Independent political organisation is back on the agenda for democratic socialists in Britain. The question remains, however, as to what kind of organisation this will be. What will be its programme? And who will it be led by?
One possibility is that ongoing discussions could lead to the foundation of a new ‘broad left’ party, like Podemos in Spain or Syriza in Greece. This would be a party committed to more progressive taxation and investment in public services but not to socialist policies or democratic economic planning. It would occupy a similar political space to the Greens, but with an orientation to the manual workers currently untouched by them. Despite the presence of socialists within a future party, it would hold out the promise of a fairer economy, but not one under democratic control.
Such parties confront at least two major problems. The first is that for as long as private investors retain control over production, investment and employment, they can simply shift the costs of increased taxes and regulation back onto workers, or shift their investments abroad. By leaving this power in the hands of the private market, broad left parties set themselves up for a fall, as their inability to deliver change thereby discredits the left and feeds the growth of the far right.
The second problem is that by not seriously preparing themselves for obstruction, broad left parties lack the means to defeat it. More than just rallies, this would require strategic workplace organisation in sectors at the heart of policy conflicts – for example, arms manufacturing workers and the issue of arms sales to Israel. Without a confident, experienced and well organised base, broad left parties are easily pressured into diluting their policies and ultimately satisfying neither their opponents nor supporters.
A tangible alternative
We have, right now, a window of opportunity to do something different. While negotiations around a new party remain open, and no single framework is yet set in stone, we should push for a mass socialist party, united around a concrete, practical programme for bringing the state and economy under democratic social control. A tangible alternative.
While this might sound like a fantasy, the recent rise of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB) demonstrates that it can be done. Over the past 15 years the PTB has transformed itself from a small Maoist sect into a mass party, currently the fourth-largest in the Belgian parliament. It is a socialist party constitutionally committed to democratising the state and introducing a democratically planned economy. This year it overtook the French and Flemish social democratic parties to secure 9.9 per cent of the national vote.
We, right now, have a window of opportunity to do something completely different
It did it by harnessing contempt for the establishment and channelling it into a party that represents a real alternative: principled, flexible and anchored in the working class. The PTB re founded itself on these principles in 2008, leaving its dogmatic and sectarian past behind. Here in Britain, we have an opportunity to follow their lead.
Any organisation we build will have to maintain its credibility as a principled anti establishment party. Confidence and integrity are magnetic, and we should be attempting to channel the self-assurance and resolution of the PTB or the likes of RMT general secretary Mick Lynch. Elected councillors, MPs and officials in the party, meanwhile, must remain accountable to the members and subject to recall. Policy should be set democratically by conference, not by the leadership office. And a limitation of party and parliamentary salaries to average workers’ wages would set our people apart from career politicians.
Constant reflection
We must also be flexible, firmly distancing ourselves from the rigid and self-marginalising habits of small sectarian groups. We must put forward a programme that clearly outlines, in practical terms, how we intend to democratise society, and use it to organise tens or hundreds of thousands of members and millions of supporters. All our tactics should be up for constant reflection and a rigorous democratic culture necessarily accompanied, at all levels of the party, by respect for collectively made decisions.
Finally, the party should be a fighting party, anchored in the whole working class. We should build our credibility and reputation by throwing ourselves into support for strikes and campaigns and use our platforms and resources to build up their profile and influence. We should communicate in a broad range of styles to reach the working class in all its diversity. And our leaders must be drawn from our struggles, and every effort made to build up the confidence and leadership of our members.
Making this work will depend on establishing an inclusive, creative and pragmatic culture from the start, a living connection to the world beyond the left, and a political counterweight to the established interests of politicians and sectarian groups. We must learn carefully from the Corbyn years, and previous socialist efforts, while recognising how conditions have also changed with the electoral breakthroughs of the independent left in 2024. Ultimately, success will depend on our ability to harness the best of our movement and not be trapped by its worst.
