Meetings have taken place in several trade unions following on from a 1,000-strong ‘Trade unionists for a new party’ meeting hosted by former Labour MP Dave Nellist on 21 July.
We carry here an extract from the report of the meeting of Napo members. The full reports of this and the other meetings can be read here: ‘Trade unionists discuss how their unions can fight for political representation’
The ‘Napo For A New Party’ meeting on 1 September was the first of its kind since members met to discuss how to build support for Jeremy Corbyn’s policies in the union when he was leader of the Labour Party.
Napo represents workers in probation and family courts. The meeting had a variety of attendees, with new young members alongside current and former vice-chairs and National Executive Committee members, retired members, and both probation and family court workers.
Attendees were keen to express anger at the Labour government. Labour has continued Tory austerity, harming all public services including probation and Cafcass (family courts). It has kept the repressive Tory anti-union laws that sabotaged Napo’s ballot on industrial action. We were just short of the 50% turnout threshold, but with over 90% backing strike action 97% favouring action short of strike!
And members added that Labour has continued the horrendous Tory attacks on refugees and asylum seekers, diving headfirst into the racist rhetoric that was discussed at last year’s Napo AGM, with a panel on opposing racism.
The meeting mainly focused on practical aims. Napo’s 2025 AGM on 16-18 October will have a motion going to it from the Family Court Section that directly calls for discussion with other trade unions on establishing a new voice for the working class – Motion 21: ‘Enough is enough – we need new political representation’.
We agreed to build support for Motion 21 in our branches and to hold another online meeting to follow up on progress in late September. We also intend to hold a Napo For A New Party meeting at the AGM itself.
More Napo members have joined the group since that meeting, making it clear that the question of working-class political representation will be a feature at the AGM and in the union going forward.
Extract from motion 21: Enough is enough – we need new political representation
AGM resolves:
- To contact sister unions with an invitation to enter discussion on establishing a new political voice for the working class
- To invite pro-worker MPs including Jeremy Corbyn MP and Zarah Sultana MP to attend a National Executive Committee meeting for a discussion about how they can support our union’s demands for decent funding for probation and Cafcass
- To encourage Napo members to stand in elections, linking up with other trade unionists, to campaign for our union’s policies
