Left Unity

Since its re-launch in 2005, the Socialist Alliance has prioritized the need for unity across the socialist and green socialist left, seeing this as an essential part of the process in building a new mass left party based solidly within the working class.

We have been delighted with recent developments which appear to indicate that, at long last, other left organisations are now willing to work much more closely together, as we saw during the Discussion Forum on The Way Forward for the Left at the start of the conference held by the Campaign for a New Workers' Party in June 2008, and a week later at a representative meeting to discuss Left Unity attended by 12 left/ green left socialist unity projects and organisations, including all the main players, and which agreed further liaison was essential. We saw the Convention of the Left as a continuation of this process, providing further possibilities to build the trust needed in order for comrades from different socialist backgrounds and traditions to work together, and we encouraged our members, supporters and affiliates to attend.

In the eighteen months since these developments, much further progress has been made. Fifteen socialist and green socialist organisations have now agreed to further regular liaison, and have together formed a Left Unity Liaison Committee (LULC) which has now met eight times in 18 months. We have also seen two left Coalitions formed for Electoral projects. In 2009, No2EU-YestoDemocracy contested the European elections in every region, supported by the RMT, SP, ISG, CPB, IWA and ourselves. SA National Secretary Pete McLaren was a candidate in the West Midlands where Dave Nellist headed the list. One of the aims was to provide an alternative protest vote for working class people who, in desperation but not necessarily racism, are turning towards the BNP. No2EU has now developed into the trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) for the general Election, again with the support of the SA. We see these developments, despite some limitations, as being further steps down the path towards a new socialist party, our main goal.