The 10 Pledge Party
Are you a left-wing, pro-Corbyn Labour supporter, depressed at Keir Starmer’s rightward turn?
Are you thinking of not bothering voting this spring? Or voting Green? (Or Workers Party etc.)
I feel you.
BUT …
I’m going to suggest that if those of us who feel this way work together, we can do better.
We need to pressure Labour to stay left. By pressuring Starmer to stick to the commitments he made when he stood for leadership.
Even though we know damn well his advisors are telling him not to. And he probably doesn’t want to.
So here’s what we need to do.
We need to announce to the world, that we are NOT Labour voters. We are supporters of the “Ten Pledge Party”.
We are supporters of the 10 pledges that Starmer made to Labour here : https://keirstarmer.com/plans/10-pledges/
We need to tell our families, our friends, the Labour canvassers, and local party. Our social media accounts. Journalists.
We need to tell everyone. Using a simple hashtag. #10pledgeparty
We need to give them this simple message : if Starmer’s 10 Pledges he made when running for leadership, are referenced in the manifesto, in Labour’s leaflets and the campaigning material we see, by its candidates on the doorstep. Then Labour can be sure of our vote and our support.
If they aren’t, we won’t vote for them. (I’ll probably vote Green, and I suggest you do too. Unless you think you have a better choice in your area.)
We need to make Labour OWN the 10 Pledges that Starmer made in his leadership campaign.
We need Starmer to know that he either has to fight all his elections on THAT PLATFORM and those commitments. Or risk losing a chunk of the vote he can’t afford to lose.
If we just not bother. Or slope off and vote Green individualistically. No-one will pay attention.
If we decide we hate Starmer so much we’ll never vote Labour under him then we’ll have no leverage and get nothing.
But if we create enough publicity BEFORE this year’s council elections. If we get people to NOTICE. People in Labour. Journalists in the media.
Then we put Starmer on the spot. Either he stands by his pledges. And recommits Labour to being the socialist party that Corbyn was making it.
OR … he publicly renounces his pledges. (Which won’t look at all good for him). And when Labour do badly, EVERYONE will know why.
In Britain’s first past the post system, we need Labour to fight for socialism.
Because no other party can do it for us.
So we need to fight for Labour to be a socialist party.
Please join us. Join this campaign. Support us with the hashtag #10pledgeparty
Help make this happen. Help make Labour the party that we need it to be.
Otherwise it’s going to fall into the hands of branding consultants telling it to wrap itself in the flag and other cheap populist moves. I mean, seriously! WTF?!??!?!!??!?
That’s not what Labour is. And we can’t let Starmer’s cowardice make it that.
So please join this campaign. Join the fight to hold Starmer’s feet to the fire, keep him to his promises and keep Labour left.
Let Labour (and everyone else) know that if it explicitly references Starmer’s 10 pledges in its campaigning, it can count on your vote in the upcoming election. And if it doesn’t, it can’t.
#10pledgeparty
Have questions? https://interstar.medium.com/obvious-questions-about-the-10pledgeparty-3331b0b8460
