Leah Byatt, Sheffield South East Socialist Party
The Socialist Party regional conference for Yorkshire and the Humber, was hosted in Sheffield on Saturday 3 June. 65 people attended from across the region.
Socialist Party general secretary Hannah Sell kick-started the day with an invigorating speech introducing a discussion on perspectives for Britain. The talk covered the current state of the British economy, and how we as socialists should prepare and organise ourselves against a seemingly inevitable Starmer-led government.
The discussion heard contributions which highlighted how food banks in the region are seeing shortages of stock and demands for local councils to focus on food provisions for struggling communities.
We also heard various members report the activity they are undertaking in their respective trade unions, to encourage rank-and-file workers to place pressure on union leaders to continue battling for better pay and working conditions. This included mobilising grassroots campaigns like NHS Workers Say No.
Three workshops were held in the afternoon on recruiting people to the Socialist Party, running effective campaign stalls, and on the fight for a new mass workers’ party. All three workshops helped attendees in confidence and welcomed suggestions on how to campaign effectively.
Regional secretary Iain Dalton rounded off the day with a discussion on building the Socialist Party in the region. We discussed campaigning amongst young people and the student movement in preparation for universities reopening in September. And how branches can best prioritise their work to win more people to the Socialist Party’s ideas.
The fighting fund appeal raised £1290.70 and 21 members agreed to increase their membership subs.
The conference comes after a year of growth for branches within the region and established a clear strategy for the year ahead.
“A fantastic engaging event with lots to learn and advice to take back to building our Socialist Party branches”
Paul, Wakefield
