Winning elections is not enough: the left has a world to transform

Amidst the political turmoil, one thing seems certain: an election is imminent. To win, Labour will need to mobilise on a scale that’s never been seen before, bringing millions of people into the campaign.

Electing a Labour government to Westminster will be a historic achievement, opening up a world of possibilities for working-class people across the country, but it is only part of the picture. Sending Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street without a movement behind him is like sending a cowboy into a shootout with a water pistol. The decisions that affect our lives are not only made in Whitehall, but in the boardrooms of bosses and living rooms of landlords. Building socialism requires the left to get organised in our workplaces and in our communities. Being “election ready” also means preparing our movement for what happens beyond the election. That’s what we’re doing at The World Transformed 2019. 

The Labour Party has the potential to be an organising force in every part of the country by deploying its greatest resource – its members. But if the party doesn’t use them, it will lose them. For the promise of a ‘people powered’ politics to become a reality, members must have a real say on who represents them and the policies the party advocates.  

The trigger ballots taking place in constituency parties are not a distraction from election campaigning; they are a crucial means of engaging members and increasing local campaigning capacity. Labour branches should be community hubs and Labour MPs should be community leaders, providing practical solidarity to the struggles of working people. We’ll be planning how to make these important changes happen.

The Labour movement has always needed both its political and industrial wings to fly. The gains made by the working class after the war would not have been possible without the 1945 Labour government, nor would it have been possible without the strength of Britain’s trade unions. However, trade union membership continues to decline and is particularly low amongst younger workers. Labour’s plans for a Ministry of Labour, led by Laura Pidcock, are an exciting prospect, but we cannot wait for a Labour government. This is a defining issue for the left and at TWT, shop stewards, organisers and elected leaders will be strategising about how workers can build power.

The struggle extends beyond the workplace. To live a good life you need adequate wages, but you also need secure and affordable housing. Women and people of colour need to be free from structural oppression. Disabled people need proper support to be able to live free and autonomous lives. Each one of these movements are essential to transforming society and at TWT we’ll be bringing them together with trade unionists and Labour members to plan for the election and beyond. 

We’re also running a series of policy labs on issues ranging from mental health to constitutional reform. These will be creative experiments in participatory policy making, demonstrating how radical ideas can be drawn from the grassroots. We’ll be presenting the results of this collaboration in a Manifesto for the Movement that John McDonnell has said will provide inspiration for the forthcoming manifesto. 

Over the last four years, the radical left has proven to be bursting with ideas, while it often seems like ‘moderates’ just want to turn back the clock. It is notable that Tom Watson’s well-publicised initiative to pull together the ‘social democrats’ of the PLP to create policy has produced precisely nothing. Labour’s 2017 manifesto signalled a fundamental break with the economic orthodoxy of the last 40 years, however, the party has been more conservative in some important areas. This year, we’ll be complementing the efforts of left-aligned delegates on the conference floor with discussions around how activists can push the party further on issues like climate justice, migration and policing.

At this political crossroads, the left cannot shy away from tackling these pressing challenges. We need to be ready for the election when it comes and prepared for the struggles that lie ahead. We hope The World Transformed 2019 will contribute to building an organised movement, both inside and outside of the Labour Party, that is up to the task.