The Organiser – Issue #18

Hello comrades,

In this latest issue, we bring you:

• News from across the movement
• What we have been up to
• Our time in Liverpool
• International news story

Speaking up for Palestine

As we write this, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 10,000 as Israel’s war on Gaza rages on. Calls for an immediate ceasefire have heaped pressure on the Labour Leadership to waver on their defence of Israel. And last week, 56 Labour MPs, including 10 members of the shadow frontbench, defied a Labour whip to abstain by backing a ceasefire. 

They join more than 300 councillors, as well as senior figures such as Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar, and Labour mayors Andy Burnham, Sadiq Khan and Tracey Brabin, who have all joined the chorus for a ceasefire. 

They also stand with the majority of the public, with 76% of British voters supporting a ceasefire, including 89% of Labour voters. We at Momentum are proud to have helped pressure Labour’s MPs and Leadership to demand a ceasefire and speak out against Israeli war crimes.

We launched a lobbying tool last month asking our members and supporters to write to their Labour MPs, or the Leadership if they didn’t have one, urging them to back a ceasefire and speak up for Palestine. 

Over 5000 of you have used our lobbying tool thus far, helping to shift the tone on Israel’s invasion. But with the war showing no signs of abating, we’re still campaigning for Labour to unite behind a ceasefire. If you haven’t done so already, our lobbying tool is still live for you to write to your MP.  

Take action > mtm.is/ceasefire 

Furthermore, our Vice-Chair Mish Rahman launched another campaign: Labour for a Ceasefire NOW. As a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, Mish will open up a debate on the party’s ruling body for an immediate end to the bloodshed in Gaza.  

Overall, we’re still keeping up the pressure on Labour to stand with the Palestinian people. By using our lobbying tool, you can join us in standing up against apartheid and urging the Leadership to do the same!

• Repeal Repressive Tory Laws: The Tories have introduced a raft of anti-democratic measures imposing restrictions on our right to protest, strike, vote and seek asylum. You can watch our video with Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP explaining the government’s crackdown on our basic freedoms here. For the most part, the Labour Leadership has refused to repeal these repressive laws under a future government, bar the anti-strike bill. So we launched a petition, which has amassed over 15000 signatories, pressuring Labour to repeal repressive Tory laws. Will you join us? Take action.
• The Educator: On the topic of Britain’s creeping authoritarianism, the latest edition of our political education newsletter, The Educator, explores just that. We spoke to writer and author of ‘The Starmer Project’, Oliver Eagleton, on what the Tories’ crackdown on our democratic rights mean, and why the Labour Leadership is refusing to repeal most of these laws. Read more. 
• Labour Women’s Conference: Alongside the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy and Labour Women Leading, we launched a petition and rally outside Women’s Conference in Liverpool last month, demanding that Labour women are not sidelined. This was in response to the Women’s Conference being held over just one day, without any separate fringe events or meetings, compared to the buoyant event in 2019.
• Members’ Convention: Following our Refounding process, we’ll be hosting an online all-members’ convention early next year. More details to follow.

Our time in Liverpool

At both Labour Conference and The World Transformed, we at Momentum had an inspiring few days with socialists from across the country, building our strength and strategies for the long-term.

We hosted two packed-out sessions at TWT, the first discussing Left strategy under a Starmer government, and another on building community wealth and left bases right now, through local government. We were delighted to be joined by Beth Winter MP, ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan, socialist Labour councillors and other inspirational speakers for these events. 

We were also kept busy training up the next generation of socialist leaders, hosting our final training day for our Leo Panitch Leadership graduates, plus an inaugural event with our Organising Network. 

Meanwhile, over at Labour Conference, the Starmer machine tried to stifle debate on issues such as NHS privatisation and funding, but failed to prevent Conference delegates from passing transformative policies such as the renationalisation of energy, and the full implementation of the New Deal for Working People. 

These victories show that socialist Labour policies enjoy huge support amongst members and unions as well as the public. From selections to policy making, the Leadership has to resort to stitch ups, because they’re scared of a fair fight. 

Finally, we were proud to stand with Disability Labour, Young Labour, Labour Women Leading and other campaign groups to protect equal rights in the party. This came after Labour introduced a rule scrapping mandatory equality roles on CLP executive committees. 

We want to end by saying a huge thank you to Seema Chandwani and Billy Hayes for their service on the Conference Arrangements Committee in recent years. They have stood up consistently for a democratic, member-led party and will be sorely missed. 

Together we are organising for a fairer and socialist future for Britain. The Leadership may wish to silence us – but we’re not going anywhere.

Unions win big in the U.S

Workers in the U.S are fighting back! Just recently, members of the United Auto Workers’ union walked out en masse against Detroit’s Big Three carmakers. The strikes were a major victory as the union agreed on three deals – including a 25% pay increase for automakers. These deals are currently in the ratification process within the union, with the first passing with 82% in favour. 

There’s been a surge in popularity for unions in recent years. According to a recent Gallup poll, around two-thirds of Americans approve of unions, in stark contrast to the number 60 years ago. Post-pandemic, it’s clear that workers reeling from inflation and cost-of-living pressures are rankled by soaring profits enjoyed by corporate shareholders. 

The pandemic exposed the widening schism between workers and big bosses. In 2023, 69% of the total wealth in the U.S was owned by the top 10% of earners. But workers in major multinational corporations, from Starbucks, Amazon to McDonalds, are saying enough is enough. Events in the U.S are similar to the wave of industrial action that has taken place here in Britain since last summer. 

And we stand in solidarity with workers here, the U.S and across the world as they fight for fairer pay and conditions! 

Housekeeping

You can find the minutes of our National Coordinating Group Meetings here.

You can read member of Labour’s National Executive Committee Jess Barnard’s thread on X (formerly Twitter) on the most recent NEC meeting that was held before Labour Conference. 

We hope you enjoyed our latest issue. Any feedback you have and ideas for how to make the newsletter better are much appreciated.

Don’t hesitate to send us an email at [email protected] with your thoughts.

In solidarity,

Team Momentum