Helen Pattison, London Socialist Party secretary
London Socialist Party was supposed to have our conference in early June. But when the snap general election was called, we decided we had to postpone it.
We had seven Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidates standing in London, including five Socialist Party members, as part of the national TUSC challenge. We also had lots of public meetings organised, as well as protests against the war on Gaza continuing during the election too.
So, instead, it was much better that we came together after the election, and used the opportunity to discussed the new battles that could open up under Keir Starmer’s New Labour government.
50 attended. After a morning discussing the aftermath of the general election, we went on to discuss how we were going to build the party in London.
Afterwards we had commissions on Marxist and socialist ideas: the united front, and how we apply it to the struggle for a new mass workers’ party; the transitional programme, and its relevance today; and the role of the police, the capitalist state, and our demands regarding London Metropolitan Police.
The conference unanimously elected the regional committee, which included a number of new Socialist Party members elected onto the slate for the first time. The whole day was a reflection of the growth of the Socialist Party in London, and the opportunities we have to impact class struggle in the capital.
