The Socialist Party, photo Mary Finch

The Socialist Party, photo Mary Finch   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Thea Everett, South East London Socialist Party

I feel fortunate to have been raised by socialist parents. In my house in the 1990s and 2000s, Blair was as dirty a name as Thatcher.

Mistrust of Labour and the Tories was instilled in me. I knew they did not represent the interests of 99% of people.

Growing up in Lewisham, south London, I watched good schools become academies, local services get cut to the bone by Labour councils and, over the last ten years, the rapid gentrification of the area I call home.

Until 2015, when Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, I had lived my entire life with no mainstream political party representing my views. Corbyn becoming leader jerked me into action.

It filled me, and tens of thousands of other young people, with excitement and optimism. I joined the party I thought I never would, and canvassed for Labour in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

Knocking doors in Eltham, Putney and Stevenage, it was obvious what we were up against. The establishment media had presented Corbyn so abominably.

My dad is Jewish. I was further disgusted by the right wing of Labour demeaning antisemitism by using it as a political tool to tarnish Corbyn, and by the media giving this so much more airtime than policy.

I’ve been aware of the Socialist Party for as long as I can remember. My Dad is a member of 37 years.

I would read articles in the Socialist around the house, and attended the November Socialism conferences a handful of times. Everything I heard I agreed with.

After the hurt of the 2019 election result, I knew that the Labour Party was not, and never could be, a route to ending capitalism. I decided to turn my attention to the Socialist Party, which had predicted that Corbyn’s failure to purge the right wing of the party would be his downfall.

Since joining two months ago, I have learnt more and been more politically involved than I ever was in Labour. Until joining, I had no idea how active our members are in the unions, and what a difference we make in the movement.

The recent sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey is for some the final straw. The need for a new workers’ party is now brutally apparent. If you too have left Labour and want to end capitalism, please consider joining us in the Socialist Party.

If you felt electrified by Corbyn’s politics, I can tell you being surrounded by a whole party of people fighting for a society run for the needs of all is truly invigorating. You will feel at home.