The latest meeting of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) all-Britain steering committee (on March 18th) has welcomed the recent decision of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party to actively participate in May’s elections, a critical test for the under siege Starmer government.
The newly-elected Your Party chair, Jenn Forbes, Labour’s candidate for Truro & Falmouth in the 2019 general election, reported after the first full central executive committee (CEC) on 8th March that the party would “work at pace to support members in Scotland and Wales to enact their own strategies for the Holyrood and Senedd elections”.
What was agreed for the 136 English councils going to the polls in May, she continued, with around 5,000 seats up for election, was “a targeted seats strategy”. This will mean a limited number of candidates using the official Your Party name on the ballot paper because of the unique circumstances of this year’s elections, taking place with the structures of the party not yet fully operational. But that is not all that was agreed.
The CEC also resolved that Your Party would support other “independent socialist and community electoral initiatives” whose candidates campaign for “No-cuts People’s Budgets; Defence of public services; Democratic local government; Strong trade union involvement; [and] Opposition to austerity imposed by central government”, as the Your Party CEC Local Government Briefing Paper explained it.
Under the heading, ‘Campaign Messaging’, it was agreed, such “candidates will advocate for People’s Budgets based on community needs rather than austerity”.
This is a green light for every trade unionist, working class community campaigner, anti-war activist and individual socialist – whether a member of Your Party and/or other socialist organisations or none – to stand as a local council candidate to help achieve the most visible socialist political presence possible against the establishment politicians in May.
Getting Jeremy and Zarah on our screens in May
What the CEC decision does mean, however, is that it will not be Your Party itself that can meet the official Ofcom threshold of 840 candidates to qualify for a legally prescribed minimum ‘fair media coverage’. Only by a party registered with the Electoral Commission meeting this threshold can election broadcasts featuring Jeremy and Zarah be legally guaranteed, along with participation in regional debates and discussion shows on TV and radio, and national news coverage of a socialist manifesto launch. And without breaking through the media blackout, even the best local results risk being buried in the ‘others’ column while Reform and the Greens claim the ‘alternative’ narrative.
Nevertheless the CEC plan for only a limited number of ‘target’ candidates to use the Your Party name this year does set the space for a wide socialist election challenge, taking up the collaborative offer TUSC has made that other Your Party supporters can stand using a TUSC-registered description, such as Socialist and Trade Union Candidate or Independent Trade Union and Socialist Candidate. The TUSC steering committee meeting confirmed that, if the Ofcom threshold is reached by candidates using TUSC-registered descriptions, Jeremy and Zarah will feature in the media output we will be entitled to in whatever form Your Party wants.
Our previous steering committee meeting in February agreed an appeal to Your Party on these lines, with a detailed Q&A on any concerns there may be (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/22219/25-02-2026/appeal-to-all-your-party-supporters-help-get-socialism-on-the-ballot-paper-in-may/). But now the situation is clear, the benefits of this approach for the May elections bear re-stating:
● No deposits: Unlike general elections, there is no £500 fee to stand in a council election.
● Local autonomy: Individual candidates retain full control over their campaign materials, local branding, and community identity.
● Solidarity: TUSC will not stand against any Your Party candidates.
● Shared principles: Candidates simply commit to the ‘six TUSC guarantees’ (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/22154/03-02-2026/six-guarantees-from-our-2026-local-election-candidates/), which are effectively identical to the Your Party key messages for the May elections, including opposing all cuts to council services and fighting all forms of oppression.
● Maximum national impact: Getting Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana onto our screens in May!
The first 200 candidates are ready to go… and you?
Since the Your Party CEC hundreds of enquiries have been made about the May elections and the TUSC steering committee meeting approved applications from 160 prospective candidates to use one of the TUSC descriptions on their ballot paper, taking the total number in place at this point to just under 200, standing in 37 local councils.
But more needs to done – an appeal has been issued to various socialist organisations to step up to the plate (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Letter-to-SWP-and-others.pdf) – and time is tight. The April 9th official deadline to hand in completed nomination paperwork is not far away. To use one of the TUSC descriptions on the ballot paper a Certificate of Authorisation has to be submitted, signed by the TUSC Nominating Officer.
The next steering committee meeting to consider requests to use a TUSC description will be on March 30th, with the application form available at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-Application-form-Cllr.docx. But to ensure they can be placed on the agenda for this meeting forms must be received by the TUSC National Election Agent – Clive Heemskerk, at [email protected] – by Saturday 28th March.
The space has been set for a wide socialist election challenge in May. But action is needed now! ■