The Napo For A New Party meeting on 1 September was the first of its kind since members had met to discuss how to build support for Jeremy Corbyn’s policies in the union when he was leader of the Labour Party.

This meeting was one of a series of follow-ups to the national trade union meeting on 21st July, chaired by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and addressed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana shortly before they made the ‘Your Party’ announcement that has since then quickly gathered such massive support.

Napo represents workers in probation and family courts.  The meeting had a variety of attendees, with new young members alongside current and former vice-chairs and National Executive Committee members, retired members, and both probation and family court workers.

Attendees were keen to express anger at the Labour government.  Labour has continued Tory austerity, harming all public services including probation and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass).  It has kept the repressive Tory anti-union laws that sabotaged Napo's ballot on industrial action.  We were just short of the 50% turnout threshold, but with over 90% backing strike action and 97% favouring action short of strike!

And members added that Labour has continued the horrendous Tory attacks on refugees and asylum seekers, diving headfirst into the racist rhetoric that was discussed at last year’s Napo AGM, with a panel on opposing racism.

Next steps in the union

The meeting mainly focused on practical aims.  Napo’s 2025 AGM on 16th-18th October will have a motion going to it from the Family Court Section that directly calls for discussion with other trade unions on establishing a new voice for the working class, Motion 21: ‘Enough is Enough – We Need New Political Representation’ (see below).

We agreed to build support for Motion 21 in our branches and to hold another online meeting to follow up on progress.  We also intend to hold a Napo For A New Party meeting at the AGM itself.

More Napo members have joined the group since that meeting, making it clear that the question of working-class political representation will be a feature at the AGM and in the union going forward... (continued)

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national chairperson, the former Labour MP Dave Nellist, today praised the Socialist Students organisation for their campaign to organise walkouts in schools and colleges on Wednesday September 17 in protest at the obscenity of the Trump state visit to the UK.

“TUSC is a coalition of trade unionists, independent socialists with their own individual members’ section, and different organisations; including Socialist Students, which joined TUSC after their conference voted to do so, in 2024”.

“TUSC’s usual practice is to leave it to the component parts of our coalition to advertise their own successes but Socialist Students really should be congratulated on the campaign they have organised since Trump’s visit was announced in July, culminating in the Wednesday walkouts and protests in schools and colleges from Plymouth to Carlisle and all points in between.  As people in Gaza starve to death, and thousands are shot as they queue for food, Trump was invited to Britain by Keir Starmer to feast at a luxury banquet at Windsor Castle.  That obscenity could not go unanswered and Socialist Students rose to the challenge”. 

“When I was an MP I supported the 1985 school student strikes organised against Margaret Thatcher’s notorious cheap labour Youth Training Scheme – being denounced by the then Labour leader Neil Kinnock for doing so – and the Socialist Students’ campaign continues that tradition.  Once again young people are showing what needs to be done”.

For more information check out the Socialist Students website at https://socialiststudents.org.uk/  ■

Online meeting after the walkout: discuss the next steps

Sunday 21 September 12pm

Zoom meeting ID: 859 2586 9207

The latest meeting of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) all-Britain steering committee was dominated by discussion on the next steps that could be taken to consolidate Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s call to establish “a new kind of political party”.

While it is not straightforward to move from the three-quarters-of-a-million or so ‘Your Party’ sign-ups to a democratically organised, mass vehicle for socialist, working-class political representation, the opportunities to do so are clearly there. 

Work must proceed urgently and the steering committee agreed to push on with the ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’ campaign that has seen hundreds of trade unionists meet over the summer to discuss details of what to do in their own unions, following the 1,000-plus all-union meeting hosted by the TUSC chair, Dave Nellist, on July 21st (check out the meeting video at https://youtu.be/fTTmB-itr4U?si=CS3s5DEUioGeUzUg).

The 2026 elections

Another immediate task, the committee agreed, was to help to get the new party ready for the elections that will be held on May 7th, 2026.  This discussion centred around a briefing document prepared by the TUSC national election agent, Clive Heemskerk, Ideas About The Next Local Elections, available at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ideas-about-the-2026-local-elections.pdf.

The main point emphasised was the enormous possibilities that are there.  The new party could win seats in the Scottish parliament and Welsh Senedd and councillors in almost every one of the seventy-plus English local authorities with elections in 2026.  In some councils it could expect to hold the balance of power after the May 7th polling day.  And even, in some of the authorities that are up for election in this particular four-yearly cycle, win majorities and form administrations.

This, however, the meeting agreed, represents both an opportunity and a challenge.  A substantial presence in local government for the new party could be a powerful bridgehead, a catalyst force, for a movement against the Austerity II agenda that the Starmer government is set on, compelled by the perilous position of British capitalism to further attack public spending including local council services.  But only if the new party and its candidates are clear on what needs to be done... (continued)

On 31st August members of the retail and distribution workers’ union USDAW joined a Zoom meeting to discuss how we build support in our union – one of the biggest Labour affiliated unions – for a new party of the working-class.

This meeting was one of a series of follow-ups to the national trade union meeting on 21st July, chaired by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and addressed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana shortly before they made the ‘Your Party’ announcement that has then quickly gathered such massive support.

Iain Dalton, secretary of the USDAW Broad Left, speaking in a personal capacity, introduced the discussion outlining the anger of union members at the policies of the Labour government, such as cutting pensioners’ Winter Fuel Allowance.  This had been demonstrated by the near unanimous condemnation of this move at this year’s USDAW’s annual delegate meeting (ADM).  The government has also attacked disability benefits, failed to repeal the two-child benefit cap, and betrayed the WASPI women over their pensions, all against union policy as Iain pointed out.  No wonder the question was raised at the ADM of the accountability of the USDAW group of MPs to union members and the policies we agree.

In fact Keir Starmer’s leadership has suspended Labour MPs who have voted for USDAW policies, such as scrapping the two-child benefit cap.  And former USDAW equalities officer Ruth George was blocked from standing again for her seat as a Labour candidate.  USDAW members will be rightly asking why are we giving support to Labour MPs who have not backed us on these issues, Iain argued, and not to elected representatives from the workers’ movement who have supported our policies?... (continued)

On 20th August, members of general union GMB met online to discuss how we build support across our union – one of the biggest backers of Labour – for a new party of the working-class, with a socialist programme and rooted in the trade unions.

This meeting was a follow-up to the national trade union meeting on 21st July, chaired by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and addressed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.  Almost 50 GMB members signed up for that meeting.

At the ‘GMB for a new party’ meeting in August, there was agreement that Labour no longer acts in the interests of GMB members, and enthusiasm for a new, socialist party.  Although our numbers at this first meeting were modest, attendees represented a wide range of regions and sectors, from 17 GMB branches, and most were activists with positions as branch reps or officers, including some regional council members.  This indicates the potential to develop a successful GMB campaign for a new workers’ party.

The meeting was chaired by Gareth Bromhall, a delegate on the Swansea and Wales Trade Union Councils (TUC Cymru – speaking in a personal capacity).

We started with a short video message from Jeremy Corbyn, and then Gareth introduced the proposed model motion (see below).  He emphasised that many Labour MPs in the GMB Parliamentary Group are not voting for GMB policies, and that a new party must “unequivocally” be based in the trade unions.  GMB has over 500,000 members, and together all unions in Britain have just under 6.5 million members, making us a formidable force in society.

A good debate ensued, with contributions from a majority of those present... (continued)

Over 70 members of the National Education Union (NEU) joined a Zoom call on August 18th as part of the round of individual union meetings to bring together ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’.  

Not only was this a great turnout at a time when education staff are on holiday, the thorough and wide-ranging discussion also reflected the enthusiasm and determination to campaign for the NEU to play its part in building a new workers’ party.

The meeting was introduced by Sheila Caffrey, one of several NEU National Executive members at the online meeting.  Sheila explained that the meeting had been called as a follow-up to the over 1,000-strong July 21st cross-union Zoom initiated by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), which was attended by both Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana shortly before they made the ‘Your Party’ announcement that has then quickly gathered such massive support. 

Sheila reminded everyone of the role played by education workers during the COVID pandemic, both in supporting children and our communities, but also using our collective trade union power too.  She listed just some of the attacks that have been made by the Labour government, including worsening child poverty with the continuation of two child benefit cap and their attacks on both disabled people’s and trans people’s rights.  Sheila added that they “have continued Tory education policy of underfunding, underpaying and undervaluing education and education workers” and that the long record of attacks, cuts and privatisation of education showed that the need for education workers to have a political voice and genuine representation was long overdue. 

Sheila referred to the democratic structures that already exist in unions like the NEU to allow members to discuss and elect delegates to share views, experiences and policies, and argued that a new workers’ party should work like this too.  “We need a new party that not only has education workers but workers from across all sectors and communities being able to discuss and create policies that will support our lives, our services and our workplaces” and that “the collective voices of unions are essential to this”. 

One shared aim from the many individual contributions to the discussion was to encourage as many NEU members as possible to take the arguments for a new workers’ party into NEU structures, at school, district and national levels... 

At the successful meeting of Trade Unionists For a New Party on 21st July hosted by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), the over 1,000 people present agreed to organise follow-up meetings for members of the respective unions represented to discuss concrete steps towards a party based on the unions.  

Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana both attended and spoke at that meeting (a full video can be seen at https://youtu.be/fTTmB-itr4U?si=CS3s5DEUioGeUzUg) and their ‘Your Party’ campaign (www.yourparty.uk) has attracted over 700,000 sign-ups since its launch three days later.

April Ashley and Jim McFarlane, Unison NEC members acting in a personal capacity, called the first ‘Unison 4 a New Party’ meeting to discuss the concrete steps we need to take in our union.  Around 70 of us attended on 18 August.  Jeremy Corbyn sent a video message of support for the meeting at Dave Nellist’s invitation, stating that “workers’ rights are at the core of what we believe in”. 

In opening the meeting and moving the motion (see below) April raised that as only 16% of Unison members currently pay into the affiliated political fund (Labour Link) it is clear that most members no longer see Labour as a party that represents their interests.

Andrea Egan, who is standing as general secretary of Unison against the current right-winger Christina McAnea, sent apologies for the meeting, hoping to attend in the future.  April and other speakers felt it important that the call for a review of Unison’s relationship with the Labour Party and for the union to use its political fund to only support MPs who follow union policy form a prominent part of Andrea’s election programme.  If elected, we would also urge her to work with Jeremy, Zarah and the other suspended MPs so that they can represent Unison’s policies in parliament...

On 14th August 40 activists in the University and College Union (UCU), from workplace reps and rank-and-file members through to National Executive Committee (NEC) members, met online to discuss the next steps in the fight for our union to have a voice in a new party of the working class.  

This was a follow-up to the online ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’ meeting called by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), on 21st July, addressed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, which over 1,000 trade unionists attended.  A full video of that meeting can be seen at https://youtu.be/fTTmB-itr4U?si=CS3s5DEUioGeUzUg.

In chairing the UCU follow-up and proposing a model motion for UCU members to take into their branches for discussion, National Executive Committee (NEC) members Duncan Moore and Marco Tesei explained that since UCU passed motion 63 at the union’s annual congress in May, major developments in the struggle for independent working class politics have come apace.  This meeting was for UCU members to discuss how to campaign for UCU to engage in the formation of a new party.

UCU, like many other unions, has never been affiliated to Labour.  The union’s current rules state that no part of the funds of the union or of any branch shall be used for affiliation to any political party.  For UCU to affiliate with a new party would require a change to our rules, achievable only by a two-thirds majority vote at congress.

But the UCU rule book is clear that the union can spend the political fund in any way that Congress or the NEC deems to be in the interests of UCU members.  Currently UCU spends members’ money lobbying parliament and campaigning, and to have a stall at Labour Party conference.

UCU congress motion 63 called for the union to invite Jeremy Corbyn and the other independents (now including Zarah Sultana) to a meeting of our national executive to discuss how they can support our union’s fights in parliament, and for UCU to encourage our own members to stand in elections to campaign for our union’s policies.

Since the announcement of a new party, implementation of motion 63 has become urgent, as the question of the new party’s structure and what role the trade unions can have within it are debated over the next few months.

The ‘UCU for a new party’ meeting resolved to raise the motion in all our branches and also agreed to contact our relevant NEC members (by sector and/or region) to ask about progress on motion 63, to keep the pressure on the leadership.

Follow-up meetings to the ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’ campaign launch on July 21st to plan detailed work in individual unions have now been held for members of Unite the Union, the Communications Workers Union (CWU), the University and Colleges Union (UCU), UNISON, the National Education Union (NEU) and the GMB.

A report of the 220-strong meeting of Unite activists has been published at https://www.tusc.org.uk/21880/12-08-2025/unite-for-a-new-party-meeting-sets-union-specific-campaign-plan/.  Below is the report of the CWU meeting, with others to be posted here in the coming days.  

The first follow-up meeting to the successful ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’ campaign launch on July 21st was held last week for members of Unite the Union.

Over 220 Unite activists attended a ‘Unite for a New Party’ call to discuss the details of what needs to be done in this currently Labour-affiliated union to make sure that it can be at the heart of the new anti-austerity and anti-war party that is in the process of being formed.

Chaired by the Unite member and former Labour MP Dave Nellist, the meeting opened with a video message of support from Jeremy Corbyn, stressing the importance of trade unionists in realising his and Zarah Sultana’s recent call (at www.yourparty.uk) for a “new kind of political party”. 

The next speakers, present in a personal capacity, were the Unite Executive Council member Suz Muna and the Unite convenor of Birmingham Labour council’s Waste and Environmental Services workers, Matt Reid.  Suz explained the historic decision made at the Unite policy conference in July for the union to “discuss our relationship with Labour”, after the council announced the effective fire-and-rehire of refuse workers striking against pay cuts of up to £8,000 a year, with Matt reporting on the latest developments ‘from the frontline’.  The meeting pledged its continued solidarity with the bin workers in this defining struggle.

Debating tactics

Discussion then turned to the details of what needs to be argued for in a union that at this point is still affiliated to Labour, centred around a model motion for union branches that had been circulated in the meeting’s calling notice (see below for the text).

There was general agreement with the tactics proposed, with arguments made illustrating some of the different issues involved.  For example, Dave Reid from Cardiff Trades Council, and an officer of Cardiff General Unite branch, reported on the trades council’s initiative, now supported by three others in Wales, to convene a conference in October to discuss how unions can ensure there is a workers’ voice in the 2026 Welsh Senedd elections. 

But because it has been posed as a discussion, he explained, in line with the Unite conference decision – and with a speaker invited from Labour to debate how workers can be politically represented (let’s see if they turn up!) – there is no constitutional bar to Unite branches sending delegates even under the current rules.

But there was debate too about the tactics proposed.  Phil Smart, the branch secretary of Unite WM6070, asked why, with the union’s objects including “to have a strong political voice fighting on behalf of working peoples’ interests… so as to promote a socialist vision” (Rule 2.1.4), the Executive Council couldn’t use its powers under Rule 13.6 “to amend the rules between Rules Conferences” itself as Starmer’s Labour was so obviously not delivering? 

Other speakers accepted that such a move was possible.  However, given the requirement that 75% of the Executive Council would have to agree, they argued that a membership campaign which gathered such support to compel the EC to take this step could also achieve the convening of special policy and rules conferences, which would result in a more deeply-rooted and long-lasting change in the union’s political strategy. 

The main task though, everybody agreed, was to take the arguments to every corner of the union.  And in that light, with the next Executive Council being held in October, it was agreed to reconvene the meeting in the autumn to assess progress, with all instances of the model motion being passed in branches and other union committees to be notified to Dave Nellist at [email protected]

A short video of Dave, Suz, Matt and Jeremy’s contributions to the meeting is available at https://youtu.be/XfHQPjdnsG8.  ■

Following the successful ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’ meeting on July 21st, as promised a series of follow-ups are being organised to discuss what needs to be done in each individual union to make sure that trade unions and trade unionists are at the heart of the new anti-austerity and anti-war party that is in the process of being formed.

Over one thousand trade unionists, on Zoom and via a live feed, attended the July 21st meeting, which included contributions from Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana MP just days before they made their mould-breaking call for a “new kind of political party” – which has since gathered 700,000 sign-ups!

Initial follow-up meetings to work out the details of what to do next have been organised for Unite the Union members (on 7th August), the Communications Workers Union (11th August), the University and Colleges Union (14th August), Unison (18th August), and the National Education Union (also August 18th).  Registration details for each are listed below.  And watch out for union specific meetings for PCS, RMT, GMB, USDAW members and others in the coming weeks. 

And if you missed the July 21st meeting, hosted by Dave Nellist, the former Labour MP (1983-1992) and now the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), you can watch the video at https://youtu.be/fTTmB-itr4U?si=CS3s5DEUioGeUzUg ■

Trade Unionists for a New Party follow-up meetings registration details:

UNITE – Thursday 7th August, 6-30pm – https://tinyurl.com/Register4TUnewpartymeeting

CWU – Monday 11th August, 6-30pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/0efJqg1aQpK6OrRXM26EEw

UCU – Thursday 14th August, 6-30pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/CEcTKiXORvCvos4mvoaG0g

UNISON – Monday 18th August, 6-30pm – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Ev3wZqjLTYeiygpZdcWNYw

NEU – Monday 18th August, 7-30pm – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/-MtXgZKBQJiuvBES8F7XxA

The call by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana on Thursday 24 July for a “new kind of political party” to challenge ‘the rigged system’ has met with a phenomenal response. 

Within 24 hours over a quarter of a million people had signed up “to be part of the founding process” of a new party – more than the memberships of Reform (229,000), the Conservatives (131,000), the Liberal Democrats (90,000) and the Greens (65,000). 

If you haven’t done so already, you can read Jeremy and Zarah’s statement and sign up at www.yourparty.uk  Labour’s claimed membership, within target now, is 309,000.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) fully supports moves towards the establishment of a new working class party and will do everything we can to take this process forward. 

A full statement from the TUSC all-Britain steering committee, agreed before Jeremy and Zarah’s 24 July declaration but even more relevant now, is at https://www.tusc.org.uk/21778/17-07-2025/tusc-offers-full-backing-to-moves-towards-a-new-party/

Trade union campaign

One immediate next step we identified in our statement was to push forward the campaign calling for urgent discussions across the unions to establish a political voice for working people (see the online petition at https://www.change.org/TradeUnions-LaunchANewParty).

And on July 21 over a thousand trade unionists attended a meeting – on Zoom and via a live feed – to discuss next steps to ensure that trade unionists and trade unions are at the core of a new party.

Hosted by the TUSC chair Dave Nellist, the meeting featured contributions from Jeremy and Zarah and executive committee members from Unite, UCU, NEU, Unison, the PCS, and others.  If you missed it, you can watch the video at https://youtu.be/fTTmB-itr4U?si=CS3s5DEUioGeUzUg

And look out for the follow-up meetings that will be organised for individual unions in the coming weeks.

BFAWU bakers’ union statement

Another speaker on July 21 was the president of the BFAWU bakers’ union, Ian Hodson.  And the day after the meeting the union’s executive council issued a statement on the creation of a new political party (at https://www.bfawu.org/statement-on-the-creation-of-a-new-political-party/).

The BFAWU, which disaffiliated from the Labour Party in 2021 after 119 years of membership, welcomed “the stirrings of a new political force.  A party that could speak in our voice [and] fight our fights”.

“But it must be built the right way”, the statement went on. “Not by coronation but through collective decision-making” and putting workers “at the centre”. 

“We’re not here to follow”, it ended.  “We’re here to lead”.

Jeremy Corbyn concluded at the 21 July meeting that “there’s 1,000 people on this call, 1,000 people with 1,000 ideas.  And they’ll all be good ones, they’ll all be inclusive, they'll all be determined, and they'll all, above all, be about bringing a change in our society”.

It’s on!  The fight for a new workers’ party with socialist policies is under way. ■