Support is growing among working-class activists for a new party. Many, like us, want our trade unions to take a leading role in establishing a new political alternative to austerity, war, and Reform UK.
The most recent prominent supporter is Len McCluskey (pictured above). The retired general secretary of Unite the Union signed our petition at a meeting addressed by Jeremy Corbyn in Liverpool last weekend. Over 35 present and past national union figures are now backing our campaign, alongside over 1300 online and many on paper (you can download a paper petition at https://tinyurl.com/tk7859v2 to circulate at your local meetings).
Action needed to burst the Reform bubble
A new poll, reported at the weekend in the Independent, shows Reform UK now nine points ahead of Labour. If a general election were held tomorrow, based on these figures, Nigel Farage could be in Number 10. A further poll reported by Unite the Union at https://tinyurl.com/f3m2sdwf suggests only 5% of voters in Birmingham are actively considering voting Labour next May. Where will the other votes go? If those council elections in May 2026 follow the trend of this year, when Reform gained 677 councillors, Farage could make significant gains, providing a springboard for the General Election. Time is not on our side.
We must create a new national party capable of challenging all the Establishment parties on austerity and war. Only the unions have the resources, membership, and social cohesion to reach millions of people in working-class communities.
Different strategies will be needed for affiliated and non-affiliated unions: from challenging Labour funding and building new relationships with independent MPs, such as Jeremy Corbyn (as the UCU conference has done), to organising conferences and forums within and across unions to discuss the next steps.
Activists in Wales are campaigning for a trade union conference.
At its June meeting, Cardiff TUC unanimously voted to organise a conference in the autumn to address the crisis of political representation for the working class in Wales. They are currently inviting all Welsh trades councils and trade union organisations to co-sponsor the event (full motion on Cardiff TUC Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cardifftradescouncil). And ten days ago, Hull and District Trades Council arranged a meeting for local trade union activists (more information at https://www.facebook.com/HullTradesCouncil). Could you organise a discussion or a meeting at your branch or trades council?
We are also planning to bring together hundreds of signatories of this petition, initially via a national Zoom meeting. More details will be announced soon.
Many thanks for your support. Please use the tools on the change.org petition site at (https://www.change.org/TradeUnions-LaunchANewParty) to share the call for a new party across social media and within your networks.
In solidarity,
Dave Nellist
(You can contact me with news of discussions in your area or union at dave@nellist.net)