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TUSC conference to discuss role under Starmer and plans for the May elections

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TUSC conference January 2017 (uploaded 28/11/2017)

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) steering committee has agreed the agenda and timetable for a conference to be held on Zoom on Sunday February 2nd.

The conference has been convened under the heading, ‘Fighting for a new party under the Starmer government. And what role for TUSC?’, as the need for a working class political alternative to the Tory-lite New Labour government becomes clearer by the day. 

The event will also include a discussion on how to achieve the biggest possible socialist challenge at the first widescale electoral test of the new government, the local elections to be held in May 2025. 

Road to a new party

Platform speakers from the constituent components of the TUSC steering committee, the Socialist Party, the System Change party, Socialist Students and the TUSC Individual Members’ section – and leading trade unionists who sit on the TUSC committee in a personal capacity – will introduce the single plenary session, putting their views on the broad conference theme.

But other organisations are also invited to contribute.  In the absence of leadership from the left-led trade unions in particular, it is a fact that there is still no sufficiently authoritative force able to pull together a new mass party of the working class at this point.  The TUSC coalition is not, and does not see itself to be, that ‘sufficiently authoritative force’ and welcomes the input of others grappling with the same problem.

To this end a speaker has been invited from the Collective, a network involving key supporters of Jeremy Corbyn from his time as Labour leader who are now seeking to build the foundations for a new left political party.  And, although the Workers Party of Britain, who will also be standing candidates in May, have recently withdrawn from the TUSC steering committee, they too will have the opportunity to participate if they wish (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Letter-to-the-Workers-Party.pdf), as will other socialist organisations.

Preparing for the May 2025 elections

The conference will include a discussion on the next big set of elections, the English local council elections, that will take place on Thursday 1st May 2025 (see where on the TUSC website at https://www.tusc.org.uk/21162/06-09-2024/where-will-there-be-elections-in-2025/).

The dominant party in the councils involved are the Tories, who had over 1,380 councillors elected in 2021, the last time these particular elections were fought.  Labour then won 335 seats, almost the same number as the Liberal Democrats on 313. 

But these councils are not alien ‘Tory territory’, covering as they do important working class communities who will be looking for an alternative to all the mainstream parties.  An anti-cuts, anti-austerity election stand is vital and the conference will discuss how we can work with others to ensure that one is mounted.

The candidate’s guarantee

One issue is what the minimum core policies platform for May’s elections should be that candidates will need to commit to in order to use one of the TUSC names and emblems on the ballot paper.  For the first time the options include the newly registered description ‘Independent Trade Union and Socialist Candidate’, a far clearer identifier of what someone stands for than the bare label, ‘Independent’. 

TUSC has always given complete autonomy to candidates – who come from the various parts of our coalition or who are individual trade unionists, community activists, anti-war protestors and independent socialists – to keep control of their own campaigns.  The only qualification is the ‘core policies platform’, a list of minimum commitments that voters should expect from someone elected under the TUSC banner  

A draft platform for the May 2025 elections – our ‘six guarantees’ – has been drawn up by the steering committee (available at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Local-elections-policy-guarantees-2025.pdf).  Amendments, additions or comments on them are welcome for circulation prior to the conference, including from individuals and organisations not yet participating in TUSC.  They should be sent to the TUSC National Election Agent, Clive Heemskerk, at [email protected], to be received by Monday 27th January.

Conference registration

There is no fee for the February 2nd conference, which starts at 11am to conclude by 1-30pm, although donations to TUSC’s work are always welcome.  To register for the conference Zoom details follow the link at bit.ly/TUSC25conf

Electing the TUSC Individual Members’ reps on the TUSC steering committee

TUSC is a coalition with an all-Britain steering committee with representatives from its constituent organisations alongside leading trade unionists, sitting in a personal capacity.  Other individual members of TUSC who are not members of a constituent organisation also have places on the committee, elected by the individual members.   

If you want to stand as an Individual Members’ representative on the TUSC steering committee please submit a maximum 250-word candidate statement to Clive Heemskerk at [email protected], also by Monday 27th January.

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