Socialist Alternative held its National Congress, the highest decision-making body of our organisation, on 26–27 April in Blackpool. Delegates and visitors discussed the current political situation in the UK and internationally, including new dangers, opportunities and tasks facing the working class movement, and the key priorities of our organisation.
World in turmoil
Capitalism is a world system, and for this reason any discussion on the priorities for Marxists today must begin with an understanding of the international situation. The opening session discussing World Perspectives was introduced by Anna Barnett, of ISA’s International Political Committee and US section. She outlined the before/after moment which the arrival of Trump 2.0 in the US has meant for the world.
Trump’s foreign policy is a massive shake up for the world’s ruling classes. The wave of tariffs announced on ‘Liberation Day’ in April sent shockwaves through the global economy and has raised the spectre of a global economic slowdown. Above all, it has meant a dramatic intensification of economic war against US imperialism’s arch-rival in China.
Meanwhile, Trump has taken a sledgehammer to the ‘Western’ alliance of Europe and the US, sidelining Europe in favour of a direct, ‘go it alone’ approach towards Ukraine and Russia and slapping Europe with trade tariffs. But Europe is too weak to act as a truly independent force on the world stage, competing against the US and China.
In practice, Europe remains a junior partner, tied to US imperialism, even if in a more tenuous way than before. Nevertheless, the remilitarisation of Europe is another dangerous step, with the EU pouring €800 billion into ‘defence’ spending. We live in a world increasingly characterised by inter-imperialist conflict and war — from Ukraine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the Middle East, where the Israeli state continues its genocidal war on the people of Gaza. Resisting this drive toward militarism is a challenge facing workers and young people across the world.
A key thread running through the discussion was the rise of the right internationally. From the US, to Germany, to Britain, right-wing and far-right forces have made electoral gains. They are profiting from the collapsing support for the representatives of the neoliberal political establishment. But there have been important examples of the potential that exists to fight back against these forces. Delegates discussed the emerging protest movements in the US against Trump, the rise in support for the left in the German elections in February and other struggles. Building the struggle against the far right, including through building new workers’ parties, will be another crucial task for the working class and left.
Britain: threat of the right and tasks for the left
This tumultuous world situation has deepened the crises of the Starmer government which has taken over the reins of an ailing British capitalism, beleaguered by stagnant growth and persistent inflation. Mike Forster from Socialist Alternative’s Political Committee introduced the discussion on British Perspectives, outlining how Starmer has scrambled to appease Trump in a desperate attempt to stave off a recession, while ramping up military spending at the expense of welfare and public services. In his efforts to plug Britain’s so-called “fiscal black hole”, Labour has resorted to brutal attacks against the most vulnerable in society.
This has had the effect of further fuelling Farage’s brand of right-populism, with Reform UK quickly becoming Britain’s main opposition party in terms of influence. Starmer’s strategy is to move further right to cut across Reform. But this approach legitimises the right’s own talking points and tends to bolster, not diminish, their support. Meanwhile the far right is fed further by the misogynist ‘Manosphere’ on social media platforms, run by billionaire Trump supporters.
But despite reactionary forces gathering momentum in many contexts, there are important struggles taking place which point to the potential for this to be challenged. Members spoke on the fight in the trade unions against right-wing leaderships which act as a barrier to building an effective fightback. We discussed key workers’ struggles — from the Birmingham bin dispute to the strike of mental health workers in Manchester.
Ultimately, an effective response to the right can only come from the workers’ movement and the left. The process towards the formation of a new left party in Britain, and the role of organised socialists in such a formation, was a key theme of discussion. To supplement this, the Political Committee produced a discussion document raising some key points on our approach to this question.
The need for fighting parties of the working class is posed very clearly today — especially with the right scrambling to fill the political vacuum left by the collapse of the traditional parties of the capitalist establishment. But as the discussion document explained, “without a strong revolutionary Marxist backbone, neither new parties nor the labour movement as a whole, can prevail in the bitter class struggles of this period of senile, reactionary capitalism and imperialism”.
We will be actively supporting the building of a new left party in Britain. But Socialist Alternative will also have a key role in fighting for it to be a party of struggle, and to take up the socialist programme necessary to point a way out of the crises of capitalism.
Preparing Socialist Alternative to play a key role
Building the forces of Marxism was the central theme of a session the following day on party building. Strengthening Socialist Alternative’s branches, developing new organisers among our existing membership, and recruiting a new layer of members, are all important tasks we face.
ISA’s relaunched political journal, International Marxism, is a crucial tool for deepening our Marxist understanding of the key developments in the world today. We will also be holding our Revolutionary Ideas day festival of discussion and debate in Liverpool again this year, which will be a key focus in the autumn.
A new phase of work
The mood of the congress was positive, reflecting the steps forward Socialist Alternative has taken in recent months. We have recruited new members and played an important role in wider struggles, from the fight against cuts to the struggle for a new left party. This was highlighted by the recent launch conference of PACE (People’s Alliance for Change and Equality) in Huddersfield, spearheaded by Socialist Alternative members.
This positive mood was not just shown in words, but also in practice. Our finance appeal set a target of £4,000 in donations — a target that was smashed, with over £4,700 pledged to support our work over the coming months.
Most importantly, the congress marked a turn toward a renewed focus on the key battles ahead. As the British Perspectives document agreed by the congress stated: “We are living in a period marked by extreme volatility, grave dangers, and great opportunities. There is no ‘final crisis’ that will bring about socialist change. That’s why building a Marxist core, which can become the basis for the development of a mass revolutionary party in the future, is so critical”. It is exactly this that Socialist Alternative will be fighting for.
