Sam Smithson, Waltham Forest Socialist Party

Waltham Forest Socialist Party participated in a local Palestine protest, putting forward our programme against war and austerity, stressing the importance of building working-class resistance in Palestine, Israel, England, Wales, and across the world.

We were warmly received by many of the activists in attendance. 47 of them bought our Socialist paper, as well as donating to our fighting fund. One individual gave £10 in a single donation.

It gave us a clear indication of the mood of people in the local Palestine movement, who are horrified by the ongoing atrocities being committed in Gaza on a daily basis.

We know it is important to be present at demonstrations in solidarity, to spread our political message about what can be done. But it is also an opportunity for us to ask people to donate to our fighting fund, which we use to pay for campaigning material.

Encouraging fighting fund donations from workers is one of the most important activities we do. It not only supports our work financially, but demonstrates a vote of confidence for socialist ideas.

I would encourage every Socialist Party member, that when they’re next out campaigning, engage people in conversation about buying the Socialist, and making a small contribution to the fighting fund. It is a lot to expect a worker to commit part of their wage to someone they may have just met. But they may be more inclined if we explain that the money is a contribution to a party fighting for the working class, and an end to all wars internationally.

Socialists win respect in Crawley for fighting Labour cuts

Robin Burnham, Brighton and Crawley Socialist Party

For the past eight months, I have done a Socialist Party campaign stall in Crawley town centre, every day of the week.

At the general election, Labour won the seat from the Tories, but only because their support collapsed. Labour also won less votes than in 2019, when Jeremy Corbyn was leader.

Since then, Labour has attacked kids, pensioners, students and small farmers. People have come up to the stall saying they didn’t vote for Labour for them to attack us.

Our 100% support for working-class people to have a better life has won us respect.

One woman went into a shop and bought me a blanket to keep warm. I have lost count of the people who have offered to buy me a coffee. “You are doing a great job”, “Respect for what you are doing”, are just two comments made from passers-by.

But contrast this support to the attitude of Crawley Labour council. On 17 January, an officer from the council’s licensing department approached our stall, along with two police community support officers, to tell us to pack up and never return.

The Socialist is registered as a newspaper. It and its predecessor Militant have been sold around the country for 60 years.

Why is the Labour council trying to silence political opposition? We won’t let them stop us campaigning!

The working-class attitude to these threats is expressed in the following sentence from one young woman in a wheelchair, when told the council was trying to shut us down: “Fuck ’em. You’re doing right!”