131. Prepare a workers’ general election stand

In the local elections on 2nd May, the Socialist Party stood as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). TUSC is an electoral coalition which was co-founded by the late Bob Crow, then general secretary of the RMT transport workers’ union. Its primary goal is to enable trade unionists, community campaigners and socialists who are fighting for a new mass workers’ party to stand candidates against pro-austerity establishment politicians under a clear banner. In the 10% of council seats where TUSC stood, voters had the opportunity to support a clear anti-austerity, anti-war candidate.

It is no coincidence that these were the best results for TUSC since it was relaunched in 2020 after Corbyn’s defeat inside Labour. In total, TUSC was able to achieve over 40,000 votes on 2 May. In the local elections it had a post-relaunch record 46 candidates who got 5% or more, with ten getting over 10% and two scoring over 30%. While TUSC’s results were still modest, they point towards the growing search for a socialist alternative to Starmer’s New Labour, even before the advent of a Starmer-led government. They are also a positive demonstration of the benefits of democratic collaboration between different forces, around a minimum anti-austerity programme, with trade unionists playing a central role.

Check out the TUSC website at www.tusc.org.uk

In this Episode of the podcast, Socialist Party General Secretary Hannah Sell breaks down the main trends we can see emerging from the local election results, and what lessons we can draw from this to prepare a Workers’ General election stand

To contact the Socialist Party about this podcast or to find out about becoming a member visit: www.socialistparty.org.uk

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