This past weekend, members of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) mobilised in towns and cities across Britain for a nationwide ‘Super Saturday’ of selling and recruiting.
Armed with the latest issue of The Communist, we took to the streets to talk to members of the public, answer their questions, and get them organised in the fight for revolution.
Although the weather was against us everywhere – with May’s heatwave giving way to torrential rain and strong winds – the weekend was far from a washout.
We sold hundreds of pounds worth of material – not just The Communist, but our theoretical journal In Defence of Marxism, and a range of titles from Wellred Books – and dozens of people signed up to find out more about getting involved. Some have already joined!
Epstein
This summer, the RCP is running a national recruitment drive under the slogan ‘Wipe out the Epstein class’, connecting with the simmering anger around the revelations in the Epstein files.
The ruling class, with the aid of the bourgeois press, is working overtime to distract people from the enormity of this scandal. But the front cover of the latest issue of the paper cuts through all of the noise, saying clearly: “Britain needs a revolution! Wipe out the Epstein class!”
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The South West London district sold 43 copies of The Communist overall at their stall in Brixton. They found asking passers-by what they thought of the Epstein scandal struck gold.
Likewise in Lincoln, the comrades found a simple, “Wipe out the Epstein class! Join the communists!” drew people in, gaining them the contact details of three people interested in joining the party.
The South East London district set up their stall in Peckham in front of a wall covered in ‘Wipe out the Epstein class’ posters. These alone attracted a number of people to stop and chat.
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In Leeds, the district set up in several spots across the city, talking with dozens of people and selling 26 copies of The Communist. Comrades shared one very insightful discussion they had:
“One person heard “Do you want to wipe out the Epstein class?”, immediately turned around, and asked to buy a paper. She told us that it feels like a real “them vs us” moment – politicians could be doing far more to hold these people accountable, she said, or make an example out of them.
“When asked why she thought they were not doing so, she replied, “Because they’re friends with them!”
“This opened up a much longer conversation about figures like Starmer and Mandelson, the role of the state being to defend the interests of the ruling class over those of the working class, and what we can do about it.”
Free Ehsan Ali
This Super Saturday weekend also capped off a national week of action as part of the international solidarity campaign to free Ehsan Ali, an activist and revolutionary class fighter who has been imprisoned by the Pakistani state since 10 March.
Many branches therefore wove in this campaign with the recruitment stalls. In Edinburgh, comrades held a rally outside the Scottish Parliament to raise awareness.
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In Leicester, comrades found a great deal of sympathy for our comrade amongst the public, with discussions often going on to cover the struggle against state repression more broadly.
The North London district had a similar experience, and comrades reported receiving many extra donations with the copies of the paper that they sold to go towards supporting this campaign, and the work of the RCI internationally and the RCP in Britain.
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Britain
Comrades spent their weekends discussing a whole range of topics: gentrification, housing, Palestine, Trump, and Iran.
At one sale, a worker on his break stopped to chat. Within a couple of minutes of conversation, he was outlining how anti-immigration and anti-trans rhetoric is being pushed by those at the top as methods of distracting and dividing us.
In Peckham and Reading, comrades found themselves discussing the recent rise of the Green Party and whether its offerings of hopeful alternatives are enough. The South East London comrades reported:
“Many people we spoke with mentioned excitement in the growth of the Greens, but recognised that they could not reverse the crisis of capitalism they’re inheriting. For them, the Greens felt like the only option, and an interest in going beyond the Greens was apparent.”
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In Birmingham, comrades had a question from one person about the viability of introducing ‘Scandinavian-style’ social democracy in Britain. But once they’d discussed the reality of the state and who runs it – a central theme in this issue of the paper – the passer-by concluded on their own that these systems aren’t sustainable under capitalism.
At every stall, up and down the country, the uniting thread was anger at the system, outrage at the quality of our lives under it, and disgust at the violence and hardship those at the top subject millions of ordinary people to better line their pockets.
In Manchester and Lancaster, comrades just had to ask “do you think we need a revolution?” and “what do you think of communism?” to draw people to them and get talking.
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In Leeds, one man declined a paper, and then headed into a nearby Sainsburys. Presumably, once inside, he was radicalised by the spiralling food prices, because when he came out he told comrades, “I still don’t know about revolution, but we should definitely storm Buckingham Palace!”
“There’s just an anger at the state of things,” as the comrades from the Central London district put it, reflecting on their day. “We sold 48 papers and got six contact details. Many were politically completely fresh and simply wanted to hear and read an alternative viewpoint.”
And, as another passer-by in Reading plainly put it: “This is the first time someone has been out here and not talked any bullshit!”
Revolution
Many people we met over the weekend expressed a strong desire to read Marxist theory, so that they could really understand the class struggle: its history, how it is unfolding today, and how it may develop in the future.
Some of the most insistent questions on this front came from school and sixth-form students. In Leeds, Bristol, and Reading comrades reported these young people were more than happy to stand in the rain if it meant they could get answers on what a revolution would look like, how to go further than what the Green Party offers, and more.
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Comrades in the North London district were quizzed on the USSR, anarchism, internationalism, and the Marxist view of the state. At our Highbury and Islington stall, comrades were kept on their toes by several people who wanted to discuss the protest movement that’s currently breaking out in Albania.
In Coventry, a student wanted to learn more about our perspectives on last year’s ‘Gen Z’ revolutions, and the need for a revolutionary party. They are now coming to an RCP branch meeting.
In Bristol, meanwhile, a student who was involved in Nepal’s 2025 ‘Gen Z revolution’ stopped to discuss what they’d learnt from this experience – primarily, the necessity of building a party to guide these explosive movements!
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The RCP’s mobilisation last Saturday was far from a one-off event. We want this to be the jumping-off point for a whole summer of exciting, public-facing activity: reaching ordinary workers and young people with our analysis and slogans, and recruiting the most revolutionary-minded people to the ranks of our party.
If you are angry about the state of the world, and want to get out there and build a real alternative to capitalist misery, we say: stop scrolling – start organising! Hit the streets with the RCP today!
