London local by-election leafletting

February 2025 Forums World Socialist Movement London local by-election leafletting

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  • #256553
    ALB
    Keymaster

    As it happens, over the next 4 weeks there are 3 local council by-elections in wards near to our premises or where members live. They are Hammersmith Broadway (20 February), Vincent square, Westminster (27 February) and Syon & Brentford Lock (6 March).

    We will not be putting up candidates but running a write-in vote for socialism campaign. It’s a bit of an experiment to see whether not having a candidate makes any difference to the response.

    Three thousands leaflets have been printed and arrived today. Here is the wording:

    What matters – profits or people?

    All the parties standing in this by-election support capitalism (the profit system) and are squabbling over which of them should run the administrative side of it here at local level. So, there’s no real choice.

    They think the profit system can be made to work in the interests of the majority. But it can’t, and they end up having to do the system’s dirty work of saving money on public services so that taxes on profits can be kept down.

    Profits first, people second, that’s the way the profit system works. It’s the only way it can work. Which is why Socialists say it must go. Support for any of the parties that want to run the profit system is a vote for more of the same: more insecurity, hardship and cuts, while the rich can afford the best of everything.

    What’s the alternative?
    If we are going to put an end to this we must act for ourselves, without professional politicians or leaders. We’re going to have to organise ourselves to bring about a society geared to meeting people’s needs – without a price tag – not profits.

    But the only basis on which this can be done is common ownership and democratic co-operation. In a word, socialism.

    The Socialist Party is not contesting this by-election but you can still say NO to a system based on profit, privilege and competition and YES to one based on equality, co-operation and meeting needs by writing “I vote for socialism” on your ballot paper.

    #256578
    ALB
    Keymaster

    The first 500 leaflets were distributed in Hammersmith earlier today. The LibDems and the Labourites had been out too. Which is good in the sense that it will give some context to our leaflet which is a generic one that doesn’t mention the ward or the date of the election.

    It is a safe Labour ward where they got over 70 percent of the votes at the last election in 2022.

    Hammersmith Broadway is not far from Chiswick where the old West London branch used to meet. The branch also used to run a street stall there so it is not as if we are not known in the area.

    The remaining 500 allocated to the ward will be distributed next Tuesday and then we will move down the river to Vincent Square which is between Victoria Station and the Houses of Parliament.

    #256663
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Vincent Square Ward is the innermost of inner London wards, being not far from Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. The people there live mainly in luxury apartment blocs or social housing and so without easy access to their letterboxes. In fact to such an extent that we may have difficulty distributing even 1000 leaflets that way. There are 7,600 electors.

    At least one person doesn’t like Starmer since there are quite a few graffiti saying “Kick Starmer Out”.

    It is a Conservative ward, though at the last election the ward it elected 2 Tories and 1 Labourite. The by-election has been caused by the death of the Labourite. Labour is anxious to retain their representation and the Tories to make a clean sweep of the ward. So both are leafletting the area, giving our leaflet some context.

    The national HQ of the Liberal Democratic Party is in the ward. So is Westminster Cathedral, the HQ of the Roman Catholic Church in England. Ours is a couple of miles and 4 tube stops away and so it’s easy to get there to leaflet.

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