The following article is a comment piece from TUSC
The Tories are heading for an historic general election defeat on Thursday 4 July, and no trade unionist, anti-war on Gaza demonstrator, working-class community campaigner, climate protester, or socialist activist will be sorry to see them go.
But it is also true that none of those voices will find representation in the Sir Keir Starmer-led Tony Blair-style New Labour government that is set to enter Downing Street on 5 July.
That is why the most important vote that can be cast on Thursday – where it is possible to do so – is for those candidates who could play a part in building a new mass working-class political opposition to the new occupants of Number Ten.
And with Jeremy Corbyn standing as an Independent in Islington North, leading a band of anti-war and anti-austerity candidates, including those from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), the Workers Party of Britain, and others, there will be the option in many constituencies to do just that.
The full list of TUSC candidates standing is available here.
General election: independents day?
It is true that the challenge to the mainstream capitalist establishment parties has not been as widespread and organised as it could have been.
TUSC first systematically discussed the general election nearly two years ago, in June 2022, writing then of our hope that:
before the election, steps towards a new vehicle for working class political representation will have been taken by more authoritative forces than those currently involved in our coalition – primarily from the trade unions or potentially around Jeremy Corbyn himself standing independently of Labour in the general election.
Even an initially small block of MPs who were determined to provide a voice inside Westminster for the working class would enormously strengthen the struggles outside, and would be a step towards solving the crisis of working-class political representation.
And when Labour’s national executive committee in early 2023 confirmed that Jeremy would not be able to be a Labour Party candidate, TUSC supporters in the RMT transport workers’ union won the support of its annual conference for the RMT to back him if he stood independently.
But unfortunately this didn’t become the first step to the organisation of a wider campaign against the establishment politicians that it could have been.
Nevertheless there will still be a significant challenge made on 4 July, and every vote for a trade union, anti-war, anti-austerity, and socialist candidate will put pressure on Labour to look over its left shoulder.
In previous elections – in local council contests especially – TUSC has compiled lists of candidates standing outside of our coalition that we would still urge voters to support.
In this election, however, called on a ‘snap’ basis, and with a record 459 independent candidates standing, it has not been possible to produce a comprehensive list. So we can only point to other information sources, including the recommended candidate lists produced by Collective, the Workers Party of Britain, and Transform.
One thing is clear though – we can only begin to build the opposition to the establishment politicians if we’re prepared to vote against them when we can.
Featured image via the Canary
