Unions must take lead forming new workers’ party
Conor Anthony O’Neill, Liverpool North Socialist Party
Over 500 people packed into the Liner Hotel in Liverpool, with others streaming online, for the ‘Doing Politics Differently’ rally on 14 June, organised by the Liverpool Community Independents and other affiliated groups.
Corbyn
Many in attendance were hoping that speaker Jeremy Corbyn would announce steps forward towards a new party. Disappointingly for many however, Jeremy made no such direct announcement, instead hinting at potential future plans saying that “a new democratic, left wing socialist party would be formed in some time” and calling upon independent groups and socialists to unite.
As a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate in the upcoming Blundellsands ward by-election, using the ‘Independent trade union and socialist candidate’ descriptor, I was allowed a platform to speak at the end of the event and from the stage. I raised the need for the workers’ movement to play a central role in any potential new mass party, explaining that the Birmingham bin strike and the Livv housing dispute, amongst other struggles, have proven the potential that organised working-class unity offers, and that, despite all the talk on the day of grassroots movements, the biggest grassroots movement was of course the six million-strong trade unions.
Who is signing up?
My points were well received by the crowd. As a result, we managed to get a number of prominent individuals and activists to sign and back the petition calling on the trade unions to take the lead in forming a new working-class party, including most notably former Unite the Union general secretary Len McClusky who, during his contribution, called for similar demands that the unions should take a lead on a new electoral formation and that Jeremy Corbyn should lead it.
Jeremy himself was also to asked to sign the petition by myself and another Socialist Party member Joe Woolfall. He replied saying he would “look into it later”. Jeremy still has popular support for the anti-austerity stance he took as Labour leader, particularly among young people. A call from him, backing the unions taking steps towards founding a new, democratic workers’ party would be a great step.
As I said in my address “The establishment has plenty of it’s own parties… It’s about damn time the working class has its own party too!”
Sign the petition
- Time for trade unions to take the lead in forming a new working class party
- www.change.org/TradeUnions-LaunchANewParty
