The West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield witnessed a historic event yesterday (18 October), as hundreds of workers, young people, socialists, and Palestine activists marched through the town, joined by Zarah Sultana MP. This was followed by an indoor discussion and Q&A session on next steps for Your Party.
By Socialist Alternative reporters
The march was called to give YP a powerful launch — on the streets — in the North. Led by PACE Kirklees — in which Socialist Alternative members play a key role — it made clear what this new party must be: one rooted in struggle, standing with the oppressed, and fighting for socialist change.
Speakers addressing the protest included Zarah Sultana, Mike Forster (PACE Kirklees and Socialist Alternative), Ian Hodson (President of the BFAWU union), Louise Lewis (NEU NEC member, speaking in a personal capacity), and Iqbal Mohamed (Independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley). Representatives from a wide range of local campaigns — including Disabled People Against Cuts, Alternative Pride, Freedom for Palestine, and the Cleckheaton Against Harmful Development campaign — also spoke. Before the march, Zarah joined dozens of local children in walking a ‘thousand steps for Gaza’.
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Fighting the far right
Central to the events of the day were discussions about how to stem the rise of Farage and Reform UK. Zarah’s speech outlined the need for mass, trade-union-led resistance to the right, calling for an “anti-fascist league for the 21st century”:
“It is not enough to have logos on a leaflet [from unions]. We want coaches, we want people on the streets whenever the fascists turn up… We are fighting them at the ballot box, but where necessary, we fight the fascists on the street as well.”
Speakers made a clear case for Your Party to be a party by, of, and for the working class. As Zarah rightly said:
“If there are people saying, ‘Don’t talk about socialism, don’t use class politics,’ they can do one. Because people are living class politics every single day of their life.”
Mike Forster followed, saying:
“We live in a class society where the rich run society for themselves, and the rest of us have to struggle. We should recall, remember, and remind ourselves that we are in a class war. And that war we are fighting with all our might.”
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To rapturous applause from the crowd, Ian Hodson called for us to “unite, build, to show people that our class will stand up” and “create a political party that serves our interests”.
Trans rights
Numerous speakers echoed the call on Socialist Alternative’s placards for Your Party to clearly stand, fight, and mobilise for trans rights. This should be ensured by building genuine rank-and-file democracy in the party, including mandatory reselection of all elected officials and leaders. Ivan from Huddersfield Alternative Pride summed it up best by summarising the long history of working-class solidarity and struggle we continue to build on:
“We’ve fought together in the past, from Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners to Queers for Palestine. We’ve marched together in the past, and we must do so today. Because when we fight, we can win!”
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Socialism
Perhaps some of the biggest cheers came from speakers making clear the need for YP to be committed to the fight for socialism. Louise Lewis, a local teacher, union activist, and Socialist Alternative member, outlined what this means:
“Working people are exhausted, our schools are underfunded, our NHS is on its knees, and millions cannot afford a secure home. We’re told to tighten our belts while billionaires stash their wealth in tax havens… We stand for taking the wealth and profits of these parasites and using it to build a better future.”
Zarah followed, declaring:
“We’re fighting for a thing called socialism. Not tweaks to a broken system, not a wealth tax here and a lowering of bills there — we are calling for a fundamental transformation of society, where workers control the means of production and the wealth of our communities is controlled by our communities. That is socialism.”
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The March of the North for Your Party clearly pointed the way forward. To build the fighting, class-struggle-based, democratic party that working-class people need, this example should be widely emulated across the country.
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