Only days on from the announcement of Corbyn and Sultana’s new left party, the attacks from the billionaire media have begun. First they went for the fact that the party does not yet have a name. When this attempt at ridicule didn’t work, they turned to another tool of the capitalist establishment: lesser-evilism.
By Tom Costello
Taking their language straight from Starmer’s office, the press has been churning out claims that building a left alternative to Labour will ‘split the progressive vote’ and ‘let Farage in’. Paul Mason, a former left-turned attack dog for Starmer said “Corbyn’s party will put Farage in No 10”.
Of course, this has nothing to do with actual concern about the rise of the right. It’s all about fear of an incipient mass movement of workers and young people determined to shake up British politics. Corbyn and Sultana’s party currently has over 700,000 sign-ups and growing, which would make it the largest party by membership in the UK and indeed the whole of Europe.
What is lesser-evilism, and why doesn’t it work?
The basic idea behind lesser-evilism is that, to stop the reactionary right, we need to simply line up behind the ‘less bad’ option. Lots of us have heard this before: ‘you might have your criticisms of Labour, but aren’t they better than Farage? You have to be pragmatic!’
Wherever this method has been followed however, it has delivered nothing but disaster for working people. Far from stopping the ‘greater evil’, it has always strengthened it while the ‘lesser evil’ gets progressively more evil!
Farage and Reform are – tragically – already far in the lead, with some polls placing them as high as 14 points over Labour. But this isn’t because of Corbyn! It’s because of Starmer’s pro-capitalist government, which at every corner has chosen the interests of big business over the needs of working-class people.
Labour has routinely chosen warfare over welfare, throwing disabled people under the bus to fund heightened militarism. They have continued sending arms to aid Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. This, combined with criminalisation of the Palestine solidarity movement, has driven away millions who have rightly vowed not to vote for the party of genocide again.
In the absence of a genuine pro-working class political party, Farage and his buddies have been able to sell themselves as champions of ‘ordinary people’. Tragically until now, for example, Reform has been the only party in Westminster to prominently call for the nationalisation of British Steel and the water companies.
Starmer, true to fashion, has responded to the rise of Reform by aping the most racist parts of Farage’s right-wing programme, infamously calling Britain an ‘island of strangers’ and distributing leaflets promising to ramp up deportations. Far from this stopping Reform’s growth, this has enormously accelerated it. After all, why would anybody vote for the imitation when they can have the real thing?
For us to ‘settle for Labour’, similar to how millions were told to ‘settle’ for Biden and Harris in the latest US elections, will only deliver a British Trump as Prime Minister.
Build the new left party to stop the right
Without a well-organised left party of struggle which can unite workers around our real interests, the populist right will always have the most convenient ‘answers’. This is why the new party has the potential to decisively cut across the rise of Reform in the only way that works.
What workers are crying out for is a radical answer to years of decline – years of sewage in our rivers, job losses, pay cuts, war and crumbling services. The only real answer to this is a socialist programme of public ownership and democratic planning. One which is based on taking on the interests of the rich and powerful, not echoing the vile rhetoric of the racist right.
A new party basing itself on struggle, using its positions to unapologetically fight for workers’ interests against the bosses, has the potential to reshape the political landscape and cut across Reform. But doing this means going beyond just elections. To succeed, the new party must root itself in community and workplace struggles outside of election time. Our strength doesn’t come from big donors and positive press coverage, but our organised strength as a class.
The party must be a space to bring together and coordinate the fights already taking place, with organised branches and a democratic structure for the party’s membership to have their say. Most importantly, it needs a bold, radical socialist programme to confront the real crises of our age, which means breaking with capitalism altogether.
If you agree, sign up at yourparty.uk, but also join Socialist Alternative!
