Since Corbyn’s landslide victory to become the leader of the Labour Party, a furious battle has opened up within the party. Tens of thousands have signed up to Momentum in order to defend Corbyn and argue for his policies. The task now is for Momentum to become a vehicle to transform Labour and fight for socialism.
Since Corbyn’s landslide victory to become the leader of the Labour Party, a furious battle has opened up within the party. The Blairites and other big-business supporters think Corbyn should be removed at all costs – the only question is when. On the other side are those who wish to defend Corbyn, and fight for working class, socialist policies. Ultimately only one of these sides can be victorious.
Corbyn is extremely weak within the Parliamentary Labour Party. Therefore his only hope is to rely on the hundreds of thousands or even millions of workers and youth, who whether inside or outside the party, are looking to him to fight for their interests. The creation of Momentum as a means to harness this energy and enthusiasm of Corbyn supporters was a big step forward.
Tens of thousands have signed up to Momentum, and have attended meetings and campaign events across the country. Among them are thousands of young people who are getting involved in politics for the first time, having been inspired by Corbyn’s anti austerity message. This represents a huge potential for change, if correctly organised around a clear socialist programme.
There is a danger however that this potential is being stifled by those who have established Momentum, who are terrified of upsetting the right wing in the party. Complaints have circulated online of Momentum Facebook pages being taken over bureaucratically, shutting out activists who have helped set up local groups. Although reports vary from around the country, it seems that political discussions in meetings have been carefully stage managed, in order to limit the participation of the most radical and fresh layers. In particular, any mention of de-selecting Blairite MPs – who are openly out to destroy Corbyn – is quickly shot down by self-appointed Momentum leaders.
If Momentum is to succeed in defending Corbyn from the right wing, it must first encourage the participation of the new layer of activists who are most enthusiastic for change. This means offering a bold programme to transform society, built around strong socialist ideas. It also means having a genuinely democratic structure that encourages the participation of those who have recently become politicised and radicalised by the Corbyn movement, rather than leaving things to an existing clique of activists.
For example, the election of the National Committee is clearly a positive, and necessary step forward for the organisation. But the way in which this committee was elected has raised concerns amongst many members.
“Elections” for regional delegates took place, sometimes with short notice, no opportunity to distinguish candidates based on their political ideas, and in some cases with no actual vote taking place at all. Furthermore, there is a lack of transparency over how the representatives from liberation groups and trade unions were chosen, and also of the 12 “existing Labour organisations and publications”.
If Momentum is to give an expression to the demands of workers and youth to change society, it must have genuinely democratic structures that allow for the voices of new activists to be heard. Momentum should be organising a National Conference, made up of elected delegates from all local groups, which should act as the highest decision making body of the organisation.
Ultimately, if Momentum is to succeed in defending Corbyn, it must be prepared to openly stand up against the right wing within the Labour Party. This means mobilising Corbyn supporters to reclaim the party from the grip of the Blairites.
Despite the howls of indignation from the supporters of big business, the demand for re-selection of MPs is a basic democratic demand – that the members’ representatives should genuinely represent the views of the majority of the membership. To shy away from this task is to leave the initiative in the hands of the enemy. Weakness invites aggression. Instead, we must defend Corbyn, and fight for socialism!
