Community • Democracy Transform newsletter – 19th June 2024 29th November 2024 Welcome to issue three of the Transform newsletter. We’re now approaching the last two weeks of the general election campaign – hasn’t it gone quickly? Candidate profile: Sam Gorst Sam Gorst is standing in Liverpool Garston for Liverpool Community Independents, a constituent party of Transform. Alan Gibbons, Transform Principal Speaker, says: “Sam Gorst is Garston born and bred. Of Yemeni heritage, Sam threw himself into the Labour Party during the Corbyn years, but was driven out like so many good socialists by the right wing. Sam was first elected as a Labour councillor in Cressington ward; then in the two-seat Garston ward alongside Lucy Williams as his ward partner and myself in Orrell Park, Sam defeated Labour after a bitter campaign during which Labour tried unsuccessfully to smear his reputation. Sam is known throughout Garston ward as a fierce defender of his residents and a principled fighter for Palestinian rights. He is now taking a stand against Maria Eagle, who failed to support calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.” Sam pledges that “politics for me is not the careerist gravy train, so I will take 50% of the MP’s salary. The other half will be invested in constituency projects.” Sam’s campaign has been very well organised, with large numbers of volunteers regularly knocking on doors. You can donate here. Sam features on the new Candidates and Left List page on the Transform website. Policies for the people Transform’s policies were developed in a series of Policy Forums in which ordinary members discussed policy areas and put forward their own ideas. We’ll be unveiling more over the coming days. The Labour Party, meanwhile, are trying to hide from us the fact that their plans will mean cuts to public services that have already been stripped to the bone by years of austerity. You don’t have to take our word on that. Just check out what the non-party political but rightward-leaning Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) had to say about Labour’s manifesto. Pride 🏳️🌈 Happy Pride month to all who celebrate it 🏳️🌈 It’s a bitter irony that at a time when thousands of people are celebrating Pride, the Conservatives are campaigning on a platform of changing the law to remove rights for trans people, Reform are promising to “ban transgender ideology” in schools, and Labour are promising to implement the discredited Cass Review. Our socialism is and always will be LGBTQ+ inclusive. That’s why Transform has just produced its first Pride leaflet. The leaflets declare that ‘Pride is Political’, warn people not to assume that LGBTQ+ rights will be safe under a Labour government, and they set out our stall as a party that will both defend and aim to extend LGBTQ+ rights. We also have Gaza-themed and generic ‘Join Transform’ leaflets available. Members who require leaflets, please contact Doug at dougthorpe@btinternet.com. Durham Miners’ gala The 138th Durham Miners Gala will be taking place next month on Saturday 13 July. Each year over 200,000 people come from across County Durham, the UK and even further afield to take part in this massive celebration of working class life, community and international solidarity. Forty years on from the miners’ strike, this gala is set to be the biggest yet. Our local County Durham Transform branch is running a stall at the Gala so please drop by and say hello if you are attending. We value all our members and are committed to removing barriers for participation. Transform may under certain circumstances be able to help with travel expenses for members to come to this important event, on a first come first served basis. Please contact Marianne Cramp-Jukes at Transformnortheast@outlook.com if you would be interested in applying for this. Campaigning skills training sessions To support our members getting involved in campaigning in the general election, Transform will be delivering campaigning training on Zoom every Tuesday evening from 6-7pm in the run up to the election. Sign up using this registration link (the link will be the same for all sessions). Volunteer performers still needed The Transform Creative Campaigning Team are looking people who are willing to perform as characters in a mock wedding between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak which we are planning to enact on Saturday 29 June 2024 at 1.00pm at St Giles in the Fields Church in St Pancras, 60 St Giles High Street, London WC2H 8LG (nearest tube Tottenham Court Road). The event will be filmed and shared on social media just before the election. All supporters who are in the area are very welcome to come along and add to the fun. If you’re interested in taking part as a performer, please contact Campaigns Office Mandy Parry at mandyparrytraining@gmail.com. Transform Talksback: Friday 29th June at 6.30pm Every voice matters: it’s time we heard yours. These monthly meetings are a chance to talk and share experiences and views in a safe space. Our Transform Talksback sessions are hosted by someone whose sole role is to create the opportunity for as many people to speak as possible within the time we have. Ground rules: Everyone has the opportunity to speak, taking turns. Try to keep your contribution to 1 minute, to allow others time to contribute. If you have nothing to say when it’s your turn, just say ‘pass’. Try to avoid interrupting others when speaking. You will get your turn. Try to keep things comradely – we are in the same Party after all. Other than this, feel free to bring a drink or eats along for an informal Friday night gathering, and swearing is allowed (as long as it’s not at each other!). Zoom registration link here Transform merchandise now available Transform members may now order the following party merchandise: T-shirts: Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL (one per member) Pens (one per member) Business Cards (for conferences and other events) Stickers If you are interested in the above merchandise, please contact Mandy at mandyparrytraining@gmail.com. We want to hear from you What did you think of our newsletter? Send your thoughts to us at info@transformpolitics.uk. We’d especially like to hear from you if you have a question for us, or a story of what you’ve been doing in your local area, that you think we should be reporting on. In solidarity, Transform Newsletter Team