A general election must be held before January 2025. Most commentators expect this to take place in October or November 2024. There is a widespread acceptance that Keir Starmer, and the Labour Party will form the next government.
As before all elections serious socialists in Northern Ireland are examining the possibility of standing to provide an alternative for working class people. With only months to go, decisions will need to be taken soon as contesting general elections is a major undertaking for small groupings. First past the post elections are not at first sight, viable territory for new parties or movements, but we should not lose sight of the fact that 1/3 of workers and young people do not vote. We also know that many of those who cast a vote for parties outside the mainstream are still in search of a viable cross-community, anti-sectarian, left alternative.
This week we publish a short article on the 1983 Stop the Tories conference. This event is a good illustration of the approach that is necessary if we are to work with others in a genuine united front, seeking a way forward.
We also republish an article from 20 years ago, examining developments in the “peace process” at that time. Jeffrey Donaldson, Arlene Foster, and Peter Weir had just resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party and joined the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). This was part of a long process, which resulted in the DUP becoming the absolute dominant force within unionism. Two of the MLAs who moved across have since then assumed the leadership position of the DUP, including today’s leader Jeffrey Donaldson.
The 2004 article analyses the situation at the time, drawing attention to the ultimate instability of the of the system created by the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and the necessity to create a new political party for working people.
Comrades involved in Militant and successor organisations are proud to reprint any of the material we have produced over the decades. This cannot be said of all left political parties and groups, some of which have performed political somersaults without explanation. The detail of any article can be challenged at a remove of 20 years-we do not claim to have a crystal ball. Instead, we try and sketch out developments in order to act as a guide to the day-to-day activity of workers militants and we are confident that our both our analysis stand the test of time.
We will republish a series of such articles over the coming weeks and months, to establish an archive for activists, and to illustrate the strength of the continuity of ideas for the workers’ movement.