Transform Newsletter 11th June 2025

 18th June 2025

Welcome to issue 25 of the Transform Newsletter. We’re very pleased to welcome as guest contributor former North of Tyne Metro Mayor Jamie Driscoll, who shares his ideas on what a new Left party will look like.

Gaza: Apocalypse Now

“Israel’s recent action” huffed the British Prime Minister to MPs last week, “is counterproductive and intolerable.” You couldn’t miss Starmer’s desperation not to burn any bridges with Netanyahu: he couldn’t even say what it was that he found so intolerable. Oxfam’s CEO had no such difficulty in a statement issued on the same day: “It is beyond comprehension that aid distribution points should be turned into killing fields.”

This is no U-turn from Starmer, just a frantic attempt to deflect some of the heat that’s been coming his way. He’s no intention of lifting a finger to save Palestinian lives. He’s not even taken the basic step of stopping arms sales to Israel.

The road to hell

It’s doubtful whether we’d have seen any change in Starmer’s tone towards Israel at all were it not for a startling change of policy by the Trump administration.

When the ceasefire came into effect in January, Trump crowed that this would never have happened if he hadn’t been elected President. Even though the hard graft of the negotiations has been done by Biden’s team, there was a widespread belief that there may be something to this: Trump was one politician who Netanyahu trusted, and wanted to please.

Trump believed that a Nobel Peace Prize was his for the asking. But the swaggering fool had no clue how to conduct actual peace negotiations. He’s not the first US President to fail to bring lasting peace to the Middle East: as so many times before, reluctance to hit Israel economically where it hurts was to be America’s downfall.

The lack of backbone by Trump and the West was a crucial factor in Netanyahu deciding that a permanent ceasefire wasn’t in his interests. As the genocide resumed, reaching new levels of barbarism, a frustrated Trump disengaged from Israel and pursued independent agreements with other parties in the region. The USA carried out it’s own negotiations with Hamas, which led to the release of American hostage Edan Alexander. An agreement was reached with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to lift the threat to shipping (but not the threat to Israel’s security). Trump threatened to exclude Israel from any deal reached with the Saudis.

Trump’s decision to open talks with Iran over limiting its nuclear programme showed how far he was willing to depart from the Israeli agenda. The sacking of Mike Waltz – ostensibly over the inclusion of a journalist in a sensitive Signal group chat – also had a lot to do with Waltz’s willingness to talk to Netanyahu about possible military action against Iran.

For all this, the “peace loving” Trump administration remains utterly complicit in genocide. It still sends large quantities of arms to Israel. And it recently vetoed a UN Resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire and urgent resumption of aid.

The resistance

YouGov report that public support for Israel is at rock bottom across West European countries. Hardly anyone still believes that what Israel is doing in Gaza is reasonable and proportionate. This is undoubtedly having a political impact. MPs are seeing the polls, hearing what their constituents are saying, and coming to realise that aligning too closely with Israel could mean political death. So the pressure is growing on party leaders.

The timid calls for a ceasefire coming at this time from Europe’s political leaders are woefully inadequate. It will take much more than this to stop Israel’s genocide and to avert humanitarian catastrophe. So people have been taking matters into their own hands.

A couple of nights ago, the Madleen ship which was carrying aid to Gaza in defiance of the Israeli blockade was raided by Israeli forces, and its twelve person crew were taken into custody. This lawless act, carried out on international waters, shows Israel for what it is: a terror state.

The aim of the Freedom Flotilla was to raise awareness of the plight of the Gazan people and the horrific impact of the Israeli blockade. They well knew the risks that they faced: in 2010 ten people were murdered by Israeli commandos as they boarded another Flotilla ship, the Mavi Marmara.

Coming next in the wake of the flotilla, two mighty convoys will be converging on Rafah. The Soumoud convoy is travelling all the way from Tunis. 100 vehicles will make their way along the North African coast, carrying 1,500 people, and food and medical supplies for Gaza. Soumoud means resilience – “We chose this name because it reflects the spirit of Gaza.”

Meanwhile an international group from over 30 countries will be flying to Cairo before embarking on a 48km trek on foot across the Sinai desert to Rafah. On arrival at the Egypt/Palestine border, they’ll pitch their tents, and demand that the aid is let into Gaza. Just as importantly, they hope that the Global March to Gaza will send out a message to the world. Theirs will be a message of peace, humanity and justice; a cry of anger from countries all around the world against the crimes being perpetrated by Israel; a rejection of the policies of every government who has permitted this genocide to continue; and a beacon of hope that through solidarity, change is possible.

This week we saw a glimpse of what solidarity can achieve. French dockers who were members of the CGT union refused to load a ship with arms intended for Israel. When the ship eventually left Marseilles, it was carrying no arms, and dockers in the Italian port of Genoa and the Greek port of Piraeus had pledged that they wouldn’t be loading the ship either.

What will the new Party look like ?

Thanks to guest contributor Jamie Driscoll for this piece.

Lots of people ask me, “What will the new party look like?”   Well, that’s up to you.  There will be a democratic process for its establishment.  The consensus is to have a national membership organisation to support independents and local groups in the 2026 elections, led by an interim organising committee to pull people together.  It will have light-touch governance for its first year.  Then have a founding conference in summer 2026.  That will sort out the leadership elections, structures, rule book, policy programmes, and everything else that’s needed.  

We can all see the need for a new party.  Labour is corrupt organisationally, politically, and morally.  It’s never been brilliant, but dodgy money is now deeply entrenched.  The establishment parties are increasingly racist and oppressive, trying to out-Reform Reform.  

There have been a lot of false starts over recent decades.  Left parties started by one charismatic or high-profile individual.  All have failed to dent neoliberalism.  I’m not interested in an old-model left party around one individual, whoever it is.  Such a party could not govern even if it won.  We owe it to history to win power, to reverse poverty, prevent war and stop climate destruction.  That needs teams of capable leaders.  

The first thought in our minds should always be: how will we persuade millions of the British public to vote for us?  May 2026 will see Metropolitan Council elections, Senedd elections in Wales, and Holyrood elections in Scotland.  Labour will be devastated.  Reform are surging now, but cracks are showing – infighting and incompetence are not popular with voters.  There are victories to be had.  

After the North East Mayoral campaign, hundreds of us set up Majority.  A broad progressive movement that trains, mobilises, organises and unites.  Our initial membership was in the North East, and now we have members in Wales, Scotland and across England.  We are committed to working with others.  We have members from Transform, Labour, Greens, Social Justice Party, and loads who have never been members of anything.  It works.  We had 240 attend our People’s Manifesto event to contribute to our programme for the 2026 all-out elections in Newcastle.  If we win control of a major city, that will generate more belief and confidence in the movement than any amount of rallies and speeches.  

People’s Manifesto event, Newcastle

That’s the direction we need to take.  Build locally, from the ground up.  Engage with your local food poverty campaigners, disability rights groups, anti-war campaigners, public transport users, people defending their local hospitals and people opposing developers concreting over parks.  Our vision and understanding underpins our analysis.  Neoliberalism will find any way it can to extract wealth from our work, our homes, our food, our public services, even our kids’ education.  But our campaigning must focus on the practical and relevant.  Why are there no buses in your town after 6pm?  Why are you waiting 3 years for a mental health appointment for your child?  Why is your supermarket trolley so empty despite you working full time?  

Some would like a new party to step forward fully formed, cut from whole cloth.  I’d love it.  But it is just not possible to do that and simultaneously contest the 2026 elections.  The logistical challenges are legion.  

In 2023, a non-election year, Labour spent £59 million.  The Tories £41 million.  LibDems £8 million.  SNP and the Greens £4 million each.  No US healthcare company is going to give us large donations.  

The political challenges are just as tricky.  What’s our position on rejoining the EU?  Trans rights?  Would we seek electoral pacts with the Greens?  Is George Galloway invited?  I was on a podcast recently when an advocate of a new party said that ALL housing should be nationalised.  I think that’s a bad policy.  Mass council house building yes, ending all home ownership, no.  It is impractical, undesirable, and electoral suicide.  These are the debates that need to be had.  But without the forums and structures, we can’t make those decisions.  That’s why we need light touch governance until we’re established.  

I’m one of a tiny handful of socialists who have held state power this century.  When I walked into my office I couldn’t find a lever to switch from capitalism to socialism.  Running large organisations and getting things done against the tide is not easy.  I’ve spoken to MPs, trade unionists and councillors up and down the country.  Many want us to succeed, and are interested in joining.  A common refrain, though, is “Will it be professional?”  

To win power we must convince the public of two things.  1.  These people look like they can run the country.  2.  These people have my back.  

That’s a long journey.  It starts with lots of ground-up campaigns working together and winning in 2026.  New leaders will emerge.  Then we have a founding conference and elect a new generation of leaders – plural – who can take us into the 2029 general election and convince the public they could run the country.  I don’t see a route to victory in 2029.  But whoever is in government after 2029 won’t fix a damn thing under neoliberalism.  That’s when all the hard work and professional preparation pays off.  The election after that could be ours.  

Towards an independent Cymru ?

Harry Rogers from the cross-party grouping Cymru Radical Left Dialogue was an invited guest at the last Transform Council meeting to talk about political developments in Wales. Reform are targeting Wales and believe that they can make major gains. There’s a real possibility that they could win the Senedd and many Welsh Councils in 2026. So there is a great need for urgency.

On 10th May they held a conference in Merthyr Tydfil which resolved unanimously to support the establishment of a People Planet Peace movement, which would be eco-socialist, and open to all who agree with the core beliefs of social transformation and national independence. A Cyngor (council) of volunteers is to be established, who will be responsible among other things for setting up a paid membership system, creating a draft constitution, and preparing for an Autumn 2025 launch conference.

Transform reaffirmed our support for the project.

Community Action Groups – callout!

Transform has been working with Community Action Groups and local parties in Hastings, Huddersfield, Southport, Leicester, Liverpool, Brighton, Haringey and elsewhere. While we wait for a new left party, this is useful work to build genuine community engagement that can form the bedrock of that new party.

If you are already working in a community group that has not yet linked up with us, please sign up to join your group to the project, so that we can link you to other similar groups and direct people in your area who contact us to you. Or if you have time to work with others in your area and would like help in starting a group, also get in touch. Ideally all Transform members who have the capacity to do so can help with this project and get in at the grass roots of the coming left party.

The link to sign up is here.

Transform Podcast

Our latest podcast is live, and our subject this week is the Corbyn Project of 2015 – 2019. What do we mean when we talk about the Corbyn Project ? What were its aspirations ? Was it inevitable that it would fail ? Should Corbyn have acted tougher against the right wingers who were trying to bring him down ? And is there still any future for socialists in the Labour Party today ?

Joining us for the round table discussion is Alan Gibbons, who as a CLP Secretary in Liverpool and part of the leadership of Momentum was at the heart of the struggle during those years

We’re also recommending the Enfield Podcast by the Enfield Community Independents. Covered here: the Enfield divestment campaign, the Labour Government’s paralysis on Gaza, and the rise of new local community groups as we await news about a new party.

Calendar of events

Saturday 14 June 12 – 3: Merseyside Independents Rally, Liner Hotel, Liverpool  

Saturday 21 June 12.00: Aye Welcome Refugees, Barrowland Park, Glasgow

National march and rally, marking Refugee Week. Following the rally, Love Music Hate Racism are holding a carnival at the Old Fruitmarket.

Saturday 21 June 12.00: End the genocide – Stop arming Israel, Russell Square, London

National march for Palestine

Saturday 12 July: Durham Miners Gala

Sunday 20 – Tuesday 22 July: House of the People, London

The House of the People is a permanent Citizens Assembly, showcasing a model of democracy that is fundamentally different from our corrupt system. The lottery for places is open to all and closes on 13 June.

Next Newsletter

The next Newsletter is scheduled for 2nd July. All submissions are welcome: articles, reports, event announcements, photos, comments. Please send to info@transformpolitics.uk, marked for the attention of the Newsletter team.

In solidarity,

Transform Newsletter Team