Over one hundred candidates have been accepted by the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) steering committee to use one of the TUSC descriptions on their ballot paper in May’s council elections after the latest meeting of the committee on March 24th – and, while the official nomination deadline is coming up fast, there’s still time for more.

This year there are only elections in 23 councils after the government, in a completely undemocratic move, cancelled polls in nine councils pending re-organisation plans.  Millions have been denied the chance to vote, on who should run their local services and on how their local councils should be organised – and what they think of the government’s new austerity agenda!

But that still leaves 1,600 seats or so being contested in the scheduled elections on May 1st, and in some council by-elections elsewhere, and in 101 of them there will be a clear socialist and trade union alternative to the establishment parties – plus a TUSC candidate in the contest for the Mayor of Doncaster.

The last time these particular seats were up for election, in 2021, there were 60 candidates who used a TUSC description on the ballot paper (and just 31 in this election cycle before that, in 2017).  The greater interest in standing this time is another sign of the growing conviction that a new, mass, working class alternative must be built – and that you have to start somewhere!

And there’s still time for more trade unionists, anti-cuts community campaigners, protesters at the latest vicious attacks on disabled people – and socialists from different parties or none – to join what will be the biggest working class left-of-Labour challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘Continuity Tories’ New Labour party in May.

The final deadline for the steering committee to consider candidate applications is March 30th with the TUSC National Election Agent – Clive Heemskerk, at [email protected] – needing to receive completed applications by then. But that will be really cutting it fine so applications should be sent in as early as possible. 

The form to use a TUSC description can be downloaded at https://www.tusc.org.uk/2025-application-form-cllr/ (if you are having difficulty opening this link, try copying it into your browser).

The current list of candidates planning to stand in May’s elections using one of the TUSC descriptions is available at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Candidates-to-25-03-24.pdf  Most candidates will appear on the ballot paper with the description Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition next to their name but a number are using the new Independent Trade Union and Socialist Candidate descriptor, including two former Labour councillors in Doncaster. ■