Last weekend, the London Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) hosted the inaugural London Marxist School at Imperial College, with 257 attending.
Attendees came from every corner of London, alongside visitors from Denmark, Mexico and Brazil. One person had even bought a ticket and come down all the way from York! The whole event was characterised by a visible optimism and youth, which was reflective of London’s recent growth.
In 2025, more than 100 new members joined the ranks of the RCP in the capital. And the school was primarily organised and run by some of these recent joiners, imbuing a spirit of the school that we have no passengers in our Party.
As Lenin said to the youth of the Bolshevik Party: “The task is to learn!” Accordingly, the first priority of the new members in our party is to prepare themselves for the momentous class battles that lie ahead, with a serious study of Marxist theory.
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The ‘American Century’ is over
The talks were carefully planned to give every comrade a grounding in different areas of Marxism and spark a passion for theory. One attendee told us afterwards, “I’ve gone for a bit of everything: history, philosophy, economics. I covered all the bases!”
In the opening session, ‘The end of the American century and the rise of China’, Jorge Martin, a leader of the Revolutionary Communist International and co-host of Against the Stream, looked beyond the apparent chaos of the Trump administration to reveal the deeper processes that are taking place beneath the surface.
US imperialism is no longer able to control the world, and is retrenching to ‘its’ hemisphere in order to better confront its main rival, China. Far from being a progressive development, this ‘multipolar world’ offers continued war and austerity for the working class in every country.
This is graphically taking place in the Caribbean at the moment where the Cuban Revolution is under threat by the noose of US imperialism like never before. And so at the end of the session, we took a solidarity video with clear demands: Hands off Cuba! Yankee go home! Long live the Cuban Revolution!
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Books, ideas, and merch
After the plenary, comrades had a choice of sessions to attend. Highlights included Ben Gliniecki’s launch of his new book on the 1926 general strike, 100 years on from this historic event.
This was reflected at the bookstall where Peace, who was manning the Wellred book stall, revealed “I’ve been seeing a lot of the British general strike, lots to do about the revolutions in the Caribbean. Those are the main two that I’ve been seeing people picking up and buying.”
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This was expressed in cold hard cash. At the end of the weekend, £2,073 was taken in from book and pamphlet sales alone.
Another highlight was ‘China’s Long March to Capitalism’, where leading London activist Tom Crozier explained the process by which China went from a dominated country, abolishing capitalism and landlordism, to a global capitalist power.
Many in attendance commented on how this helped ‘flesh out’ their understanding of the role of China today. Adam, a leading member of the Imperial College Communists reflected on the overall quality of the session: “The contributions were amazing. The introduction was amazing. Chairing was done very well too.”
Attendees also loved Rob Sewell’s fiery talk on ‘Chartist revolution’. Rob introduced the discussion on the inspiring Chartist movement that shook British capitalism during its ‘birth pangs’ in the 1830s and 1840s. Chartism was the first working class revolution in history, and one that Marx and Engels drew on as they developed a scientific theory of socialism.
Tara, a leading member of the City Uni branch shared that “It was incredible to hear about the political instincts of the working class, even as it was beginning to move for the very first time.”
Alongside the talks, people stocked up on the latest communist merch, from Ushanka hats, hammer and sickle chains, to the official London Marxist School t-shirt. £1394 was raised from merch sales, and Kaya who manned the stall told us:
“There’s been real interest in getting our great merch, especially the Lenin Shawarma t-shirt. You should grab it. People are interested in showing off the ideas of communism.”
From the thousands of pounds in sales in books and merch, it was quantitative proof that members want to learn and show pride in our bold communist identity.
400 communists in London
Several people joined the RCP on the spot after attending the school, which allowed the London RCP to smash through its target of 400 members in the capital, paving the way for an organisation that can build strongholds in neighbourhoods and universities across the city.
As hosts of A World on Fire – Khaled Malachi and Fiona Lali – said in their rousing closing remarks, the London organisation has truly been transformed in the past few years.
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When our comrade Jamie Bradshaw was recently arrested for speaking up against the genocide in Palestine, we were able to mobilise over 100 people at the drop of a hat.
At short notice, we organised an energetic protest that drew support from the public and turned the tables on the corrupt university administrators that called the cops on Jamie, as well as the rotten Met police.
Far from being intimidated, Jamie is rearing for a fight. Accordingly, the London branches will use their renewed strength to go on the offensive. In Khaled’s words:
“There is a responsibility that comes with what we can achieve now. This is the capital of an imperialist country. It has the highest concentration of workers and young people in Britain. This is where Marx wrote Das Kapital and uncovered the mysteries of the capitalist system. This is where the Bolsheviks used to meet. We have achieved so much, but we can’t yet make a real material impact on the political situation at 400.”
What we have done so far shows the huge potential for revolutionary communists in London. It was made abundantly clear that everyone in attendance had a responsibility for where we go. Armed with the ideas of Marxism, we are ready to raise our sights.
