After more than 12 years in office, Labour has proved itself time and again to be a party that attacks workers’ pay, conditions, jobs and rights. And now we face the worst capitalist economic crisis for decades, with a massacre of jobs sweeping the country.
The working class in Britain does not have a party of our own to organise and inspire resistance to the bosses’ crisis on a daily basis – on the streets and in the workplaces as well as at election times.
Without a new working class party, there is a danger that the racists and fascists will take advantage of the anger and anxiety caused by the crisis and scapegoat migrant workers, asylum seekers, and Black and Asian people.
A new party would fight to force the rich capitalists to pay for the crisis of their system, not the workers.
We appeal to all the trade unions and socialist organisations, to all activists fighting for resistance from below, to anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigners confronting the BNP, to the trade union leaders and members: let’s unite and build a new anticapitalist party.
Many activists and groups are now discussing left unity. Conferences in the autumn will discuss challenging Labour at the next election.
We want to see a new anticapitalist workers’ party take up that challenge.
We call for:
- An open conference – bringing together unions, socialist organisations, workers, youth and left campaigners – to launch a new anticapitalist party
- Local committees for a new party: start building roots in communities
- For a slate of candidates in the general election
Now you’ve read it, sign the Call
…and better still, get all your friends and workmates to sign it too. Download the Call as a PDF here, get as many people to sign it as possible and email us with the details. Take the call to your trade union branch and get them to sign it too.
#1 by Surrey United Anti-Capitalist Society on October 13, 2009 - 12:26 pm
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SUACS is a united group of workers, students, and unemployed people. Our members include Socialists, Communists, Anarchists, Environmentalists, Peace campaigners and Humanists. We don’t think in terms of a new party or electorial alliance, but a coalition of Anti-Capitalist forces in local forums with everyone free to promote their own organisation. The Forums will organically develop into centers or resistance as the recession deepens and the Tories start their attacks. (We’ve got about eight months I recon). Check out our Facebook group.
#2 by sandy mcBurney on October 19, 2009 - 4:16 pm
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good idea
#3 by peter burnett on October 19, 2009 - 11:04 pm
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Standing on an antiprivatisation platform in a recent council byelection I received nearly 9% of the vote in a rock solid Tory ward-more than either the Lib Dems or Greens who were forced into 4th and 5th place. In the wake of banking scandals, the hemourage of jobs, attacks on posties and relentless privatisations like our local Tyne and Wear Metro Rail System, anticapitalism has entered the mainstream. An anticapitalist party that would bring the socialist tendencies under the same umbrella as the defiant unions and community struggles? Lets go for it!
#4 by Stuart on October 22, 2009 - 11:30 am
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That’s strange, all the articles on “the call” come from Workers Power’s monthly. Does this mean the call was written and produced by WP? It is always good to have a bit of transparency if we are to convince people of the need for a new party – start as you mean to go on is a good motto.
As for new mass workers party coming about, that primarily depends on the trade unions – RMT, PCS, CWU, FBU etc and whether they can be pushed by socialists and anti capitalists into actively working for one. Whether they will be moved in this direction itself depends on the level of trade union and class struggle and whether the militants involved can be drawn into the fight for such a party.
We will have to convince comrades like the SUACS that we need such an organisation in the forums like the one they propose. But we should always start by being transparent and honest else we wont be trusted.
Stuart (Permanent Revolution)
#5 by Antony on November 2, 2009 - 3:15 pm
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YES! a REAL working class anti-capitalist alternative is desperately needed. The far-right only feed off working class devision and fear but it’s capitalism that creates it in the first place.
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#6 by Carl Zacharia on November 19, 2009 - 2:48 am
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Stewart – Four of us from SUACS heard a PR comrade speak at the CPGB’s Communist University (Jne’09). The comrade went some way to articulating our own position of Local Action Committees – And to that extent we were impressed. We consider that the WP’s discussions on an Anti-Capitalist Party is developing these ideas further. The theoretical task ahead is to programatically reconcile the ideas of Local Committees with a national Party. A new organisational paradigm is needed together with a Marxist analysis of present social forces – so different now than when the 4th International was inaugurated in 1938. It is the hope of SUAC that PR and WP reunite -not to build a PR/WP party, but a pluralistic national forum – A New Anti-Capitalist Party. For a fuller exposition of our position see the text of the speach SUAC gave to the “Call For An Anti-Capitalist Party” conference (Nov ’09) available through our Facebook group.
#7 by Gareth on November 20, 2009 - 9:32 pm
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Good Luck, I’ll join when it’s all set up.
#8 by Nick on December 6, 2009 - 1:30 am
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I am angry and want to act against this consumerist, materialistic society that tricks us into thinking cars, gadgets etc make us happy when really they just keep us distracted.