“Dear Jeremy Corbyn supporter
“I’m sorry I couldn’t join you, but thank you so much for supporting Jeremy Corbyn and helping to demolish the myth of the inevitability of austerity and neo-liberalism. My plea to you all is “what are you going to do after the result is declared on September 12th?”. In fact, whatever happens, I am pleading with all of you to, “Join Us! Our resistance needs you!”
“I’m writing to you all because while the media, and much of the left, focus on Mr Corbyn MP and other individuals at the “top” of official politics, I’m more interested in the hundreds of thousands of people who are campaigning and voting for Jeremy Corbyn. I’m more interested in what small acts these hundreds of thousands of people can take to help resist austerity and neoliberalism once the election is over. I am appealing to all those not doing so already to get involved in the further resistance that will be necessary regardless of whether Corbyn wins, loses, or is overthrown.
Sorry I can’t join Labour – but I might
“But first I want to apologise for not being able to join you. I was unable to for two reasons. Firstly, I feared public exposure for pretending to support Labour’s values. After the leaving the SWP partly due to its dishonesty, I could hardly join something else based on me lying. I would also find it ridiculous for me to leave the SWP because of the cover up of one leading member’s alleged rape and then join a party which has systematically covered up the rape of children by a range of senior Labour politicians. (Although I wouldn’t rule out joining if Jeremy Corbyn wins and a full investigation into the cover ups begins)
“However, I sincerely helped and encouraged others to join the campaign – despite getting the deadline wrong for one dear friend. I really hope Jeremy wins the leadership and I will be writing to see if they want non-members to campaign for Jeremy Corbyn. I encourage people who can’t join to donate, to help the campaign get the message to as many as possible.
Sectarianism in the true sense
“I think those on the left, including some Greens, who aren’t caught up in “Corbymania”, and don’t seem to even care if he wins, are proving themselves to be the useless idiots a mass anti-capitalist movement can ignore. This includes those in the Green Party are debating whether or not it would be good to have a mainstream party lead by someone with politics almost identical to theirs. It also includes those on the super-Leninist left who are still trying to explain how a “bourgeois party” could possibly end up with a leader largely supportive of their own party’s mild manifestos. They seem more worried about illusions being sewn in Labour, and appear to have nothing concrete to say beyond noting the importance of extra-parliamentary action. For both groups,to not recognise and not work towards what could be the biggest shift to the left in working class politics for decades, a shift that would benefit the entire working class, is sectarianism in the true sense of the word. As far as I’m concerned, these people need a head transplant.
What next after the election?
“But what are those of you campaigning for and voting for Corbyn going to do once the election is over? It seems clear that you will have to be organised together within the Labour Party to prevent the organised Labour right from either defeating Jeremy or removing him if he wins. However, even if he wins and the right wing accept it, or leave, there are many things I would ask you to do. Even if you think that parliament is the key focus for reversing austerity and neoliberalism, I’m sure Jeremy Corbyn would be the first to say that moves to do this in parliament would have to be backed up by action on the streets, in communities,colleges and crucially workplaces.Those of us who think that struggle in parliament is secondary to struggle in workplaces and communities, that real change happens when people are changing society for themselves, should have no problem campaigning with “Corbynites/Corbynists/Corbynoids”.
Get organised in Labour
“Many more of us may even end up joining the Labour Party. We may find it impossible to stand aside from any forthcoming struggle for the soul of Labour, regardless of our views that it was never really our party. To do that we will all need to be organised. We will need to meet together as a new, powerful Labour Left and plan together how to take on the right in the party and in the unions. I hope all of you already in the the Labour Party are already getting organised in groups like Labour Representation Committee as well as Jeremy For Labour and building up new networks of radical socialists in every town and city.
Please join us in resisting austerity
“Most importantly, we need you all to be involved in the campaigns against austerity in your local towns that bring together all those resisting cuts and privatisation. And we need you all to be involved in strengthening our trade unions wherever possible.
“The Peoples Assembly has finally given us a united anti-austerity campaign that can bring together a variety of activists and campaigners. Please get in touch with your local group. We are already active. Most towns and cities have hundreds connected to Peoples Assemblies.There are now hundreds of new Labour members in each town too, who’s involvement would be a great boost.The scale of the attacks is huge and we need unity if we are to reverse austerity.
Please join us in rebuilding the unions
“The trade unions have six million members, and no doubt include many of Labour’s new members. But the unions rely on far too small a layer of stewards, officials and lay activists. We need the enthusiasm of the new Labour members injected into the unions. We need every Corbyn voter who’s in a union to volunteer to be a rep or help out with the branch in anyway they can. We need those in non-unionised jobs to think about how they can unionise. Imagine the impact of just a fraction of Corbyn’s supporters becoming more active in their unions.
“All unions can be contacted here. Unite offer community membership and links with less organised workplaces. Fast Food Rights and the Bakers Union a re trying to organise in the fast food industry. And if you’re in a small workplace no union is interested in, you could always try the network of syndicalists trying to organise these “precarious” groups.
“Whether you’re campaigning for Corbyn to win, trying to prevent a Blairite coup or supporting a Corbyn lead government trying not to do a Tsipras, you stand much more chance of winning if there is a much stronger union movement and anti-austerity movement. Please be patient with those of us who haven’t joined Labour. (Yet) But please work with us in the mass organisations and campaigns that can defeat Cameron, the Daily Mail and the Blairites.
“Finally, all this applies if Jeremy doesn’t win the leadership. Thousands will leave Labour. Some will lose hope and many will write off Labour forever. Thousands will join the Greens afterall. But the need for stronger unions and a bigger anti-austerity movement will remain, and the addition of hundreds of thousands of Corbyn voters would be a great boost”
What All Readers Can Do Now
Please share this among any social networks read by Jeremy Corbyn supporters. Why not print it (maybe delete the section about sectarianism) and hand it out to Corbyn rallies if you agree with the letter. Or get your local union or Peoples Assembly to hand out similar pleas for united action at Corbyn rallies and Labour Party meetings
Facing Reality 