Isabelle France, Sheffield Socialist Party
We Demand Change held its ‘Summit of Resistance’ in Sheffield on 18 May, featuring speakers such as Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski.
Around 460 were in attendance, many with hopes of hearing about a new left-wing party being announced. This shows the potential mass support within the city for a real socialist alternative to Starmer’s Labour and the mainstream parties.
What next?
Unfortunately those hoping to hear a concrete call for this from Corbyn were sadly disappointed. He spoke loosely about ‘hope’ and ‘change’ with no clear path forward towards an electoral challenge.
The panel to discuss a new party included two who are part of the local Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition steering committee. In the discussion, many speakers echoed the need for a new party to fight against austerity and called for a united front. Members of the SWP (Socialist Workers Party, which was behind organising the event), showed a political unwillingness to support this call, claiming that building a new party was ‘too hard’ and ‘would take too long’. Instead, they announced they would be beginning to stand and support ‘independent’ candidates in upcoming elections. But what is there to distinguish a ‘We Demand Change’ supported independent from any others on the ballot paper?
The next election upcoming in Sheffield is the 26 June Stocksbridge and Upper Don by-election. The Reform candidate in that election was, in 2024, an independent candidate, for example. Claire Wraith will be standing for TUSC, putting up a challenge to all the austerity parties – including the Greens who have been part of a cutting ‘rainbow coalition’ with Labour and the Lib Dems in Sheffield.
When Socialist Party members asked whether We Demand Change would support the TUSC candidate for Stockbridge, they said they’d not support any candidate from a political party – only independents. We will continue to fight for the workers’ movement and trade unions to take steps towards building the new party of the working class we need.
