Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1095/31087
From The Socialist newspaper, 15 July 2020
Why I joined the Socialist Party - For a future worth fighting for
Jay Slayton-Joslin, Leeds Socialist Party
Labour is moving away from the ideas that brought me to the party. I joined the Socialist Party because a choice between Labour and the Conservatives would not bring the revolution that would benefit the majority.
People like Jeremy Corbyn and Rebecca Long-Bailey gave me hope in the future and an interest in politics.
While I initially was hopeful for Keir Starmer, his inaction and silence during an awfully handled pandemic made me realise that he wouldn't lead the party that I wanted to be part of.
The more I read and learned, I realised that the future I want has to be a future led by the people and will need a revolution. The future we're entering resembles nothing close to my ideals and beliefs.
The Socialist Party is one of the few organisations that are out there campaigning for a better future.
Far beyond just throwing out ideas and seeing what sticks, but proactively campaigning and fighting for causes, and other peoples' voices.
Equality, homes, healthcare and food on the table shouldn't be a luxury or an afterthought in society, but the foundation that it's built on.
I still have plenty to learn about the world and politics, but everyone I've met in the Socialist Party so far has been welcoming, informing and friendly. No discussion felt inappropriate or one-sided.
I'm excited to now be part of a movement that will stand up for others, listen and take our causes to the doorstep of those who think austerity and marginalisation are working.
The days of working-class people changing the world is far from over. Socialism used to be a dirty word, but now, to me, it's the most important one to have a future worth living in.
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Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
In The Socialist 15 July 2020:
Socialist Party news and analysis
Workers and young people need planning for jobs, not handouts for bosses
Lockdown Leicester: trade unionists and parents fight for safety
Sexist dismissal of women's health: NHS needs democratic control
Palace letters show the monarchy is a weapon for capitalism
Defend free TV licences for pensioners!
Water shortage warning: nationalise now!
Hillingdon Hospital corona outbreak: workforce not to blame
No going back
A socialist programme for schools
Workplace news and analysis
A fighting programme for Unite
PCS executive majority cancels union democracy
'Hands off our pensions!' demand angry Nissan workers
Tower Hamlets council workers strike back
Ratcliffe rats on Bridgend workers
Socialist history
How capitalist restoration led to war and 'ethnic cleansing' in the Balkans
Black Lives Matter
How the FBI and Chicago police murdered a Black Panther
Will boosting the 'black pound' improve black workers' lives?
BLM protests - another injustice exposed
Readers' opinion
Books that inspired me: The Mother
TV: Ross Kemp - Living with Forced Out Families
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Jobs, homes, services and a future for all!
Socialism 2020 - ideas to change the world
Nottingham trans rights protest: Our demands are the same as everyone's
Why I joined the Socialist Party
Donations help us campaign and fight for socialism
Selling the Socialist in Swansea
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