The Central Executive Committee elections in Your Party have begun. A key element of this election is that the incoming CEC will be the political leadership, not just the administrative leadership of the party in between conferences, which are sovereign. Not only that, it will be the political leadership of a party that has barely any worked out policy.
The first serious test the new CEC will face will be how to intervene into the May elections. At its inaugural conference in November, Your Party adopted, by over 80%, the following proposal:
‘The 2026 local elections are a huge opportunity to stand Your Party candidates that can expose and cut across all the pro-austerity parties, not least Reform UK. To build for such a stand, our Party branches should organise open public conferences, including representatives of trade unions, community organisations, socialist parties, and others, to discuss their local community’s needs and draw up a no-cuts ‘Peoples’ Budget’ based on those needs, not Starmer’s continued austerity. Your Party candidates will pledge to take these issues and more into the council chambers, campaigning for a no-cuts budget that meets the needs of our communities and demanding the money to pay for it from central government.’
The question is, what would Your Party do if it won control of the council. However unlikely, or impossible in 99.9% of the cases, this is a fair question to ask of a party aiming for power. Such a budget, if were based on real need, would be a deficit, and therefore illegal budget. The government would send in commissioners, as they have in Birmingham and Nottingham, and implement cuts with or without the councillors.
There’s no point saying we’ll raise the council tax, rents, service charges, or raid the reserves (what happens if there’s an emergency, e.g. flooding?). This is just giving with one hand what you take with the other—and it would only marginally raise the income needed for a transformational change.
The only option is to pledge to implement the people’s will, a needs budget and take the fight to central government for the funds. This means not only inspiring trade unionists, tenants, migrants with bold demands—reforms worth fighting for—but organising to win them through demonstrations, occupations, and strikes.
If these campaigns were coordinated, regionally and nationally by the incoming CEC, the chances of victory would rise, and therefore the appetite for struggle would grow.
We have put forward the outlines of a manifesto for the local government elections, which was passed by the Your Party branch in Southwark. The idea of using elections and elected representatives as a tribune to outline our struggle for a fundamental alternative to capitalism seems straightforward—but it has its opponents. The SWP denounced the proposed manifesto as ‘pie in the sky’, reflecting their preference for Your Party to remain a reformist, left-Labour electoral vehicle. At the opposite end, Ian Spencer (North East Grassroots Left candidate) put forward the Weekly Worker’s position that Your Party shouldn’t accept control of the council until they’re ‘ready’ to implement their programme in full – and stay in opposition.
Now it goes to the All-London Delegates Assembly. We urge Your Party branches around the country to amend and propose the 10 Point Manifesto for your area.
10 point manifesto for London
This proposal is intended to serve as a baseline for all YP branches, to elaborate and add to according to their own circumstances.
- No Cuts—People’s Budgets, based on real needs arising from popular assemblies and meetings with unions, TRAs, etc.
- Freeze council rents and council taxes, no raiding of reserves. These measures hit the working class and poor disproportionately and disable the council in emergencies.
- No job cuts or downgrading. We need more council jobs and decent pay to deliver better services.
- Homes for all. End homelessness through rent controls, expropriating empty houses, outlawing evictions, building more council housing, expanding the direct labour organisation and construction apprentice schemes under trade union control, and socialising the big construction monopolies. Take Thames Water’s assets under public ownership and popular control.
- Free bus rides. Demand TfL make all bus rides free. Expropriate the bus firms and place them under workers’ control. Equalise drivers’ pay with tube workers’.
- For a greener London. Expand parks, allotments, wild areas. Reintroduce wild animals. More pedestrianisation, less light pollution, more recycling, retain congestions and ULEZ charges. For municipal car, bike and scooter hire schemes. Make London carbon negative.
- Divest from Israel. Take all pension funds out of firms connected with genocidal, apartheid Israel, not just the UN list. Notify all companies that if they trade with or invest in Israel, they will face surcharge or expropriation.
- No to racism. Anti-racist education in workplaces, estates, schools and colleges. Sack or evict those who persist in racist attacks. Physically stop all racist meetings, marches or events. Support Black, Jewish, Muslim and ethnic minority self-defence. Block immigration raids and deportations.
- Stop attacks on women and the LGBT+ community. Full equality for all. Transpeople must be allowed to use facilities that correspond to their gender. Free council childcare, canteen and laundry facilities for all. Equal pay for work of equal value. Self-defence training for women and LGBT+.
- Prepare to fight. Our manifesto cannot be delivered through council elections alone. The government would move to install commissioners to balance the books. We will mobilise the working class to stop all cuts and fight for these changes with protests, direct action, occupations and strikes. Britain is rich, but wealth is concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority. We are committed to taking that wealth to end poverty.
