Rob Pettefar, Swindon Socialist Party
Swindon branch of the Socialist Party has held its inaugural meeting as a fully fledged branch, the culmination of over two years work building in the town.
I joined two years ago. Working with the Gloucestershire branch and members from across the South West region, the branch has doubled in size since.
We have organised Saturday campaign stalls in the town centre, supported picket lines, and got involved in the local community. We were able to build at a gradual rate by meeting people interested in socialism and convincing them of the need to get active and join the Socialist Party.
Over that time we have had our ups and downs. From handing out leaflets outside the local Amazon warehouse on the hottest day of the year, to successful paper sales in almost torrential rain.
Swindon is a working-class town and the third largest in the region. With the recent memory of the closure of the Honda factory and the growth of the strike wave, the potential for working-class action is strong.
The recent flipping of the council after almost 19 years of Tory control to Labour is a sign of things changing within the town. However we have no trust in the Starmer-led Labour Party, so we are linking up with others to build a working-class movement to fight the council’s cuts.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, organising for local and national events and continuing to grow the party. We are already looking at selling the Socialist at more locations and if we need a larger venue for our weekly meetings.
I look forward to the next chapter in the fight for socialism in Swindon.
