furthermore, a socialist group in Warrington has completely run out of patience and are now looking to formalise as the Warrington Socialist Alliance in the coming weeks. Little is known for candidates in Wales and Scotland, who have largely been abandoned by YP altogether.

YP springing into action, apparently

Nevertheless, whilst writing this article, we have become aware of groups receiving emails from Your Party awarding their endorsement in line with certain conditions. YP state that they cannot endorse individual candidates until they have seen due diligence checks. With time marching on, it is hard to imagine many will manage to tick all the bureaucratic boxes to get full approval from up high.

Needless to say, our criticism of Your Party has clearly lit a fire under them. That said, if only a few candidates secure endorsement, it is unlikely to make a significant impact in time for the elections.

For instance, one group who have achieved endorsement are good friends of Corbyn; Sam Gorst and Alan Gibbons of Liverpool Community Independents. Coincidentally, they don’t actually have an election to contest until 2027.

Of further concern, their email touts “campaign coordination with Jeremy Corbyn” – but makes no mention of Zarah Sultana, fellow co-founder and MP. Staying true to form, it reads like yet another slap in the face to Sultana and grassroots socialist members.

Factionalism can only be defeated by true unity

Therefore, it is clear that factionalism remains alive and well in YP, with Corbyn and his allies firmly positioned to secure endorsements for their own factions.

But refusing to be sidelined, a determined cohort of socialists has dug in, standing their ground and refusing to go quietly. Undeterred by YP’s bureaucratic obstacles, they are stepping up to defend their communities against far-right division and hostility.

This marks a powerful display of solidarity and genuine courage – exactly the kind of grassroots spirit the Canary proudly supports.

Keep pushing forward, comrades. The fight for our communities has only just begun.

Featured image via the Canary