On 18 October, hundreds of workers, students, socialists and Palestine activists marched together in Huddersfield to launch Your Party in the North in what was the first event of its kind – one where the new party took to the streets. The event was organised by the People’s Alliance for Change and Equality (PACE). We spoke to founding member Mike Forster about the event and what the plans are going forward.
What is PACE and how did it come into being?
PACE was set up last year on the back of numerous local struggles which were all fighting on different fronts, often with significant success. The alliance was set up to bring all these struggles together under one umbrella. This took some preparation and forethought by approaching local organisers to join a steering committee with a view to establishing a formal network across the whole area.
Despite enjoying certain success in fighting off cuts and closures initiated by the local council, these different campaigns saw the immediate benefit of working together and learning from each others’ struggles. These included campaigns to save the local dementia care homes, sports centres, halting dangerous housing development on an old asbestos factory, as well as the Huddersfield Freedom for Palestine (HFFP) group.
Another important feature of local struggles was the development of important challenges to the ruling Labour group on the council. From the beginning of 2024, Labour councillors came under huge pressure from local campaigns to resist the cuts and to stand with the HFFP group which was directly challenging Starmer’s slavish support for Israel in the Gaza genocide. A trickle and then a wave of defections took place, leading to the election of many independent councillors across Kirklees, and later an Independent MP in the general election. A lot of these independents looked towards PACE for mutual support and encouragement.
Once established, the steering committee also democratically decided to support young queer people organising an Alternative Pride and fighting off cuts to disability benefits. A successful demo of around 70 local young trans and queer people put Alternative Pride firmly on the map. Another PACE public assembly on disability rights led to the formation of a local Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) group.
What is the relationship between PACE and Your Party?
On 10 May, the founding conference was launched to a packed audience against the background of a developing headwind for a new left party in Britain. Jeremy Corbyn attended the conference and gave his strongest hint at that point that such a party was on its way. Two months later, Your Party (YP) was launched by Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. PACE supports YP. Many of us attended the founding conference and we hope to affiliate once things become clearer.
Why did you decide to organise the March of the North?
The steering committee saw its chance to turn the planned demo into a public show of strength for YP and publicised the event as the ‘March of the North’ on 18 October, which Zarah Sultana agreed to address. Around 500 people heeded the call, making it the first public demonstration for YP in the country and enthusing another layer of local people to get active.
What are the next steps for PACE?
When PACE was first set up, the steering committee set itself three separate but interlinked goals: To launch PACE with a founding conference, to organise a local demo, and to initiate a local electoral challenge. We have achieved the first two and are working towards the third as we approach the local elections in May. There is an urgent need to challenge Labour locally and provide a left alternative.
More generally, the next stage of PACE’s activity will be to strengthen local structures, continue to support and endorse local campaigns, and to begin in earnest its local election challenge. PACE has marked itself out from the outset as an alliance of local struggle and can now proudly look back and forward to both its achievements and its future impact on local and national events.
