Transform Newsletter 18 July 2024

 30th November 2024

Welcome to issue six of the Transform newsletter. Anyone else feeling a little underwhelmed by our glossy new Labour government?

Campaign focus: Defend Waseem Yousaf

This week a video went viral of a protestor in east London holding a Palestinian flag being assaulted by a Met Police Officer and knocked to the ground.

The activist was Waseem Yousaf, and before the police arrested him he was out fundraising for Medical Aid for Palestine. The incident, which has caused outrage in the local community, is now under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

This petition, which in under a week has got almost 30,000 signatures, calls on the investigation to consider whether criminal charges should be brought against any police officers, and says that “the attack appears to be part of a troubling pattern of politically motivated actions against Palestine activists.”

Election results and analysis

The Labour Party has won a landslide victory. Support for Labour, however, is thin and fragile, and the results would have looked very different had it not been for division on the political right.

There is mass disillusionment with mainstream politics. Turnout was 60%, the second lowest in a UK election since 1885. The combined Labour and Tory vote share was 57.4%, the lowest for over a century.

Labour’s vote share fell below 2019 levels in seats that it held coming into this election, and it fell furthest in seats with large Asian communities, and seats with large numbers of students and young people.

Alarmingly, over 4 million people voted for Farage’s Reform UK. The results also showed though that a large audience exists for left politics. The Green Party made big gains, with 2 million votes and 4 MPs. While two of the four seats that they won came in Tory areas, all 40 Green second places came in urban seats won by Labour.

The results for the left Independents exceeded all expectations, with five seats won and many hugely impressive votes for candidates who only had a few weeks to campaign and no big parties backing them. The left made Palestine one of the most talked about election issues in seats up and down the country. This report gives details of how all the candidates endorsed by Transform got on.

Durham Miners’ Gala

Last Saturday tens of thousands of people converged on a rainy Durham for the 138th annual Miners’ Gala. Speakers paid their tributes on the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike, and called on the new Labour Government to take action to transform the lives of working people, and also to end arms sales to Israel and Britain’s complicity in the continuing slaughter in Gaza.

A group of Transform members from the North East came to Durham with leaflets. They spent a busy day in the big marquee speaking to people about Transform, and they report that there was plenty of interest and people wanting to sign up or stay in touch. Brian Agar said: ‘We’re probably on throat lozenges for the next day or two but it was a very productive day.’

Summer events and festivals

Are you going to any political marches or events this summer? Or any Pride events? Don’t leave home without some Transform leaflets.

Batches of our Join Transform leaflet, Gaza leaflet and Pride leaflet can be ordered from Doug at dougthorpe@btinternet.com.

Transform members will be at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival this coming weekend (19-21 July). They’ll be carrying a banner on the march, and they’ll have a stall there. To link up with them, please contact Mandy at mandyparrytraining@gmail.com.

People’s Assemblies

The date’s been changed for the launch of the House of the People, which was featured in our last newsletter. It will now take place in London on Sunday 11 August.

Jeremy Corbyn has joined the ranks of those who are starting up Assemblies. He wrote in the Guardian: “Discussing the concerns and hopes of our community. Empowering each other to do something about it. That is what real democracy looks like.”

Election of officers

Transform members should have received an email on Sunday announcing that we’re looking to fill three vacancies on our Executive Committee: Party Secretary, Policy Officer and Youth Officer. If you’re interested in becoming more involved, please consider putting yourself forward.

Only members can apply for leadership positions. You can join Transform here.

We want to hear from you

Please keep sending us your feedback and suggestions 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