Primary elections to choose Momentum’s slate for Young Labour open tomorrow. Socialist Appeal supporters are standing as the ‘Marxist Voice’ platform. We call on young activists to vote for these comrades and join the campaign.
Elections for the Young Labour (YL) national committee are approaching, with ballots opening in October. Before then, under its new ‘grassroots’ leadership, Momentum is holding primaries to decide who the organisation will back in the YL elections.
Nominations for the Momentum primaries opened last Friday. Candidates were invited to put themselves forward, with a selection panel meeting earlier this week to decide who was eligible.
Voting begins tomorrow, and closes next Wednesday (2 September), when the results will be announced.
As previously reported, seven Socialist Appeal activists have put themselves forward as the Marxist Voice platform. We urge all our young readers to sign up to Momentum and vote for the Marxist Voice for Young Labour!
Join the Marxist Voice campaign!
Running for a range of positions, these young workers and students are fighting for a clear socialist programme, helping to build the militant opposition against the Tories and Labour right wing that is so desperately needed.
The Marxist Voice for Young Labour campaign has gotten off to an excellent start. Hundreds of people are following the campaign on Facebook and Twitter. And our videos explaining our demands and positions on key questions – from linking up with trade unions, to fighting racism – have reached thousands online.
In the coming days, we will be publishing more videos and articles on other important issues. The aim is to raise bold socialist ideas amongst workers and students – the radical ideas that the labour movement needs in order to fight the Tories; fight austerity, climate change, and oppression; and fight capitalism.
If you agree with the ideas and analysis we are presenting, we encourage you to get in touch and join the campaign.
FOR FIGHTING TRADE UNIONS!
Our comrade Nick explains how the labour movement must organise a fightback against Tory cuts and austerity, and why he is standing for Young Labour North West representative. pic.twitter.com/o84unmmjAv— Marxist Voice for Young Labour (@MarxistVoice4YL) August 25, 2020
Help share our material online, in your local Momentum group, university Labour club, or Young Labour branch. Send in endorsements, saying why you support the Marxist Voice platform. And, of course, vote for our candidates in the Momentum primaries and Young Labour elections.
Smear campaign
We are saddened to report, however, that one of our candidates has already been bureaucratically barred from standing.
Danielle Wright, a Marxist activist from Sheffield, was standing to be the representative for Yorkshire and Humberside. Unfortunately, however, earlier this week, she received a message from the Momentum shortlisting panel, informing her that her application for the primaries had been rejected.
To justify this manoeuvre, the panel cited a tweet from February this year, which was deemed to be incompatible with Momentum’s Code of Ethics.
The tweet in question can be seen in full here and below. In this, Danielle puts forward a class-based position on the question of Israel-Palestine. She rightly criticises those who equate anti-Zionism with anti-semitism. “Ultimately out position must be to unite Palestinian and Israel workers on the basis of socialism,” she concludes. This is 100% correct.
This is what happens when you don’t reject the smear campaign that has been waged by the right for the past 4+ years. Call it out for what it is. Call Israel the racist, apatheid terrorist state that it is. I genuinely can’t fathom how that is controversial.
— d ☭ (@daniellemariiia) February 17, 2020
At the same time, Danielle rightly describes the Blairite witch-hunt against the Left as a “smear campaign” – something that the Momentum panel object to.
But it is widely known amongst left activists that the Labour right wing have actively, consciously, and cynically weaponised the issue of anti-semitism, using this as a stick with which to beat the Corbyn movement. We must tell the truth on this fact.
Unfortunately, however, by excluding Danielle from the Momentum primaries, the new ‘grassroots’ leadership have done the opposite. Instead of standing firm against the Labour right wing’s slanders and attacks, they have capitulated at the first step. In reality, this is self-censorship by the Left.
Socialist leadership
This only underlines why we need a strong socialist leadership – in Young Labour, in Momentum, and across the labour movement. We need a militant opposition that will stand up against Blairite attacks, including trumped-up charges of anti-semitism. As seen with the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey, weakness only invites aggression.
We are therefore not disheartened by Danielle’s scandalous exclusion. Rather, we are even more determined to campaign for a Marxist Voice for Young Labour; to build the resolute and revolutionary leadership that our movement needs.
We call on all young activists to join us in this task.
