Category: Politics

By Dawn M. Sanders

I can easily see how the likes of Zarah Sultana could be shunned and shut out of manoeuvres and organising plans from the clandestine characters “at the top” of the formulating Your Party project before its founding at the conference last month in Liverpool.

A week and a half ago, I joined what would be the Transform party’s final zoom meeting to discuss financial matters and logistics of dissolving the party.

I have always been proud to play my part within a small but significant effort on the left to bring together different strains of Socialism.

For those of you who don’t know – the Transform Party was founded in November of 2023 and was a merging of Left Unity, Breakthrough and Liverpool Community Independence.

Despite a strong executive core and diverse council, Transform struggled to maintain the enthusiasm it started with, as people had unrealistic expectations and members steadily dropped away.

That said, the determination and steady drive forward meant we supported independent candidates in the general election, were proactive on the left and even gained recognition from the European left within an international framework.

I was elected Diversity Equality and Inclusion (DEI) officer and later a principal speaker, which were roles I was passionate about. With my public speaking experience; political debating and activism background and advocacy for marginalized people/communities via other political parties and founding an online magazine – along with my own lived experience of life as a woman with a visual impairment and  single mum status to a son with complex additional needs I had a lot to contribute.

Toward the end of the meeting when we were discussing Your Party and the upcoming elections to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) the chair of the meeting asked if anyone was thinking of putting themselves forward and I immediately piped up ‘I was’ and would I get any backing?

One of the co-founders of Transform spoke up and said, ‘highly unlikely’ and then went on in an almost fatherly tone of giving his opinion or more accurately, unsolicited advice to the affect of, ‘you have to be a prominent campaigner and well-known on the left for some time for ‘that kind of role’ to be considered.

So, I was being spoken to like a simple, bubble-headed child which started my blood temperature rising.

A couple of comrades put in the chat, ‘they would back me because I always asked the awkward questions’ and he would spread the word if I were to stand.

Another agreed. This made me feel better, but then the chair of the meeting added, ‘it’s not as simple as just running for the CEC – there will be hustings, debates and loads to get through.

So, the trajectory of talking down to me as if I had no political experience or knowledge what-so-ever continued and I left the meeting fuming!

Okay, so not everyone will always say what I want to hear or lend their support, but for someone to talk to me like I’m some stupid female without a clue of anything is both disrespectful and presumptive.

Do either of those self-promoting men know of my long experience of running awareness-raising workshops, proactive experience within the Occupy movement (which involved organizing a full-blown rally) in front of Sheffield city hall?

Do either of them know I played a part in the women’s coalition within my local Labour branch under Jeremy Corbyn, where I spoke at the women’s conference in 2019? Did either of them know I spent a day going to Parliament petitioning David Blunkett (my MP at the time) during The Hardest Hit campaign in 2011?

Do either of these men know of the proactive part I played within the Socialist party up in Sheffield? Or the impact of Barriers to Bridges magazine had in providing a platform for some of the most marginalized and stigmatized people in society? No, they don’t know my long-running background neither one of them and I’m not one to blow my own trumpet, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and be shunned or belittled by a couple of men who think only prominent ‘movers and shakers’ get elected to top positions – not to mention the fact they both take themselves far too seriously.

The co-founder said he thought our hard-working secretary should run within Your Party, as she’s such a hard worker and yes, she would get my vote, as she has been committed and a steady hand within Transform.

For anyone who thinks only well-known, prominent personalities get awarded the glittering prize, they haven’t got a clue about what Your Party is about, the collective voice of “ordinary people” and the impact of marginalization or being told ‘no’ as I have all my life.

One of these men was a part of the smug and secretive Collective that met behind closed doors for over a year before Your Party was announced and where the secrecy probably resonated ‘to the top’ of Your Party’s inner circles – whether aligning with Corbyn or Sultana.

As it happens, I’m not interested in taking sides or aligning with either camp – they both have attributes to form the ideally transparent approaches to influence but not lead.

For the record, I’ve decided not to run for CEC this time around, because not only am I in the throws of moving and fighting against the same demented vultures hellbent on attacking mine and my son’s basic human rights, but I’m also waiting and watching how YP pans out for YP.

I don’t agree with everything they represent, such as staying out of the European Union or using sortition as a means of selecting delegates or representative bodies within the party.

I will always point out things exactly for what they are in my forthright American spirit – like this author who wrote a piece more intent on over-emphasising the F-word than putting out a telling and credible piece of journalism.

However, Antifabot pulled off a telling and credible piece all round. It was told from a forthright and doggedly truthful perspective of someone who observed the shitshow shenanigans at YP’s founding conference in Liverpool, yet how the members prevailed over ‘those at the top’ making behind-the-scenes decisions.

Suffice to say I won’t be present at any final farewell meeting with Transform. I’ve stuck with it ‘til the end and I now have better things to do than sit there listening to people who hardly know me or my background talk to me like a little kid.

No, I didn’t have my fingers in 20 campaign pies during my time with Transform. In fact, I had to take a 6-month hiatus for family and personal reasons and I was conscientious of witnessing so many people burnout and drop away.

Supposedly, Transform was always meant to be a catalyst for what has become YP and I think we played that part well, but I’ll just wait and see how much the underdog or grassroots get listened to as YP forms and make up my mind to either contribute my skills or go elsewhere.

The left in the UK is synonymous for in-fighting and factionalism, but is it also synonymous for big egos who further marginalize someone either because of being a young woman of Muslim background or woman with a visual impairment, with enough vision to see through the fog of exclusion and marginalisation – you decide …    

By Dawn M. Sanders

Content Warning: One mention of drug use.

Despite the fact there are more candidates standing in this general election than ever, 459 of which are independents, shedding light on a movement directly speaking to the broken two-party monotony which has gripped the likes of the UK and other western democracies, there are still those who will ask – if not the Tories or Labour, then who?
Not only is the answer in the writing on the wall, with smaller parties becoming more ambitious and vehicles for alternatives, the mainstream media, simply by-pass the true extent of viable alternatives, as not to upset the status quo.
According to Democracy Club, who collates candidate data and supplies data to the Electoral Commission, there is in fact, more choice than ever, so the lesser-of-two-evils syndrome, need not be an excuse for honouring pendulum politics.

“Palestine, although horrifying, is the perfect example of and lightning rod for, mobilisation of the public and public opinion.”
As mainstream media gives no airtime to independents, this piece will not only counter that trend, but expose what official polls just will not reveal.
Many independent candidates are ex-Labour left-wing councillors or members, purged for their political persuasion; many are standing on the single issue of the genocide taking place in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank against Palestinians and some are pitching themselves at the heart of their communities, making a stand for marginalised and disenfranchised groups.

In the whirlwind of the final two weeks of campaigning, I caught up with one such candidate, motivated by community assemblies. The Umbrella framework has emerged to support various movements, such as Just Stop Oil and other initiatives, as the assembly movement is taking off.
In Exeter, a Labour stronghold, William Poulter (Willy) is challenging the Labour candidate, Steve Race.

Studying environmental science, Poulter realised the driver behind climate breakdown, was political breakdown itself. Joining the climate justice movement, he was arrested, where he first ‘cut his teeth’ in campaigning.
He worked as a community organiser, then became a support worker.
“Being a support worker was a difficult role – the people were amazing. However, one of the problems I had was seeing people struggling with no real affective safety net. That was hard to witness, and people were being left to die and that’s not putting it too bluntly.”
In his twenties, he had been a domiciliary carer and things had become so much worse.
He was made redundant as a support worker: “It was ‘so devastating’ because people were already struggling and now, they were losing their support worker as well.”
He describes supporting people who, for whatever reason were isolated, whether from bereavement, poor mental health, or mobility problems and were losing one of their few lifelines.
“A Labour party candidate came to my door and told me, even though he supported a wealth tax to put more money into the community, they would not advocate for it strongly and urgently, because it was not part of the Labour manifesto. Something in me snapped, maybe cracked and I was angry! I was angry with this person, how things were set up and how things had been allowed to be set up.” He emphasises, when Rishi Sunak announced he would cut national insurance, starting with community projects: “Something ‘really snapped…”
He was so upset he committed an act of civil disobedience – painting “Stop punishing the poor” “Tax the rich” on Exeter’s city council building and sat down to wait for arrest.
“The reason I did it, was because I was desperate. It might not have been the most sensible thing to do, but I was desperate to show people, to give people a voice.”
He told how when people resigned themselves to, ‘this is how it is’ struggling on with no support, it was hard to handle. So, when the Assemble campaign was formed, he jumped on it, as it was exactly what he wanted, being angry and desperate for change.

Not having a fixed manifesto, as part of a network of independents, what they are pushing for is fundamental change in British politics. A more inclusive, deliberate democracy, siting the current system not working for most people and more for a small affluent minority. Assemblies would be set up finding out what people wanted, what affected their lives and build a manifesto based on this principle, from the bottom up. He stresses how the campaign introduces something new – modelling what an MP or candidate should look like. When asked how the needs of people might be actioned, such as marginalised communities, Poulter acknowledged the challenge of assemblies was getting represented groups to the forums, such as community leaders.
For example, in one recent assembly for housing, homelessness and poverty, a couple of homeless people came, a few workers from Gabriel House (temporary placement) attended and he describes some results as, ‘amazing’ with members of Acorn (renter’s union) and the people of no fixed abode, expressing the need for safe spaces to drink and use needles.

Beyond the election, the growing network of assemblies would forge ahead locally and nationally – pushing for a House of the People to replace the House of Lords, sitting alongside the House of Commons, holding them to account.
Poulter explained how Exeter University student guild held a hustings, yet he and his team were not invited, as the Guild were not obliged to include candidates unlikely to get a considerable proportion of the vote. So, in defiance and to demonstrate true democracy, he leafleted and spoke to people outside going into the hustings.
He touched on how inaccessible it was to stand as a candidate if one did not have an entourage of support or sufficient funds.   

On the plight of the Palestinian people and some independent candidates standing on that single issue, he said:
“Palestine should be on everyone’s agenda, and I can fully understand why some are doing that, but what I would say as a candidate is, it is not something I would take to parliament. I would trust the people to advocate on the things that are important and when you look at polling, people of the UK are supporting independents who support Palestinian rights.” He points out how Palestine is making clear just how corrupt politics is and how the establishment haven’t stood up to weapons manufacturers or the big money tied up in maintaining the genocide.
He cites how in the assemblies, when people come together: “There is magic, I’ve seen it.”
“Palestine, although horrifying, is the perfect example of and lightning rod for, mobilisation of the public and public opinion.”
So, it is no wonder independent candidates tend to not get recognition unless of course they are prominent and pitted as outsiders by the mainstream media.

At Exeter Transform, a left-wing forum and day of networking, within a discussion panel exploring beyond the genocide, it was pointed out how the establishment were simply waiting for people to get tired and give up the demand for a ceasefire. Sadly, this is proving true, as most mainstream media has dropped Palestine from the headlines. 

Looking beyond the election, Poulter says: “We need ideas from people and to listen to people who traditionally don’t have a voice and we’re using this candidacy as a platform to do that.”
Acknowledging he will probably not win, as a candidate: “If people started to show compassion, feel hope and gain solidarity, which would be incredible and a massive win for this campaign.”

This is a rare effort by the mainstream to not only ask, “If indeed Keir Starmer becomes the next Prime Minister” or “If Labour wins” as the establishment’s multiple mouthpieces all but conclude the general election is a done deal in obsessing over poll predictions, but goes that one step further in acknowledging the important and unique position held by independent MPs. While a coalition of smaller parties might form an opposition, at least part of any such coalition will be composed of independence reaching beyond party politics.

Seemingly, it is only small left-wing publications, alternative outlets or social media fully grasping the seismic independent movement at grassroots level. Often overlooked, due to perceived vulnerability without party backing, perks or constrains of affiliation, independents are gaining widespread support, simply ignored by the old guard – the mass rallies happening in real time in contrast to tired televised debates are amplifying ordinary or marginalised voices in this election.
The advantage of independents, particularly with a cost-of-living crisis, widespread poverty among children and a raging genocide, are their communities. This may be the get-the-Tories-out election, handing Labour a win but alas, the mainstream media have taken notice of the undemocratic tactics flying around and how Keir Starmer’s party treats its members, potentially replicating such distain toward the electorate, as any win will be short-lived and fragmented.
Rishi Sunak, on his way out, has gifted us with the perfectly timed opportunity    – when mass protests are ignored against the worst miscarriage of humanity since the 2^nd World War, the next step is simply the ballot box.

This article has been updated with some factual and grammatical corrections. 

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