Labour Left Internationalists
Struggles – Internationalism – Socialism
We’re standing in the Momentum National Coordinating Group (NCG) to advocate a Momentum which mobilises, visibly and regularly, to support class and social struggles – strikes like the rail strikes and long-running food couriers’ dispute, protests like against the Police Bill.
The NCG is now being be elected by Single Transferrable Vote and in eight smaller regions. That means every vote can make a difference in help electing our candidates and changing Momentum.
We produced a longer program for the last NCG election, when we were established as Momentum Internationalists, in 2020: momentuminternationalists.org/what-we-stand-for
Our demands and ideas: short version
We stand for:
Struggle
• A Momentum which mobilises, visibly and regularly, to support class and social struggles – strikes like the rail strikes and long-running food couriers’ dispute, protests like against the Police Bill.
• Properly campaigns for demands like a £15 minimum wage, living sick pay for all, public ownership and repeal of all anti-union laws, including by campaigns to push motions in local Labour Parties, fights for conference policy, references-back of NPF reports
• Block new council cuts and win return of funding cut since 2010. “Community Wealth Building” is not enough, and not “building socialism”
• Fight all forms of oppression and bigotry. Curb the police
• We support Proportional Representation as more democratic.
Internationalism
• Champion migrants’ rights and free movement
• Consistent internationalism: support workers everywhere and liberation struggles from Ukraine to Palestine, including by visible mobilisation for demonstrations
• Fight British nationalism
• Resist re-erecting barriers between Britain and the EU27; push towards reversing Brexit
Socialism
Socialism is not being a bit more left-wing than the Blairites, or more state activity.
Socialism means the people, led by the working class, organising to liberate ourselves from exploitation, creating a new society of common ownership and democratic planning to meet social needs.
Campaign for public ownership of energy companies and public expropriation of the banks and high finance – though those do not yet constitute socialism.
Our demands and ideas: longer version
We stand for:
Struggle
Working-class struggle: we want a Momentum which mobilises, visibly and regularly, to support class and social struggles – strikes like the rail strikes and long-running food couriers’ dispute, protests like against the Police Bill.
Working-class demands: Momentum should much more consistently campaign to popularise demands to address the economic crisis, build the labour movement and develop struggle and solidarity – like a £15 minimum wage, living sick pay, public ownership and repealing all anti-union laws (working with existing campaigns – e.g. Free Our Unions – wherever possible and looking for opportunities to establish new campaigning networks). Momentum’s Trade Union Network should be reoriented and relaunched on these lines.
Step up the fight in Labour: campaigns to push motions in local Labour Parties, fights for conference policy, references-back of NPF reports, campaigns against the undemocratic bans and exclusions
Local government: Block new council cuts and win return of funding cut since 2010. “Community Wealth Building” is not enough. With councils getting only half the funding they did in 2010, they’re often barely able to provide basic services, let alone “build socialism” in their areas!
Fight oppression: We are socialist feminists. We fight for LGBT rights – that includes the T! We fight all forms of racism, antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry. Serious anti-racist politics must criticise and challenge capitalist institutions like the immigration system and the police. We are proud to be among the authors of the migration and policing motions Momentum has adopted for Labour conference this year, and want to make those struggles central.
We support Proportional Representation as more democratic.
Internationalism
Migrants’ rights and free movement: The platform of the Labour Campaign for Free Movement, which our candidates support, needs aggressive promotion in Labour, throughout the labour movement and beyond.
Consistent internationalism: Fostering solidarity with the struggles of workers and the oppressed worldwide, from China to the US, Sri Lanka to Sudan, Chile to Russia. Support for peoples struggling against oppression and for self-determination everywhere, from Ukraine to Palestine to the Uyghur region.
Fight British nationalism: Oppose increased military spending, Trident and NATO. Corporations leeching our public services are bad because they’re capitalist, not because they’re foreign.
Lower borders, don’t raise them: Momentum should fight for cross-border struggle to restore and extend free movement and level up rights across Europe and beyond; against the Tories’ moves to sharpen Brexit; and for moves to reverse Brexit.
Socialism
Socialism means the people, led by the working class, organising to liberate ourselves from capitalist exploitation, by creating a new society based on common ownership of productive wealth and democratic planning to curb the climate crisis and meet social needs.
As Momentum Internationalists and then as LLI, and for many of us long before that, we have campaigned to make Momentum more democratic. We welcome the recent decisions for a Momentum convention, for STV for the NCG, etc., and want to help see through their implementation. Momentum still needs democratisation; for example, NCG minutes that are prompt and informative, not cryptic and often long-delayed; and access to the NCG for motions from caucuses and local groups.