Photo: Ioannis
Photo: Ioannis

Help us build the socialist opposition to Starmer

Isai Marijerla, Socialist Party treasurer

We live in a world facing multiple crises, where wars claim the lives of thousands of innocent people. It is estimated that two billion people reside in conflict-affected areas, with many more still recovering from conflicts that have torn their families apart. This is the harsh reality of profit-driven capitalism: war, poverty, and unending misery.

In Britain, nearly one-third of all children – approximately 4.3 million – live in poverty. Over the last 14 years, our essential services have been starved of funding, resulting in an acute housing crisis and an NHS on the brink of collapse. We cannot continue down this path! If capitalism cannot provide a decent standard of living for the majority of people in the world, we can no longer afford it. Capitalism has long outlived its historical usefulness. It is now a system that destroys the hope and aspiration for a peaceful and fulfilling life, and it needs to be replaced.

From its inception, the Socialist Party, formerly known as Militant, has been clear about what is needed to fight for the rights of workers and young people: socialist policies. In the first issue of our paper, we stated: “Drive out the Tories, but Labour must have socialist policies.” We have successfully removed the outdated Tories; however, Starmer’s Labour government has made it clear that it serves big business and the bosses.

This year, the Socialist Party celebrates 60 years of campaigning for the socialist ideas necessary to change the world. We fight for every gain for workers and young people – better pay, improved conditions, free education, and healthcare. We also, ultimately, fight for a different way of organising society so that the world’s vast resources are taken out of the hands of the big capitalists and instead are nationalised, as part of a democratic workers’ plan, to be used to meet the needs of the billions and not the billionaires. A world with socially beneficial innovations and increased productivity, where jobs, homes, and services are guaranteed for all, free from exploitation, oppression, and war, while also protecting our environment and planet. The wealth does exist – just the five richest men in the world have doubled their wealth to an astonishing £668 billion since 2020.

It is becoming increasingly clear that what we need is socialism! The Socialist Party has a proud history of following the programmes, traditions, and methods of revolutionaries like Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. Throughout history, what has succeeded in defeating repressive regimes and right-wing governments have been the actions of workers leading movements and uprisings.

This is what the Socialist Party is fighting for. We have confidence in the working class to get rid of capitalism, and we need your help. A part of the upcoming Socialism rally will include a finance appeal. This year, we have set a target of £30,000 to build the socialist opposition to Starmer, to produce materials with socialist ideas that challenge him, make anti-war placards and for a new party for the working class – one that boldly states that capitalism means war and fights for socialism. All the money donated to us will be used to fund the socialist fightback needed, with 25% of everything raised going towards the fight for international socialism and the work of the Committee for a Workers’ International – the international organisation to which the Socialist Party is affiliated.