The challenges ahead for Momentum’s new leadership

Momentum’s new national coordinating group was announced last week. Candidates backed by Forward Momentum swept the board and won all seats except for those in the public office holders’ category. The organisation that was born at the peak of Corbynism now faces a time of crisis. The Labour left was defeated at the ballot box in December, and then stripped of power internally as Rebecca Long-Bailey’s leadership campaign failed to build on the enthusiasm that Jeremy Corbyn sparked in the membership. Following these setbacks, it is not surprising that Forward Momentum attracted significant support for their plans to radically change Momentum.

Candidates rightly highlighted the democratic deficits in the organisation. Forward Momentum’s promise of more transparency and openness will hopefully lead us down a more dynamic path, engaging social movements inside and outside the party. But as I’ve argued on LabourList before, reforms to organisational structures are not an end in themselves. Momentum should be clear on a strategy that defines what it is for, and adopt structures appropriate to its objectives. This must include the setting of clear political red lines.

Over the last four years, Momentum and self-declared left-wing members of the Labour Party were able to ‘pick and choose’ their socialism. The movement never established the political principles that define us. If Momentum is to become a successful socialist organisation, its new leadership has to develop and set out these principles. An example of what happens if we do not set clear political lines can be observed in the NCG elections with regards to the pledges put forward by the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights. Candidates from across the slates failed to sign – and even among those who did, some hinted at not fully supporting their implementation. This leaves an ambiguity over whether staunch support for trans rights forms part of the core set of beliefs that should define the Labour left.

Bigotry against trans people is used by the far right as a radicalising conveyer belt for liberals. JK Rowling’s Twitter presence is a good example of this. As the author of the Harry Potter book series, she will be regarded by many of her followers as a trusted figure. Through her social media, these followers will now be introduced to extreme and hateful views on transgender people. Most recently, Rowling compared hormone treatment for trans people with gay conversion therapy – an offensive and harmful comment. Some of her followers will be unsure about their views on gender politics and might look elsewhere for guidance. For these views not to take hold on society, we have to make sure we articulate clearly that they are not acceptable – and especially not acceptable for those looking to be active in a left-wing organisation. If we fail to draw this line, we risk legitimising bigotry dressed up as reasonable concerns or debate. Therein lies the danger in our ambiguity.

Many of the new populist, far-right movements have made reactionary gender politics a key component of their political offering. Part of this manifests itself as misogynistic and homophobic framings of ‘traditional family values’. The far right has also long weaponised sexual violence against women. Most recently, racist tropes about Black and Muslim men being a danger to white women have been deployed by the (far) right across Europe to turn public opinion against refugees. This same pattern can be observed in the ‘debate’ about women’s spaces now in the context of trans rights. By framing trans women as a potential threat to cis women, a door is opened to make anti-trans politics acceptable to some parts of society that might not otherwise be reached by far-right activists.

This framing has already taken hold in mainstream policy-making. Last month it was announced that the Tories will row back on plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act. Instead, the government is planning to bring in new legislation to ‘safeguard’ women’s spaces like refuges and public toilets. A new white paper is rumoured to be published at the end of July. It is safe to assume that bitter battles will be fought over the new white paper and the legislation that derives from it. Keir Starmer has so far been ambiguous on trans politics too, so there is a worry that the party will not step in to speak up on the issue. In this case in particular, it is important for the organised Labour left to campaign and apply pressure on the frontbench to make a stand.

Some Labour activists might feel a false sense of security that the government is too busy mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on the economy to turn their attention to other issues. But we should make no mistake: even for a Conservative Party that wants to ‘level up’ through investment, socially reactionary politics is key to holding their electoral coalition in place. The political battles we face will not pause and wait for the Labour left to reconstitute itself. Momentum’s new leadership has to quickly make these key principles the heart of our campaigning work.