By members of Your Party
The national founding conference of Your Party this coming weekend offers a great opportunity to put this new left party back on course after the rocky first few months.
Hundreds of thousands of people, desperate for answers to the problems they face under capitalism, and disgusted by the betrayals of the Labour leadership under Starmer, looked to “Your Party” as a chance to create a real, democratic socialist alternative to Labour.
All over the country, local groups have been set up by enthusiastic volunteers, keen to get started on building support, campaigning, and selecting candidates to stand in elections – some as early as May 2026.
It is vital, now, that we move past the very public national controversies and establish a party that is clear, both on its socialist principles and on its vibrant democracy
Foundation documents
This conference will have the chance to discuss and amend documents – 1) the political statement, 2) the constitution 3) the standing orders (rules about how we operate) and 4) strategy for the next year. This is our chance to make sure we get the party we want.
The documents have already been through a limited consultation process and, hopefully will have already been amended. But there are a few crucial points, widely agreed by many different “platforms” that have emerged among the membership, that must be included in the final documents:
- The political statement should be clearly and proudly anti-capitalist, not just against “neoliberalism”. Until the 1990s, even the Labour Party was committed in its constitution to public ownership of factories, industries and banks. Capitalism, whatever version, cannot deliver for workers. Any government that threatens its profits will face economic sabotage and threats from the bosses to bring it down. It is essential to break that economic power through public ownership of all the big companies and banks that control our lives.
Only an end to capitalism can deal with climate and environmental emergency, and “peace” can only be achieved under a system of equality, social justice, and international solidarity. No justice – No peace!
- Future conferences of Your Party must be based on delegates from local branches who will have the power to agree policy and hold leaders to account, and will be themselves accountable to members of their local branch. “Sortition” (a lottery) should not be used again after this month’s conference .
- In the proposed elections for the Central Executive Committee in March, all posts should be elected by members, with one-member-one-vote, on a proportional voting system. No posts should be automatically set aside for MPs or councillors.
- The national chair and treasurer (at least) should be directly elected by a ballot of all members.
- Between the November conference and March 2026, the party must be run by a wider group of activists – involving those who have kept the party alive in local areas over the last few months. We do not want to be “stewarded” or overruled by a small group of Independent Alliance MPs
- Branches cannot wait until next summer to be formed. This process needs to be started as soon as possible, building on the work of local “proto-branches”. These official branches can then begin the urgent task of including and organising their members and selecting candidates for the May 2026 elections.
- Only the members of the party in branches should decide policy and select candidates, and organise locally how they decide. Local “Assemblies” of the wider community, where called, should be for consultation purposes only.
- No witch-hunts! Members of any socialist groups should be allowed to join the party, unless those groups oppose its key principles or stand candidates against it. We don’t want to waste time and energy expelling good socialists.
With Starmer and Reeves drifting further to the right, and opening the door to Reform UK, there is not a moment to lose in getting the new party properly established. Let’s get going!
[This is the text of a leaflet, produced by Your Party members who support Left Horizons, which will be available at the conference]
