Willie Woodley, Birmingham Socialist Party
I had been interested in politics for several years, and always considered myself to be left wing. I aligned with the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, and even held out hope that Keir Starmer’s election in 2024 would finally bring improvements to people’s living standards.
I was also excited by what I read about global left-wing movements; Syriza in Greece, Podemos in Spain, Die Linke in Germany, Bernie Sanders in the USA, and left-wing leaders in Latin America. However, the excitement dissipated when I learned that these movements were on the decline.
Podemos and Syriza had both moderated their programme in government, crushed by the capitalist establishment. After Sanders failed in his bid to be Democratic candidate for President, he channelled the enthusiasm for him into endorsing the uninspiring big business-oriented Hillary Clinton.
I was disillusioned by these events. How could the left, with the grassroots on its side, the huge numbers of campaigners and the electoral success, still fail?
Zack Polanski’s bid for the Green Party leadership, combined with the announcement of Your Party, re-energised me and many other socialists and working-class people. However, seeing the patterns abroad made me question if these movements would last to finally bring improvements to the working class.
The annual ‘Socialism’ event, hosted by the Socialist Party, had several speakers delivering opening talks, including about the Green Party, Your Party and Zohran Mamdani. The people attending the talks had a chance to contribute and voice their opinions.
The experience of being at Socialism 2025 motivated me to attend the open meeting of my local branch of the Socialist Party. The people at the meeting were welcoming, wanted to hear my views and answered any of my queries. Soon after, I joined the party because I realised it offered a serious working-class oriented approach, which was an alternative to the cycle of retreat and compromise I have seen so many times.
