Haringey – water chaos
Amnon Cohen, Camden and Haringey Socialist Party
A massive water main had erupted earlier in the week, turning one street into a raging torrent, flooding people’s homes. At the same time, Thames Water is imposing a hosepipe ban.
So, on our Socialist Party campaign stall, we used the petition calling for nationalising water and energy. Passersby, who are struggling under rising bills, were enraged when we told them about the £20 billion debt Thames Water has taken on, the £7 billion paid in dividends, and the £1 million signing fee paid to the new chief finance officer. People were queuing up to sign our petition and donate.
Panos, a Socialist Party member who joined two weeks ago, was selling the Socialist, raising fighting fund, while asking me what to do with the bank notes he was given. Farhana was working the petition boards and engaging the more interested people in discussion.
But the highest fighting fund by far was raised by Majbritt. She met us at a Socialist station sale this week, came to her first meeting later that day, and approached every passerby with boundless, infectious enthusiasm.
Exhausted by the endless barrage of interested people, we tried to pack up the stall, only to be interrupted by a young woman who insisted on buying a Socialist paper. Finally, we retreated to a local cafe, where the barista also took a leaflet for Socialism 2026 in November.
North West – “Burnham’s just a ‘northern Starmer’ trying to be relatable”
Dean Young, North West Socialist Party
The Socialist Party organised a national mega-stall campaign on the weekend of 5-6 September. Across the north west, some Socialist Party branches got two stalls out, rather than one. Others made our usual stall longer.
Does your Socialist Party branch have a good spot? Is there a market? Do you have numbers to cover multiple different locations?
I noticed a generational divide on the question of Andy Burnham. Young people are far more sceptical. “He’s just a ‘northern Starmer’ trying to be relatable”, was quite typical. Those over 40 were more likely to say something like: “He seems alright, let’s give him a chance. It’s too early to tell what will happen.”
The stalls in the north west at the weekend saw us meet 37 new people who left their phone numbers for us to contact them about our Socialist Party meetings. Every person we meet who expresses interest, we get them to leave their details, and ask: “Can we contact you about coming to one of our weekly meetings?” Liverpool South Socialist Party doubled the duration of the stall, meeting 25 of the 37 new people we met across the north west.
Our members live in working-class communities. We are a point of reference when people think of ‘socialists.’
Whether it’s picking a good spot at a monthly market, a town or city centre, outside a busy shopping area, or anything else, it is quite simple – be seen and speak to people. Being seen leads to one Manchester passerby saying: “Bloody hell, Militant are back.”
