Since 1 September, the Sheffield district has grown spectacularly, recruiting 13 new comrades.
The University of Sheffield branch has split from one into two branches, totalling 12 comrades. The Hallam University branch has gone from a branch of four to a branch of ten. This marks a 90 percent growth rate!
The capstone of this growth was raising £14,000 for the Revolution Festival collection.
Branch leadership
“Since I joined the party two years ago, I’ve done things I never thought I’d be able to do. These are things I now really enjoy, like public paper sales and branch leadoffs. It’s taught me so much, and I can only look forward to what we’re going to do next.”
– Lexi, education officer, University of Sheffield branch
Back in the spring, the layer of leadership in Sheffield was quite thin on the ground. Many comrades were enthusiastic, but they felt under-confident in making decisions and explaining our ideas.
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To address this, leading comrades used the summer to focus on training a new layer of branch secretaries and branch officers.
The new branch leadership was built through a combination of weekly one-on-one political discussions, high-level district committee reading groups, and national events such as the RCP Summer Camp.
We were conscious of giving them room to stretch their legs – for example, the planning and running of the freshers campaign was almost entirely in their hands.
As a result of this focus on a handful of comrades, who have been trained to use these same methods, we now have a dozen capable leaders and recruiters in the district.
Oliver, one of the new secretaries, noted “last year I met 25 contacts [people interested in joining the party] but only one recruit, however now I am recruiting almost every contact!”.
Welcoming atmosphere
“There are no secrets to our success. We have just done the basics well. We have worked hard on making the branch an engaging meeting where everyone feels like they learn something from it and are actively involved. We always ensure that people we meet come to the branch ASAP.”
– Ezra, branch secretary, Hallam Uni branch
Sheffield was founded as a district over ten years ago. The traditions that comrades established then are still present now. One standout tradition is that all members strive to make the branch a welcome and engaging space.
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From their first branch, comrades are encouraged to bring their ideas, initiatives, and concerns to the group. In this way education becomes far richer and our organisational abilities stretch far wider than a closed off and rigid approach would allow.
This method has become internalised by comrades across the district.
Inigo, a new comrade and paper officer at in one of the University of Sheffield branches, who had heard all sorts of terrifying tales about us from some local student activists, said:
“Across many conversations with a friend of mine in the RCP, he would perfectly articulate my situation, and most importantly, provide clear direction. The clear and scientific understanding of capitalism and how to confront it was nothing short of liberating.”
Consistency
“The gap between the rich and poor has been continually expanding, the world has been slipping further into economic and environmental crisis, and my frustration had continued to grow. Suddenly, an RCP sticker on a streetlight near my house caught my eye.”
– Holly, new member, Hallam Uni branch
Radicalisation is happening everywhere. We can sometimes forget just how quickly this process occurs. Another new member, Luther, noted,
“It wasn’t until Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, the overwhelming international support for a ceasefire, and the US’ desire to continue the war in direct opposition to the will of the people, that I finally lost all confidence in the “democratic” capitalist system worldwide.”
Our district capitalises on this through a consistent approach to our work. Paper rosters, postering timetables, and even a district “online propaganda team” – all ensure that we are consistently present on campus, on the streets, and across social media.
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This has played a vital role in raising our profile amongst students who know us from our regular lunchtime spot, and amongst workers who have joined us primarily through attending public meetings they found via Instagram and posters.
Maintaining a wider layer of support has been key to the Hallam branch’s turn around. As Ezra put it:
“We kept in touch with lots of Hallam students who weren’t able to play leading roles or even be full party members, but helped us maintain a society and get our foot in the door at freshers.
“Off the back of this we have focused our energy and education on our strong Hallam student who joined us from the Sheffield Palestine encampment. We inspired her, and she, in turn, organized the other Hallam student sympathisers and supporters to get things off the ground.”
Professionalism
“I was in another party for over a year, and in contrast to my experience with them, I noticed that every small interaction with members of the RCP at demonstrations gave the impression that they had a firm grasp of what they were talking about in a professional capacity… This is ultimately why I joined the RCP over two months ago: their tactics, organisational professionalism, and theoretical clarity.”
– Maeve, paper officer, Hallam Uni branch.
Comrades are the face of the organisation. This is why we take professionalism seriously.
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Anton, a new branch secretary at University of Sheffield, pointed out it was joint one-to-one meetings and a professional approach to education and activity that fast-tracked his political development.
Comrades ensure activity is bookended by a briefing and debriefing, to explain our plan, reflect on what went well, and put together a report on the day.
One comrade mentioned that whilst on a demo in London they could almost hear the floating voices of leading comrades saying, “Don’t just stand around! We should be talking to every person here!”.
Sufficiently haunted, the comrade went on to make five contacts and sold out of papers!
Grow the party!
All members of the district have played a key role in our recent success. It has been a team effort.
The fact we are no longer relying on one or two recruiters means that new members are being recruited collectively, having conversations with multiple different comrades who are all focused on the same goal – winning people round, growing the party, and overthrowing this entire rotten system!
