Last weekend, the newly-elected national leadership of the Revolutionary Communist Party – the British section of the Revolutionary Communist International – met to take stock of the recent election, including the campaign around Fiona Lali, and to discuss the tasks ahead. We publish here our agreed perspectives.
[Originally published at communist.red]
“Events are moving fast. The authority of the Starmer government will be reduced to dust. History is moving in our direction.”
These words of determined optimism are taken from a unanimous statement (see below) of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), which met in London last weekend.
We opened the meeting with a discussion on the election results. The shattering blow delivered to the Tories isn’t matched by enthusiasm for Labour, which had chunks taken out of it by pro-Palestine candidates. The towering Labour majority isn’t a skyscraper, it’s a sandcastle.
This government faces a global economic crisis, against which Britain’s defences are crumbling. The British economy is a portrait of long-term decline. Labour will prop up the rich and make the rest of us pay, and they’ll be hated for it.
The trade union leaders will be under huge pressure to oppose the government, which they won’t want to do. Those who think Starmer can be persuaded to help working people will be exposed as hopeless dreamers.
Political polarisation is on the way, as the Farage-Braverman right wing tries to capitalise on disgust with Starmer.
What will the left do? Not much. When Corbyn was Labour leader, he wasn’t able to make the most of the potential that existed. And there’s no one on the left today with clear ideas or a plan.
That’s where the RCP comes in. There’s a vacuum, but we’re not yet big enough to fill it. That’s why our priority is to build the party and prepare.
Party building
The Central Committee’s discussions went on to detail our plans for growth.
We reviewed our founding congress, which was just two months ago. The clarity and optimism of that event gave us the push to achieve what we have over the last few weeks.
We also reviewed the founding conference of the Revolutionary Communist International in Italy, at which 100 RCP members were the delegation from Britain. That brought home the global scale of the revolutionary work we’re doing.
And, of course, we reviewed the Fiona Lali election campaign in Stratford & Bow. This was our first attempt at electoral campaigning, and we got the best result for a communist in 50 years. It’s boosted our work in east London, and had an impact all over the country.
“It’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” said national secretary Ben Gliniecki.
Looking ahead, we have over 130 branches of the RCP, and counting.
Over the summer we must strengthen branch leaderships, and make them into effective recruiting and campaigning cells. Hundreds of people are applying to join the RCP, and we need to be efficient at integrating them into party work.
The RCP summer camp, held in the Peak District between 8-11 August, will be a key event to help with this.
Anti-imperialism
The Central Committee agreed that now is the time to focus on the fight against imperialism.
Warmongering militarism is on the rise everywhere. And Britain’s foreign policy is to tag along with the bloody imperialism of the USA.
Starmer has proven his commitment to that at the recent NATO summit. He’s spending 2.5% of GDP on defence, and giving £3bn to Ukraine every year to continue the war.
Meanwhile, schools and hospitals are collapsing, local councils are going bankrupt, and poverty is rising.
We say: We need books, not bombs! We need healthcare, not warfare!
We discussed the lessons from the encampments that have erupted on university campuses in recent months. The RCP was involved in 25 of the 30 encampments around the country. We want to develop that movement in the new academic year.
Over the summer, we’re launching an educational campaign on imperialism: what it is, and how to fight it. We’re planning meetings, reading groups, study circles, and loads of articles and podcasts to equip ourselves with the arguments we need.
The release of Wellred Books’ first collection of Lenin’s writings, Lenin on Imperialist War, therefore couldn’t come at a better time.
Armed with these ideas, lessons from the encampments, and RCP branches at 60 schools and universities, we’ll run the largest anti-imperialist campaign this country has seen for decades, starting in September.
The role of leadership
This meeting was the first of the freshly-minted Central Committee, elected at our founding congress in May.
It’s a strong combination of youth and experience. The meeting elected our Executive Committee, to lead the party in its day-to-day work.
We spent some time discussing the role of leadership in a revolutionary party. We need leaders who are well-educated in Marxism, and capable of educating others.
And we need leaders who are dynamic and audacious builders of the revolutionary party, so that we can play the part history demands of us.
Every Central Committee member is ready to step up to the mark. We’re determined and optimistic about the prospects for the RCP over the next few months.
Forward to a Red Summer!
Central Committee statement: Perspectives following the election
The result of the general election was simply a snapshot of the mood, but nevertheless an important one. There are many processes at work in Britain and internationally, which point in the direction of deepening crises: economic, political, and social.
Clearly, the election result was a shattering blow to the Tories, the worst result in their history. It means that the once most successful bourgeois party in Europe has suffered an almighty collapse, after 14 years of rule.
It was clearly a government of crisis. Such was the instability, in a short space of time we had three prime ministers and five chancellors. This was unprecedented for Britain and an indication of the turbulent epoch we have entered.
While the Tories suffered a humiliating defeat, losing over 250 seats, including such notables as Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt and Jacob Rees-Mogg, it was not all milk and honey for Starmer’s Labour.
Although Labour won a 170 seat majority, the number of votes for the party was half a million less than in 2019 and three million down from 2017, while the percentage of the vote, at 34%, was only 1.6 percentage points more than in 2019 under Corbyn. Prior to the election, the opinion polls were giving Labour over 40% support.
Moreover, there is no enthusiasm for Starmer. This was shown by the historically low turnout of 59.9% (the second lowest since the war). In 2019, it was 67.3%.
The low turnout was particularly evident in the solid Labour seats, where turnout was below 50%. Compared to the last election, in seats Labour had won, turnout fell 9.6%, compared with 6.5% in other seats.
Of course, Starmer did everything to lower expectations, promising nothing.
Starmer did everything to lower expectations, promising nothing / Image: Number 10, Flickr
The high vote for many independents also revealed the lack of faith in the Labour Party. This was compounded by the genocide in Gaza and the support for Israel by Starmer.
The vote for Starmer in his constituency fell by 50% compared to the previous election. Corbyn stormed to victory in Islington North, and four other independents were elected.
Right-winger John Ashworth was defeated in Leicester South by a pro-Palestine independent, and other independent candidates came close to toppling Blairites Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips.
Reform won five seats, with four million votes, mainly at the expense of the Tories. Farage will use his position in Parliament to galvanise his reactionary base and appeal to the Tory ranks, as he seeks to realign the forces of the right and of reaction.
The Tory elders are attempting to put off the election of a new leader for as long as possible, hoping to steady the party. But the ‘One Nation’ Tories are completely isolated. Whatever the delay, a more right-wing leader will take charge of a more right-wing Tory Party.
The Greens also picked up four seats, while the SNP in Scotland suffered a massive collapse. The SNP was squeezed between its failure to secure independence and the desire to kick out the Tories in Westminster.
The Lib Dems won 71 seats, again at the expense of the Tories.
Despite its big majority, the Starmer government will be a government of crisis. Its majority disguises the widespread scepticism towards it. Rather than a strong government, with mass support, it is in reality very weak, resting on a slim social base.
As the Financial Times put it: “Beneath the surface of this historic Labour victory, the signs are ominous. The share of Britons who think Starmer‘s party understands the problems facing the UK is at a record low, as is the share who say Labour keeps its promises; both figures are much lower than they were for Boris Johnson’s government when it took the reins.”
Another article in the Financial Times explained the fragile nature of Starmer’s victory: “Labour’s towering majority is capturing attention for now, but it is built on weak foundations.
As James Kanagasooriam, chief research officer at polling firm Focaldata put it, the coalition of voters that has put Starmer in 10 Downing Street is better understood not as a skyscraper but a sandcastle. As the tide comes in over the next few years, it could well be washed away, just as the Conservative Party has been this week.”
Crisis of British capitalism
Unlike Blair, or other Labour governments in the postwar period, which were lucky enough to come to power during a period of economic growth, with an expansion of world trade, Starmer faces the opposite situation.
World capitalism is experiencing a whole series of difficulties, with supply-chain dislocations, war in Europe, and the threat of trade wars involving the USA, Europe, and China.
The world market has become too narrow for the development of the productive forces. Competition has become fierce. There has never been a more precarious situation internationally. This is simply a reflection of the impasse of world capitalism.
In addition, British capitalism is in a disastrous state. Productivity, growth, and investment trail far behind its competitors. Brexit has only compounded these problems.
The UK is at the bottom of the G7 league table of total investment for 24 of the past 30 years, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research, while new foreign direct investment projects are at a near 12-year low.
According to the IMF, GDP per head in the US rose by 8.3% between 2019 and 2024, despite the pandemic. This is far better than in any other large high-income country. In the UK, the comparable figure is minus 0.2%.
On every front, British capitalism has fallen behind. Resting more and more on services and finance, it has undermined its industrial base.
The steel industry, for example, which is the backbone of a modern economy, is now foreign owned. The move to close down the remaining blast furnace in South Wales will mean it will be the only advanced country without the ability to produce steel from iron ore, but only from scrap metal.
Investment, which is the lifeblood of any economy, has flatlined since 2016. British capitalism is in reality the sick man of Europe. The IMF predicts that growth will peak at 1.7% in the second half of the decade. This has massive implications for living standards.
There is a feeling of malaise everywhere you look. Along with deindustrialisation has come asset-stripping and the wholesale destruction of local amenities.
An article in the Financial Times laments the dismantling of once splendorous municipalities, and the destruction of a bygone age:
“At the end of the 19th century, London County Council was building social housing, fire stations, clinics, ambulance stations, bandstands, parks, street furniture, public toilets, schools and engineering projects; the infrastructure of everyday life. Birmingham pioneered a form of ‘municipal socialism’ under Joseph Chamberlain in the 1870s, and the city owned its gas and water suppliers. Now, the council is deeply in debt. Boroughs across the country are facing bankruptcy…”
It goes on:
“Since 2010, council assets have been sold off in an attempt to fill a £15 billion hole in central government funding. More than 800 public libraries, 1,000 swimming pools, over 200 playing fields, half of all magistrate courts and 1,000 public toilets have been closed…
“It has been a huge transfer of wealth from public to private – a levelling down.”
Such is the state of Britain today in the 21st century – a product of capitalist decline, which in turn gives rise to a sense of complete alienation.
‘Tough choices’
With the collapse of the Tories, the ruling class is now forced to rely upon Starmer and company to do their dirty work.
The ruling class is now forced to rely upon Starmer and company to do their dirty work / Image: UK Parliament, Wikimedia Commons
Of course, today’s reformists are the willing servants of capitalism – as rotten as the old Blairite traitors, perhaps even more so.
This gang of upstarts and renegades have become the out and out agents of the ruling class. They wish to replace the Tories as the political representatives of capitalism. They are willing accomplices in the treachery that is about to be unleashed on the working class.
Upon entering Downing Street, Rachel Reeves has made it plain that there is no money for anything, except lucrative handouts to big business and – of course – military defence.
The Starmer government, which is in the pocket of big business, is determined to make the working class pay for the crisis.
Blaming the last 14 years of Toryism, they say working people will have to wait before they see any benefits, once the economy “grows” and British capitalism is put back on its feet.
Health spending, as a result, will only rise by 1.1% a year – a lower growth than during the years of Tory austerity. The NHS waiting list stands at 7.6 million and will remain long, as Streeting promises to “reform” the NHS with the help of his friends in the private sector.
On housing, Reeves has said there will be no government building programme. Instead, Labour will rely on the private sector to deliver social housing.
Schools will also remain under-funded, and the promise of 6,500 new teachers only equates to two teachers per secondary school in England. And Starmer has promised £65 million a year to fix potholes in the roads, but the repair backlog stands at £14.4 billion.
We can see where all this is leading, as the new government attempts to keep wage demands down with promises of ‘jam tomorrow’. In the meantime, poverty rates for large families are forecast to rise significantly by 2029.
The trumpeting by Reeves, a former economist at the Bank of England, of the need to stick to the Tory’s fiscal rules is a clear indication of an austerity programme they are intent on carrying out.
All spending, she says, is linked to economic growth. But ‘growth’ has been the mantra of all previous governments. And with stagnant investment and stagnant markets, growth will be a mirage. In this environment, lasting growth, if any, will be impossible to achieve.
“I’m going to put my energy and political capital into growing the economy,” said Reeves. “Some of that will mean tough choices, difficult decisions, and upsetting some people,” she has said.
The “tough choices” are true. And people will be “upset”, to say the least. In reality, the Starmer government is preparing an almighty backlash.
As expected, one of the first announcements by Starmer was the creation of a National Wealth Fund, supplied with £7.3 billion of taxpayers’ money, as a handout to big business. But it will not turn around private investment, as suggested.
Investment will only take place if there is scope for profitable markets. But all the capitalist powers, starting with the USA, are subsidising their industries at a time when markets are shrinking and there is a danger of a trade war. This danger will increase if Trump is reelected president, which seems likely.
The attempt by the Starmer government to carry out his pro-capitalist policy will be met with a wall of opposition. The working class will not take this lying down.
With trust at rock bottom levels, the anger and hatred towards the government will dramatically rise. The distrust in Starmer, politicians in general, and the institutions of bourgeois democracy will reach new levels.
As Martin Wolf in the Financial Times explained:
“The challenge for Labour is not just to govern well, but also to restore trust in doing so. If it fails to do both, there has to be a good chance that it will be swept out of power next time. When trust in respectable policy and conventional politics collapses, a large proportion of the electorate will embrace promises from mendacious demagogues. The dangers of that form of politics have been perfectly revealed in the fate of the last government.”
This is a serious warning from a key strategist of capital. They are concerned not so much about the fate of the Starmer government as the fate of the system itself. They are worried about the collapse of the ‘centre’ of politics and the forces of ‘moderation’; about not only the polarisation to the right, but also to the left.
Another Financial Times columnist, Robert Shrimsley, argued that Starmer may be the last chance for “centrism”. But this last chance is doomed.
The Starmer government will inevitably collapse at some stage, as was the case with the Tories. There will be no real reforms, but counter-reforms, as they faithfully follow the dictates of big business. Under pressure, they will seek to ‘balance the books’ and stick to their fiscal austerity.
All the elements are present for crises at all levels. Starmer’s programme will collide with the aspirations of the working class, sick with 14 years of Tory austerity.
There will be mounting dissatisfaction across society. There will be demands for increased wages to make up for past losses.
As a result, the trade union leaders will be under intense pressure. Their conservatism means they will not want to ‘rock the boat’.
But nevertheless, they will be pushed into opposition to the Labour government. Their arguments of “give Labour a chance” will cut no ice. Feelings of frustration and discontent run too deep.
Given Starmer’s big majority, there will be no excuses; nowhere to hide; no cover or leeway. The blame will fall entirely on their shoulders.
This will be a Labour government not like any other in the postwar period. And given the crisis, it will be more right-wing than any other, including Blair’s. As a result, the Starmer government will be hated, even more than the Tories were.
The ‘lefts’
Even in Parliament, as the situation becomes more intense, this groundswell of opposition will provoke backbench revolts.
There was an interesting article in the Financial Times, which speculated over where the opposition to Starmer would come from:
“Very quickly then political gravity will shift. Those wishing to move or resist government policy will look to Labour MPs to provide the meaningful opposition. At first this will be limited. Starmer will be at the peak of his power and will try to maintain discipline over his ecstatic party, but things soon change.
“I am not talking about the hard-left serial rebels and dispossessed Corbynites who survived the ‘Starmtrooper’ purges. They will be there of course, but the real challenge when it comes will be from the more numerous ranks of the so-called soft left, notably those around the Tribune Group…Starmer will also face pressure from Labour figures, like his mayors, outside Parliament…
“In the long term, the challenges will be around poverty and public spending…
“But dissent will come, and faster than leadership thinks. Those looking for real opposition to a Starmer government should probably be looking behind him.”
This is an interesting scenario. It is true the traditional Labour ‘lefts’ (the so-called “hard-lefts”) have capitulated under Starmer’s pressure and seem all washed up. They are a shadow of what they were. This is especially the case with Momentum, which is in terminal decline.
As reformists, they cannot see further than a reformed capitalism. Their main platform is ‘tax the rich’ and ‘redistribution’. John McDonnell and Andrew Fisher recently argued that “without further redistribution of wealth, the argument that growth will be capable of paying for the significant investment needed in our public services appears just unrealistic”.
Their whole premise is based on capitalism being able to deliver reforms. For them, the crisis of capitalism does not enter into it. They hope to make the system work simply by tinkering with it. All that needs to happen is to abandon ‘neoliberalism’ for a better version of capitalism, and all will be well. The same line is parroted by the Morning Star.
They are blind to the laws of capitalism, and have become ardent followers of Keynes and of deficit financing. They ignore the fact that state debts are at record levels everywhere, and that borrowing comes at a cost.
Even Liz Truss found this out to her cost. All attempts under capitalism to go against ‘the markets’ simply lead to a crisis and a run on the pound. Any attempts by the Labour ‘lefts’ to tinker with capitalism would meet the same fate.
This clearly reveals the bankruptcy of reformism, which imagines it can reform capitalism bit by bit. They are the greatest utopians. They learn nothing and forget everything. That is why, at the end of the day, the crisis of capitalism is also a crisis of reformism.
Mick Lynch describes himself as a “reformist” / Image: Steve Eason, Flickr
The trade union ‘lefts’, meanwhile, are desperate for a deal with Starmer. They plead with him to give them something. As always, everything is based upon what capitalism can afford.
Of the leaders of the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign: Mick Lynch describes himself as a “reformist”, and urged people to vote Labour across the board; and Dave Ward is backing private partnership in Royal Mail.
Matt Wrack, the president of the TUC, wrote an article in the Morning Star about why the FBU is calling for a Labour vote. There is no mention of capitalism. All he says is: “After almost half a century, it is time to end the Thatcherite experiment that has wrecked our country.”
There has been some talk of a new party being formed around Corbyn. But again, this seems very speculative.
If Corbyn had wanted to form a new party, he should have done so much earlier, but this never materialised. Corbyn even waited until the very last moment before deciding to stand as an independent in this election.
This all goes to show the limits of the ‘lefts’ – limits that ultimately derive from their woolly reformist politics.
Political polarisation
Of course, there is a lot of combustible material out there, and events could take a sharp turn, when least expected. We are in a period of sharp turns and sudden changes.
The crisis of British capitalism has entered a new stage. We are moving towards a pre-revolutionary situation.
In many ways, we have a crisis of the regime; a crisis of legitimacy in regards to the institutions of bourgeois democracy. Trust and confidence in governments have never been so low as now. This will only increase, which is extremely dangerous from the view of the bourgeois.
As Starmer becomes more discredited and incapable of holding back the working class, the bourgeois will look for a more suitable solution. But their options will be limited, given the ‘trumpisation’ of the Tory Party.
Given the hatred for the Tories and then the Starmer government, a huge vacuum will open up. Different layers will be drawing different conclusions at different times.
However, consciousness will be affected by the experiences of the school of right-wing reformism. The situation will become increasingly polarised.
On the right, Farage and a right-leaning Tory Party could bring about a realignment. What exactly will develop is difficult to say. They will use the issue of immigration to build up their support among the most backward layers. And Farage could come to play the role of a British Trump.
From this milieu, on the back of intense class struggle and an impasse in the situation, a Royalist Bonapartist formation of some kind could emerge, with links to the top brass of the military.
Such a reactionary force would be the centrepiece for any plots hatched by the ruling class to ‘restore stability’.
In Scotland, although the SNP has received a massive blow and is in crisis, it cannot be ruled out that the experience of the Starmer government could see a revival in pro-independence sentiments north of the border.
However, there will not be the same illusions in the SNP, and layers of youth will be looking towards more revolutionary ideas.
Building the party
Alongside these developments, there will be massive opportunities on the left.
The launch of the RCP could not have come at a more opportune time / Image: The Communist
The fact that our party managed to get nearly two thousand votes for an unashamedly communist programme in East London shows the possibilities inherent in the situation. These can only multiply in the coming period.
In that sense, the launch of the RCP could not have come at a more opportune time.
In the past, a radicalisation on the industrial front would have led to the growth of the Communist Party (CP). Traditionally, they had a strong base in industry and amongst shop stewards. On paper, they had over 30,000 members.
The CP at that time constituted the main obstacle to the building of a genuine revolutionary party. Today, for all intents and purposes, the CP has collapsed. This provides us with a golden opportunity – especially given the name of our party.
In addition, the sectarian groups on the fringes of the movement are at sixes and sevens, splitting and fracturing. This is due to their false perspectives and methods. This process will continue.
Given our limited forces at the moment, however, we are not in a position to fill the vacuum on the left. Inevitably, therefore, despite its political bankruptcy, left reformism will make a revival in one form or another.
We must concentrate in the painstaking work of building our forces, recruiting new members, setting up new branches, and strengthening our cadre base and our structures.
Above all, our party needs to direct its attention towards the youth, the students, and young workers. That is the key. They are the most affected by the crisis – and the most open to our ideas.
Our aim must be to get to the 2,000 members this year, and to train and educate these comrades in the fundamentals of Marxism. This will lay the basis to take full advantage of the situation under this crisis Starmer government.
Under these circumstances, a revolutionary party of 2,000, when acting in unison, can punch well above its weight, to use a sporting expression – and can rapidly grow to 5,000 and 10,000.
As Trotsky once explained:
“The task of communists is not to predict crises, revolutions, and wars every single day, but to prepare for wars and revolutions by soberly evaluating the circumstances and conditions that arise between wars and revolutions.” (The Third Period of the Comintern’s Errors, 8 January 1930)
Our preparation for the future is vital. We must raise our sights to the tasks posed by history.
We position ourselves, not on the basis of subjective consciousness, but according to the objective situation we face.
Sooner or later, consciousness will catch up with objective reality – not gradually, but with a bang. We must prepare ourselves for this, and not be caught lagging behind.
Events are moving fast. The authority of the Starmer government will be reduced to dust. History is moving in our direction.
Our task is to resolve the crisis of leadership. This will take time. Given our weakness, the process towards the British revolution will inevitably be protracted. This can work to our advantage, providing us with the necessary time to build our forces. But we must not squander this.
The objective conditions already exist to reach a wide layer that is open to revolutionary ideas. We must take full advantage of every opportunity and possibility, in order to build the party; to recruit and educate the cadres who will lead the coming British revolution. That is the task of the hour!