Transform newsletter – 4th June 2024 29th November 2024 Welcome to issue one of the Transform newsletter. We think it’s important to be open and accountable to our members, and it’s in this spirit that we’re putting out this newsletter. We’ll be keeping you informed about what Transform is doing, what our strategy is, and answering all your questions. The newsletter will be going out weekly for the duration of this election campaign, and at regular intervals after 4 July. candidate profile: rachel maughan Rachel is standing for Transform in Bishop Auckland. She says: I was born and raised in Bishop Auckland and raised my children here. After the 2019 election I got tired of shouting at the telly. Actions speak louder than words, so I got off the couch and now I’m standing for election. I’m under no illusion that this will be hard work and undoubtedly we are heading for a Labour landslide, but what I’ll learn over the next six weeks will be invaluable. Rachel our left list As well as fielding our own candidates, Transform is putting its weight behind some of the campaigns led by socialist candidates up and down the country. Our Left List consists of independent and small party candidates who we encourage members and supporters to actively campaign for. A lot of thought and discussion went into this list: we were looking for candidates whose views chimed with our core principles. The list has been very well received: many people have been sharing it, and Transform has been approached by various campaigns asking us to add their candidate’s name. Last weekend the Executive Committee agreed that the Left List will be updated weekly every Monday in the run up to the election, and that local Transform groups can send recommendations to the Executive Committee for consideration. The first update is now live, and you can find it here, as well as on X. Campaigning skills training sessions Transform’s candidates, and those on our Left List, need your help on the ground. To support our members getting involved in the general election, Transform will be delivering campaigning training every Tuesday evening, 6.00-7.00pm, in the run up to polling day on 4 July. The training will aim to cover: What Transform stands for Social media Bringing people together Street stalls Door knocking/canvassing Phone banking Polling day Sign up using this registration link (this will be the same for all the sessions). Our policies Over the next couple of weeks our Communications Team will start publicising our agreed policies – please look out for these and share them widely. Our policy forums were an ambitious experiment in grassroots policy making, and produced some bold, necessary ideas (remember this video on taking back our water?). We are grateful to Owen Wright for leading these discussions. social media Transform’s Executive Committee has agreed to put our Comms Officer Jade Calland on a full-time salary for the remainder of the election campaign to manage the additional workload. There is growing interest in what we’re putting out. If you aren’t already, please follow Transform on our various platforms and share our posts: Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, The Transform Podcast. Transform in the media Transform’s Strategy Officer Jackson Caines appeared on Josh Hamilton’s podcast ‘Chatter’ to discuss the state of British politics and how Transform is offering something different. You can watch it on YouTube here. Collective: building unity on the left The recent launch of the new organisation Collective is an exciting development for all us who are looking to left groups to collaborate more closely and build a strong political alternative to Labour. For more background on Transform’s involvement with Collective, please read this. 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, The Transform Newsletter Team