Statement by Socialist Alternative
The results are in. Your Party’s first elected leadership will be composed of 24 members, a clear majority of whom ran on ‘The Many’ slate. This is not the outcome that Socialist Alternative wanted or fought for – we campaigned hard for the Grassroots Left slate to win.
Nonetheless, this is not the end of our struggle for a thoroughly democratic and socialist YP, rooted in working-class organising, but rather simply the beginning of another chapter.
All members of Your Party and all supporters of Grassroots Left must now turn their attention to building the biggest possible YP socialist bloc on the 28 March demonstration against the far right. We must turn our attention to building the strongest possible YP campaign in the May elections, even if the new CEC fails to formally endorse YP candidates. We must continue to build vibrant local branches and fight for their recognition without delay with the resources to carry out their work, including access to local membership data.
Unfortunately, the outcome of these elections probably means that this struggle will, in many cases, require the exertion of organised pressure from below on Your Party’s CEC.
‘The Many’ campaigned on a platform of contempt for grassroots organising in YP. The Many’s leadership stood not for a break with the shambolic and deeply damaging stewardship of YP’s founding process, but for power to remain concentrated in the hands of those responsible. They have made clear their intention to override the spirit of the conference decision on dual membership, and will likely try to assert that members of various left groups are “banned”.
Their victory was achieved by leveraging the advantage of control over the party’s apparatus, data and finances, often in a deeply inappropriate manner. Instead of positive political proposals to “get the party back on track”, ‘The Many’ flooded members’ inboxes with increasingly alarmist and manipulative appeals for support, alleging the need to “defend Jeremy” against supposed “abuse”. Even worse, throughout the campaign, they threatened not-so-implicitly to walk away if results did not go in their favour!
The overwhelming majority of activists who have dedicated themselves to building this party in the face of formidable obstacles will be deeply disappointed by this outcome. Our message to them is simple: don’t despair, our struggle continues.
Despite the result, this campaign has also had its positives. Many hundreds of people, in young and diverse crowds, attended Grassroots Left meetings and rallies, often addressed by Zarah Sultana. Proto-branches waged a determined struggle, and worked together across regions and nationally. Scottish members overwhelmingly backed key parts of GL’s platform at their inaugural party conference earlier this month. This work will have helped to build momentum for 28 March, the May elections and the continued building of YP branches.
In the face of the challenges ahead, Grassroots Left should keep organising, with broader membership involvement, as a network of activists committed to defending its platform within Your Party. We must build YP now with all our energies. At the same time, we must prepare for a robust internal struggle: to defend conference decisions, to oppose new witch-hunts and ensure that YP branches are recognised without delay and given the resources, data and funding they need. A national meeting of Grassroots Left supporters following the May elections could debate the next steps for this struggle.
YP’s painful birth has demonstrated the bankruptcy of bureaucratic Labour 2.0 reformism. In doing so, it also demonstrates the need for revolutionary socialist organisation within the broad political struggle of the working class. If you agree, then join Socialist Alternative – revolutionary socialists organised in Your Party – today.
