- reselection thus perpetuating Labour's undemocratic power structures, lack of focus on class struggle and not fighting back against the presstitutes.

17 Aug 2025

I think we're in a very different political moment. We have to build on the
strengths of Corbynism - its energy, mass appeal and bold policy platform - and
we also have to recognise its limitations. It capitulated to the IHRA definition
of antisemitism, which famously equates it with anti-Zionism, and which even its
lead author Kenneth Stern has now publicly criticised. It triangulated on
Brexit, which alienated huge numbers of voters. It abandoned mandatory
reselection of MPs for the trigger ballot compromise, keeping many of the
party's undemocratic structures in place. It didn't make a real effort to
channel its mass membership into the labour movement or tenants unions, which
would have enriched the party's social base. When it came under attack from the
state and the media, it should have fought back, recognising that these are our
class enemies. But instead it was frightened and far too conciliatory. This was
a serious mistake. If we're contesting state power, we're going to face a major
backlash, and we need to have the institutional resilience to withstand it. You
cannot give these people an inch.

Between 2015 and 2019 I had friends and colleagues who worked at the top of the
Labour Party, and they can tell you that in parts it was a highly dysfunctional
working environment with toxicity and bullying - not from Jeremy, but from some
people around him. Power was too centralised. This is not what we need for this
emerging project. We now have a younger generation that is highly politicised
due to the establishment's disastrous policies on housing, education, employment
and war. They are going to demand a seat at the table and the ability to wield
actual power, and rightfully so. My vision for the new party is about that kind
of active participation, because that's how I got into politics myself: not by
the traditional route of running as a councillor, but through social
movements. Everyone has to feel that they're involved and the organisation has
to be representative of wider society. That also means we can't soft-pedal our
anti-racism. Some people want us to focus solely on the 'economic issues'. But
if the politics of class is detached from the politics of race then it is bound
to fail - because when our neighbours are being simultaneously targeted for
eviction and deportation, that struggle is one and the same.
-- Cont'd at https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/the-alternative