Socialist Party members organised a campaign stall in Chatham. We’re campaigning in Medway over the summer.
Issues discussed on the stall included introducing rent controls and building new council housing to confront homelessness. Medway Council, controlled by Labour since 2023, has stalled on council housing. Combined with Labour’s austerity in Westminster, local people are paying the price.
A homeless person came by the stall to pick up a leaflet. We conversed about the forces driving her and many others into dire times. After she proposed immigration as the root cause, we countered with the impact of austerity and lack of investment, which she was receptive to.
In Medway, Reform UK so far holds two council seats. The fate of Kent County Council during the May local elections tells us Reform could control Medway come 2027.
Towards the end of the stall, someone approached me, querying about the Socialist Party’s precise housing plans for the area. It was welcome to see someone passionate about political issues.
We held a Socialist Party meeting after. Socialist Party Southern and South East regional organiser Callum Joyce outlined what we stand for, including building affordable and high-quality council houses. Amid the vibrant discussion on utilities, nationalisation, right-wing propaganda, and the rise of AI, the meeting’s underlying theme was workers fighting back since the strike wave in 2022.
Calls for a new workers’ party are growing. Neither Labour nor Reform can offer Medway the alternative it needs, but trade unions can. In solidarity, the organised working class can undermine right-wing influence, and solve the problems, like housing, that workers face.
James Gretton, Kent and East Sussex Socialist Party
