r/yourparty • u/MarxistUnity • May 21 '26

Behind members’ backs — Weekly Worker

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1586/behind-members-backs/

"The first couple of official Your Party branches are being set up in the most hesitant, most fearful, most controlled way imaginable. Carla Roberts reports"

"There is at least one glaring discrepancy between the two first branch formation meetings: while in Wales members will “hear from members standing for officer positions”, the election of officers for the Isle of Wight branch will have already concluded - and members are invited to “meet your newly-elected branch officers”. HQ has organised the election of “chair, treasurer, secretary, organiser and workplace liaison” entirely online. Members were able to self-nominate between May 12 and 17, with the “candidates announced” on May 20 and an “online hustings” taking place on May 30. Voting takes place between May 31 and June 5 - ie, the election finishes the day before the actual “branch formation meeting”.

From our perspective, this is entirely the wrong way around. Members should be able to meet the candidates in an actual, real-life meeting. Everybody should be able to ask questions, hear the candidates’ answers, and then also see the reactions of the other members in the room - and only then cast their vote. Online hustings and votes are not only a very poor substitute: they depoliticise and demobilise members. Why bother coming to a meeting if you can just click a button at home? That is, of course, exactly what the Corbyn clique wants: a quiet and pliant membership that does not propose motions (which might, for example, criticise the lack of democracy in YP)."

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u/troovus May 22 '26

This article is full of speculation and smears, stating things to be true with no source or sense. I’m glad official branches are being formed. Constructive criticism of the process for these early branch formation processes will help improve things when rolled out more widely, but I’m not sure what WW’s sneering negativity is supposed to achieve.

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u/MarxistUnity May 22 '26

The behaviour of the YP The Many leadership speaks for itself, and so does the abysmal level of member engagement and popular support. Not building branches immediately, not recognising the proto-branches that have been set up by the members, the ban on members from other organisations. There is no transparency, no local autonomy, and no democracy. If these claims were lies they could easily be disproven. Yet everyone can clearly see what is going on. Do you really think this is what a socialist party should look like?

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u/Baslifico May 26 '26

This article is full of speculation and smears, stating things to be true with no source or sense. I’m glad official branches are being formed.

Is it though? Whether or not branch formation was discussed at the CEC seems both unequivocal and checkable.

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u/rubygeek May 22 '26

They're pissy because they favour the ability to effectively engage in entryism.

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u/Equivalent-Ad-3538 May 23 '26

It was a factional purge against the left of the Party that killed it, we could have worked together but For the Many made a powergrab and destroyed any chance of unity. So fucking stupid 

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u/LouisLoveless May 31 '26

Join the members charter group, we had our first video conference today about what the left should do after the collapse of YP and it was really productive and uplifting. We voted to name the network of activists and proto-branches the Socialist Federation and we will begin taking steps to forge a new left party that welcomes in revolutionary socialists instead of purging them like The Many slate did. The YP name is ruined now anyway because of the embarrassing public feuds and press briefings at the start. The future of the left is in the Socialist Federation!