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More about the candidates declared so far, including us miscalled “the Socialist Workers Party of Great Britain” (we’re getting that corrected).
Myatt’s Fields by-election confirmed for Thursday 8th October 2026
The Greens have chosen their candidate — another defector from Labour over Gaza.
Sonia Winifred selected as Green candidate for Myatt’s Fields by-election
The nomination papers were handed in to the Returning Officer at noon today and accepted.
We won’t know who our opponents are till nominations close on Friday. But we can expect at least the gang of five — Labour, Green, LibDem, Tory and RefUK.
Another local by-election near Head Office has been called. It’s in Myatt’s Fields ward in Lambeth on 8 0ctober. This ward is next door to Brixton North which we contested in the May council elections.
London branch will be putting up a candidate.
The by-election has been caused by the death of the long-standing Labour councillor. It has two council members. In May 1 Green and 1 Labourite were elected. Both Shake-it-up contested last time. Turnout was 37.1 percent.
Leaflet issued by Argentine Trotskyists during the Falklands War calling, among other things, on the trade unions to set up recruitment centres for workers to join the armed forces under General Galtieri to kill and be killed to defend the “national sovereignty” of the Argentine ruling class.
This article describes the situation at the northern end of the Persian Gulf up to 1990:
No. In the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88 the West supported Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
And the why the Trotsky, etc “anti-imperialists” backed Iran under the Ayatollahs.That’s exactly what the article in the September Socialist Standard is about. It should be already on its way to you and other subscribers. Mine arrived yesterday.
ps. Reading paper books is good but I’m not sure what the scientific evidence is that reading books and articles online is not so good from a neurological view. But does it matter? Reading paper books is still better than reading them on screen.
Our campaign gets a mention in this report of the result:
Labour holds Tooting seat by 127 votes, denying Conservatives control
Of course I am. As it happens, there is an article on just that subject in next month’s Socialist Standard, the paper edition of which was sent out yesterday.
For the record, Labour won. For those interested in the vagaries of conventional politics another feature of this election is the collapse of the Green vote, from 14.4% in May to 5.1% yesterday. The Labour vote went up from 39.7% to 47.5%. Is the Green bubble deflating?
The percentage of spoilt ballot papers went up from 0.08% to 0.15%.
Just a passing thought. Rather ironic that a champion of paper should devote their time to expounding their view on the internet — instead, for instance, of writing articles for publication in the paper Socialist Standard.
Yesterday we distributed the last 300 of the 2000 set aside. We also held a literature stall outside Balham mainline and tube station. Both were filmed by a novice filmmaker.
While filming the door to door leafletting we came across a group of Labour canvassers (presumably councillors or would-be councillors — who else would canvass for the Labour Party?). They weren’t keen to be filmed and so the film won’t show them, but the exchange of views was recorded. Their main argument was that, in calling on people who wanted socialism to write ‘SOCIALISM’ across their ballot paper this risked letting the Tories win and so control the council. But this is to assume that such people would otherwise vote Labour which is highly unlikely and, in any event, Labour, Tory, Same Old Story.
We also found evidence that the Green Party had been leafletting in some streets in this part of the ward. The QR on their leaflet took you to a page with the Wandsworth Green Party’s 2026 manifesto. In it there was none of Polanski’s eco-populism and its wild promises to increase wages around and other leftwing nostrums. Instead, it was what the Green Party used to say before him — that the main problem was global warming and that measures (such as solar panels, insulation, less car use) should be taken by the council to shield Wandsworth from its effects.
The election is on Thursday.
This long article (see the translation above in #265492) is actually very good. Pity he writes “Marxism” when “Leninism” would be more appropriate.
Now, in threatening to impose secondary sanctions on states that continue to trade with Iran, Trump is risking a world trade war, seeing that China is a major trade partner with Iran. India, Russia and Japan won’t be too happy either.
On the other hand, the limits of “Great” America’s economic power might well soon be exposed.
