“We won’t tackle the huge crises we face with a little more action from the private sector, enacting below-inflation pay rises or cosying up to the elite interests who wrecked things in the first place.”
Hilary Schan, Momentum Co-Chair
By Labour Hub
Following several controversies around Labour’s rightward policy turn in recent days, Momentum today announced a pushback with a series of left-wing motions to be passed by Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs).
Keir Starmer has angered many in his party in recent days by refusing to recommit to abolishing tuition fees; advocating greater private sector involvement in the NHS; and contradicting Scottish Labour by questioning the Scottish trans rights legislation recently passed. Starmer has repeatedly struggled when pressed by journalists on his widespread flouting of the pledges which saw him elected Labour Leader.
Momentum is coordinating a pushback from the Labour grassroots, supporting motions from student Labour clubs, the Labour for a Green New Deal campaign group and Socialist Health Association, Labour’s health affiliate.
The motions, to be brought by Momentum activists to Labour branches across Britain, seek to commit the Party to:
- Nationalise the whole energy system;
- End private sector involvement in the NHS, contrary to Starmer and Streeting’s proposals;
- Abolish tuition fees, a key Starmer pledge;
- Back striking workers, ahead of the nurses’ strike tomorrow which Starmer has pointedly refused to support;
- Ban dark money, after Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper were revealed to have accepted tens of thousands of pounds in donations from a shell company. The motion calls on them to return the money.
Labour Conference 2022 backed a series of radical motions, including: nationalising rail and mail; backing striking workers and a £15/h minimum wage; inflation-proof pay rises; an end to NHS privatisation; and a National Care Service.
Hilary Schan, Momentum Co-Chair said: “Britain is broken, and the Tories are to blame. But if Labour really wants to fix things, its leadership needs to massively up the ambition. We won’t tackle the huge crises we face with a little more action from the private sector, enacting below-inflation pay rises or cosying up to the elite interests who wrecked things in the first place. We’ll tackle them with the bold, popular and vitally necessary policies supported at the grassroots.
“Mirroring Keir’s own leadership pledges, these motions represent the mainstream of Labour Party opinion. The Labour leadership should listen to members and lay out a programme of real economic transformation, instead of going to war with our own electoral base, whether that’s young people or public sector workers.”
The motions can be viewed here.
- This article was originally published by Labour Hub on January 16th, 2023.
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