As an NEC member, I would campaign vigorously to restore the supremacy of party conference, uphold the democratic right of open selection of candidates for office, end arbitrary suspensions, and put forward radical socialist policies along the lines of the 2019 election manifesto.
We are currently living through a “perfect storm”. Capitalism today can only offer us deadly pandemics, a devastating slump, racism, repression, and environmental catastrophe. Eight multibillionaires now own as much as the poorest half of the entire world’s population.
It is time to put socialism back on the agenda. Everywhere people are rising to their feet: the youth in their magnificent Extinction Rebellion, entire populations from Chile to Sudan to Hong Kong, in America for Black Lives Matter, in Lebanon against corruption, in Belarus for democratic rights. Labour must stand in solidarity with this worldwide movement.
Labour’s defeat in the December general election was a crushing setback, but we must nail the media lie that our manifesto was a vote-loser. In 2019 Labour actually won more votes than in 2015, 2010 or even 2005 – when Labour won! Only in 2017 did we do even better. We are still the biggest political party in Europe.
Our policies still have overwhelming support: renationalisation of transport and the utilities, a wealth tax, a wholly publicly-owned NHS, a green industrial revolution. This arrogant and bungling government has already caused tens of thousands of needless deaths. Let’s seize the opportunity to harness the energies of our half a million members to build a world for the many not the few.