‘Enough is Enough’ rallies
Birmingham
With a long queue forming around the block, there was plenty of time for Socialist Party members to discuss and debate the key political issues with workers and young people waiting to get in: cost of living, surging strike wave, the failure of the Tories, and most keenly, the utter lack of real political opposition to all this. Many people said that they’ve been inspired by the strikes, but not by Labour leader Keir Starmer.
There was an energetic mood among the crowd, and a very positive reception to socialist ideas. Many stated that they had come along in the hope of some kind of political alternative being in the works with the launch of Enough is Enough. They wanted to buy the Socialist, take our leaflets, and several filled out ‘join the Socialist Party’ cards.
However, this desire for a political alternative was not met or hinted at by the official speakers. There were several shouts from the audience of: “General strike now”, and “Down with Starmer”.
The energy for a political alternative is there. My concern is that some trade union leaders are using Enough is Enough to softly promote support for Labour, and that it’ll be a missed opportunity for the unions to launch a new mass party that will stand firm for workers. The chair of the meeting stating that Enough is Enough is “not a political party, as we want to bring people together” confirmed this fear.
Kris O’Sullivan, Birmingham Socialist Party
Liverpool
Sheffield Socialist Party member Holly Johnson, a health worker, spoke at the rally in Liverpool. 1.3 million NHS staff have lost 29% pay over the last twelve years. To rousing applause, Holly said we needed to kick out the privateers and bring the health service back into public ownership, alongside rail, energy and Royal Mail. Holly said that coordinating union action will make us strong, but that we need a party to call for the ‘Enough is Enough’ demands at the ballot box.
A number of people at the event had never been to a political rally before, and wondered who to vote for. The strike wave has enthused a whole new layer of people. The debate will continue over the alternative to Keir Starmer’s Labour, and the burning need to turn this enthusiasm into building a new mass workers’ party.
Steve Ion, Liverpool Socialist Party
Coventry TUC protest
The Socialist Party’s stall and leaflets proved very popular. We sold one copy after another of our paper, the Socialist. Our stalls were constantly busy, with dozens of signatures to nationalise energy, to scrap hospital parking charges, and for the unions to strike together. Coventry’s newer Socialist Party members were among the most enthusiastic leafleting and speaking to protesters.
There was a lot of discussion about the utter failure of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party to support the trade unions and striking workers. The Socialist Party makes it clear that we need a new mass workers’ party.
Plenty of students and young workers took leaflets advertising our next public meeting. Some told us there and then that they are socialists, and they want to join the fight for socialism. You can find out more about the Socialist Party and the case for socialism at one of our meetings.
Adam Harmsworth, Coventry Socialist Party
