Being a Socialist Party member: What will it mean for you?

Branch meetings

We encourage all our members, where possible, to regularly attend their local branch meeting, where we discuss local, national and international political issues and our day-to-day campaigning.

Branch meetings are the best way for members to keep in touch and keep up to date with the latest developments. Everyone has the opportunity to express their views.

See our What’s On page for some examples of our meetings

Branch meetings are the weekly antidote to all the lies and misinformation in the mainstream media, and to discover the information that never makes the media at all – the real struggles of the working class.

Campaigns

We encourage members to help us with our campaigns and regular activities. These are discussed and planned at branch meetings.

The contribution members can make to our party will vary – some will be able to make time available to participate regularly in our public activities while others will find this more difficult. We welcome whatever level of activity is possible for each member and we encourage members to also help to build our party in other ways, such as by asking people they know for a donation or selling them a copy of the Socialist paper.

Democracy

All party members can vote in the election of their branch leadership (secretary, chair, treasurer etc) and for their branch’s delegates to regional and national party conferences. All members are entitled to stand for these positions themselves if they wish to.

Branch delegates at each regional conference elect a regional leadership, and branch delegates at our annual national congress elect a national committee, which meets several times each year. The national committee elects a national executive committee, that can meet more often than the national committee is able to do.

Our annual national congress is the principal decision-making body of our party. It is there that branch delegates democratically decide our policies and strategy for the year ahead. Any branch can decide to put forward its own resolutions to the congress and/or amendments to the resolutions of others.

Membership subs (or dues)

Membership dues are arranged locally. Ask your local branch for more information on subs and how to pay to you local party account.

Members pay a weekly or monthly amount to the party – your ‘subs’. How much you pay depends on your circumstances. We only ask you to contribute as much as you feel you can and to be consistent in paying it.

We receive no money from big business or the government. Our money comes from the sacrifices of working people: the subs paid by our members and the Fighting Fund donations given to us by our members and supporters.

Our members’ subs mean that our party can organise national events and campaigns, and have premises and staff, without receiving – as the main political parties do – donations from fat cat business people who will always want something in return for their money.

Membership subs range from 50p a week from those who are on a very low income, to £5, £10, £20 or more a week from dedicated members old and new.

Big business would never consider financing a party like ours because we want to end the tyranny that big business inflicts on working-class people.

Subscribe to the Socialist

We ask members to buy our paper each week, the Socialist, preferably by taking out a subscription to it. More papers can be provided to you if you are able to sell it to people you know or on our activities. Members and supporters can also subscribe to our monthly magazine Socialism Today.

These publications give week-by-week and month-by-month analysis, argumentation and information to assist trade union, community and other campaigners and anti-cuts activists in the struggle against austerity and for socialism.

Click here to join now

  • E-mail us
  • Write to us at the Socialist Party, PO Box 1398, Enfield EN1 9GT
  • Call our national office on 020 8988 8777
  • Ring your regional organiser – phone numbers are on the Contact the Socialist Party page.