Berkay Kartav, London Socialist Party
A third of Londoners had the opportunity to vote for candidates who oppose Tory attacks and cuts passed on by London’s incumbent Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan.
Socialist Party members Nancy Taaffe, Lois Austin and April Ashley, as well as local campaigner Andy Walker, stood as part of TUSC. Collectively, our fighting socialist programme won over 15,000 votes.
Speaking about our campaign in Waltham Forest, Nancy said: “When the election was called it felt like there was a kind of ‘plague on all your houses’ mood on the streets. However, when we pointed out the disparity between rich and poor in London, and what elected representatives at local level could do, the mood warmed.”
“It felt like during this election a layer of disillusioned workers felt able to vote TUSC and send a message to the ruling Labour groups in London: ‘We’re boiling mad with the lot of ya, and we’re voting socialist to send a message that we’ve had enough!’”
The newly formed Croydon and Sutton Socialist Party branch also campaigned. April, a local government worker and a member of Unison national executive committee, was our candidate.
It was clear that many people were fed up with pro-establishment politicians who only cared about their career and lining up their pockets. Our campaign material argued the need to build a mass campaign to oppose cuts and council tax rises. Such a mass campaign could fight for the money and resources our communities need.
Khan is elected once again. But with Starmer heading to Number 10, what will Khan do to fix the broken funding model of Transport for London or to solve the housing crisis in London? With nowhere to hide, he will be increasingly exposed for his pro-capitalist policies.
