Organised together we have the power
Ellie Axe, Sheffield North West Socialist Party
Politics was something I kept at arm’s length. It felt too overwhelming to confront.
I had my head in the sand. The excuse being one of protecting my mental health from adverse effects of doomscrolling.
Looking back, that disengagement never insulated me from political decisions. It only meant I wasn’t taking part in changing them. Compliance through apathy.
But the more I pondered, the more I saw a bigger picture. The problems we face are not isolated failures. I’d lived through too many ‘once-in-a-lifetime financial crises’ to believe that. They are symptoms of a system where power and priority are broken.
The beliefs I have held from their early formless vibes, to my more coherently structured analysis, are the same ideas at the core of the Socialist Party. Their emphasis on working-class democracy, international solidarity, and the need for ordinary folk to collectively shape society, offers a compelling alternative to accepting austerity.
The sense of working-class unity I have found through socialist organising has expanded my horizons. It has made me more optimistic that meaningful change is possible through collective action.
And as a queer person, I don’t see my identity as something separate from my socialism. I want to bring my fight for liberation into the Socialist Party. And in return, I want to fight for the wider goals of the movement.
The struggle against oppression and the struggle against economic exploitation strengthen one another. Neither can be fully won in isolation.
I am still getting my feet on the ground and asking questions, learning from those with more experience. But I no longer want to face the future with fear or resignation.
Socialism has given me something I lacked before. The belief that ordinary people, organised together, have the power to do far more than simply wallow and hope for better.
Ellie also explains why she’s attending Socialism 2026 in London 14-15 November, why you should too, and what she’s doing to get people along:
This is only my second time attending. But I felt Socialism 2025 did so much good for my own class consciousness.
There are so many interesting sessions. Everyone will have something they’d want to hear about. So I make sure that it’s mentioned at each Sheffield Socialist Party meeting. Each week I come with a specific idea of what part of Socialism 2026 I will push.
I check what our branch meeting is discussing that week and link it to a specific session from the draft programme.
