South East CEC Questionnaire

Your Party members in Oxford have composed this questionnaire, to let CEC candidates in South East region expand on their candidate statements, and to push them on particular political questions.Candidates have been asked to use 150 words max per answer (ideally 3 to 4 sentences would be enough), be specific and concise with concrete examples, and avoid vague grandstanding. If they do not want to answer a specific question, they should note this.As members can only endorse 2 candidates before it moves to STV, Oxfordshire YP members would like to know more about the politics, strategy, and background of the South East CEC candidates so that we can be more informed.Endorsement Period: Weds 21st January to Thurs 29th January

Questionnaire Text

Slate Platforms

Grassroots Left

The Many

Candidates

Ian Driver

Barbara Duke

John M Durtnall

Maysa Farah

Christopher Hall

Rasmus Johansen

Iqra Ibrahim

Zaid Marham

Jonathan Osako

Ed Pope

Hilary Schan

Max Shanly

Last updated: 25/01/26.
Candidates are added as their answers are received. 23 out of 46 candidates were contactable.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Grassroots Left

Presented below is Grassroots Left's programme (the slate organised by Zarah Sultana, the Democratic Socialists of Your Party, Trans Liberation Group and others). In South East, they are standing Max Shanly and endorsing independent candidate Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi.

Maximum Member Democracy - Let’s deliver it1. For a Central Executive Committee dedicated to building a mass, democratic, socialist, working-class party, rooted in branches that fight
fascism and the far right. Our goal is to bring an end to capitalism, a socially and ecologically destructive system driven by the profit motive and private ownership of the means of production, and replace it with a socialist society organised to meet people's needs, not generate profit.2. For a Party that will empower members to create grassroots structures in every town, city, region and nation providing data, finance and technical support to get them established. Members and thus branches will receive at least 50% of all membership fees, with autonomy over branch spending and political activity. Elected branch committees will have access to full membership data for their area. We must – and will - execute a mass recruitment drive to become a mass socialist party of the left this country so desperately needs.3. For a Party open to all who share our socialist goals - an equal, fair, just and ecologically sustainable society organised around the needs of the majority, not for the profit of the few; key sections of the economy owned and democratically controlled by the people who work in them and depend upon them; a society in which everyone, regardless of race, faith, ethnicity, family background, gender, sexual orientation or disability, can lead healthy lives of dignity and fulfilment.4. For a clear programme of anti-imperialism, anti-Zionism and pro peace. We oppose militarism and stand with the oppressed against the oppressors. We support the Palestinian people and reject successive British governments’ collusion with Israel. We support immediate withdrawal from NATO that only offers profits to the merchants of death and makes the world less safe, when this money should be spent on schools, hospitals and wider society.5. For a Party that opposes the far-right and exposes every attempt by the ruling class to divide and rule the working class against itself. We stand with all communities and liberation for all people: Muslims, migrants, refugees, LGBTQ+, women, and disabled. We stand against all forms of oppression and attacks on marginalised communities by political elites.6. For defence of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; opposition to laws restricting protest and trade union activity; opposition to state censorship and surveillance; support for pro-Palestine political prisoners that are on hunger strike.7. For a democratic party that will fight in the May 2026 elections but is not defined by electoralism; all elected representatives and party officials to be accountable to the membership, subject to mandatory re-selection and open to recall at any time. We must support candidates that don’t vote for cuts but fight them.8. For a Party that only participates in national government alone or in coalition on the basis of a socialist programme actively supported by a majority of the population. The Monarchy, House of Lords and first past the post voting system must be abolished.9. For a truly democratic socialist party a democracy commission and
democratic sovereign Conference will take place: Over the first six months after their election, the CEC will appoint a Democracy Commission, to review the founding process and suggest improvements to the party structures. The First Annual Conference will be held within six months with structures to enable it to be sovereign over the Party's future direction.10. For a Member-led CEC: All Members of the CEC shall operate as political equals. This slate commits to not permit any councillors or MPs to hold officer positions in the party. The CEC will elect a Parliamentary Convenor to be the public spokesperson and whip of the Parliamentary Group of MPs, intending to formalise this role by amendment in the 2026 Conference. The CEC must commit to meet at least monthly, to ensure the body remains able to provide effective political leadership.11. For building Organised Sections and a rank-and-file movement that is the engine of the Party. Grassroots members will be supported to build oppression-based organised sections from the bottom-up. This includes
facilitating a youth and student conference to establish meaningfully democratic and autonomous structures for a youth and student section and make constitutional recommendations (e.g. youth place on the CEC) and appoint a Rank-and-File Workers’ Movement Commission to develop the party’s relationship with the trade union movement. All elected members of our slate will meet regularly with organised sections and factions in our party to remain accountable to them.12. For a Party of the Whole Left: We stand for a party of the whole left with freedom for members to organise into factions, tendencies and platforms. This means opposing any ban on dual memberships or proscriptions against members based on political views or affiliations.13. For a Party that doesn’t see Scotland and Wales as afterthoughts but respects their autonomy to self-organise: The CEC will rebuild broken relationships with members in Wales and Scotland, giving them access to funding, data, and resources, to enable them to choose how they want to engage in the 2026 Elections. They will have sufficient resources and access to data to hold democratic conferences to decide their local structures and level of autonomy from the party.14. For an open and transparent party. Decisions of all party bodies, from local branch to national executive, to be open to scrutiny by the members; for an independent audit of Party finances; for a disciplinary process based on natural justice, with an appeals procedure agreed by the membership.15. For a Party that is led by its members not MPs and to deliver the next stage of maximum member democracy.

South East CEC Questionnaire

The Many

Presented below is The Many's programme (the slate organised by the current leadership, including Jeremy Corbyn). In South East, they are standing Cassi Bellingham and Chelley Ryan.

Our vision for a more just and equal Britain is popular across the country. It won millions upon millions of votes twice under Jeremy Corbyn, terrifying the establishment.We can build a majority to transform this country, but only if we focus on the task at hand.We can’t just turn inwards, fighting amongst ourselves and attacking our allies, while the far-right marches on.We need to face the country, turning the popularity of our policies into an organisation that can deliver them.We need to unite behind a platform to transform the country, improve people’s lives, and take on the enemy.We want to build a mass left party, founded on three key pillars:1. Building our base – by organising in working class communities and getting branches going.2. Reuniting our multiracial coalition – by focusing on what unites us, not what drives us apart, mending trust in the left among Muslim communities.3. Winning people to our politics – by campaigning relentlessly on the issues that matter most to them, from the cost-of-living to opposition to racism and war.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Please feel free to take this text, modify it if you would like to, and send it to CEC candidates in your region.

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?
If you have been in a public-facing or high-profile/national role on the left before, what motivates you to run for this role? If you have not had a high-profile role like this before, what concrete organising have you done on the left before and what do you hope to do on the CEC?
How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?
What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?
What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?
How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?
What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?
What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?
How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?
How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?
How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?
What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?
Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?
Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?

Police
Patriotism
British military, imperialism, and Zionism
Trans liberation, abortion, and sex work
A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independence

South East CEC Questionnaire

Hilary Schan

Skip to a particular topic by clicking belowCandidate's affiliations
Candidate's previous roles
Candidate's class position
Lessons from Corbynism
How the party has been run
YP vs past/other projects
Dual membership
Branch autonomy
Trade unions
Community campaigns
Media strategy
The far right
Socialism vs capitalism
Police
Patriotism
British military, imperialism, and Zionism
Trans liberation, abortion, and sex work
A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independence

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I am a member of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union, as I am a Community Development Worker running affordable food projects in the South East. I am currently part of a national steering group, including BFAW leadership, which is working on a charter of rights for volunteers and staff working in this sector. Our broken welfare system is reliant on these workers, who are working with some of the most vulnerable in our society, but often have very little support or protections.

If you have been in a public-facing or high-profile/national role on the left before, what motivates you to run for this role? If you have not had a high-profile role like this before, what concrete organising have you done on the left before and what do you hope to do on the CEC?I was previously Chair of Momentum (2022-24), which provided a lot of experience and insight into running a national political organisation. At that time, the National Coordinating Group was closely split between two competing slates and I saw first hand what that creates - an inward facing, demotivated, stagnant organisation. I worked with allies on both sides however, to lead successful campaigns, such as our Labour for labour campaign in Summer 2022, supporting workers throughout the Summer of strikes.I also led the campaign that won a Labour council in Worthing for the first time ever, based on a bold socialist manifesto. That victory was won on the hard work of local activists that had joined the Labour Party under Corbyn and become community organisers. We had a simple strategy - socialism in action. All year we would run listening campaigns and respond to what people told us they needed - we opened community hubs, foodbanks, mutual aid groups, uniform exchanges and more. It was this type of community organising that I turned into electoral success and which we need to replicate if Your Party is to succeed.I want to bring this experience to the Your Party CEC and help turn us into a credible electoral force that can win for socialism.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?Both of my parents were immigrants to the UK, and my paternal grandmother raised her children alone in the 1960s while working three low-paid jobs. My Mum spent 45 years working in the NHS as a nurse and midwife, and my Dad owned a small independent business. I was the first in my family to attend university, a privilege I believe should be accessible to all, through free tuition fees. I am now employed by a charity, running community food projects in some of the most deprived towns in the South East.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?The Corbyn project taught us that socialism can draw national popular support in this country, demonstrated by the close result of the 2017 general election. The way in which the Labour Party at that time prioritised community organising, through paid posts, that taught local groups how to campaign, engage with, and support their communities, is a model we should be looking to replicate in Your Party. It was the foundation of our ability to organise so effectively in Worthing and win the council on a socialist programme, in a historically conservative town.It also taught us however that we must be bolder in our defence of socialism, be outward facing and not be afraid to challenge the smears of the right. We must position ourselves as on the side of the vast majority of the population, focused on redistributing wealth so that it is concentrated in the hands of workers, not shareholders and be brave enough to challenge the right wing media as custodians of the status quo.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?Absolutely brilliant! Just kidding... I share (I assume) everyone's frustration at how this historic opportunity has been turned into a public spat, undermining the huge interest and appetite for it to work. This is a once in a generation opportunity and it already hangs in the balance. The CEC elections give us the opportunity to leave the infighting behind and elect voices that are committed to unity and to building the party into a credible force, both electorally and as a vehicle for community organising, political education and building power.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?We have to be outward facing and communicate our socialist vision in a way that connects with people - that is, a society where people are not competing for the very basic of living standards, but are entitled to decent housing, a real living wage, a social security system that works, universal healthcare, food on the table, warmth in their homes, a natural environment that is looked after and protected, and time to spend with loved ones. We cannot fight the right, if we are too busy fighting ourselves. We must find a way to unite the subtle differences in our ways of organising and develop a shared vision that we can take into our communities and organise for change.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?Conference voted in support of dual membership and so it's vital this is upheld. We are not currently in a position to ask people to abandon their political affiliations whilst we establish ourselves and I therefore support an open door policy for all socialists at this time. I do believe that to form a cohesive political party that can face outwards and win however, requires everyone to sign up to a shared vision for change. Therefore after branch structures and that vision has been established, I would like to see a review and invite other parties to fold into YP - this would of course have to be put to the CEC and ultimately, I believe be decided on by the membership at conference.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?I would like to see the CEC prioritise the recognition of proto-branches from day one, including how to legally distribute data and funds to branches. Branches should have decision making powers over how they spend their funds and decide their organising strategy to suit their local challenges and needs, as long as it is in line with the overarching vision of Your Party.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?I believe we need to rethink the relationship between political parties of the Left and trade unions. Anyone that has attended a Labour Party conference will have been frustrated by the will of the membership being overridden by trade union bloc voting, this is why one member, one vote is so important. We need rank and file trade unionists at the heart of our movement however, and I would like to see us work closely with grassroots, member-led unions such as United Voices of the World. I am currently working with my own trade union, the Bakers Food and Allied Workers union, on a national project around collective representation for community food staff and volunteers - it is this type of collaborative and innovative work that Your Party can pioneer to reinvigorate trade unionism in our workplaces.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Community campaigning is at the heart of what I do as an organiser and is what led us to such great electoral success in Worthing as socialists. Whilst in opposition locally, we were responding to the needs of the community by setting up foodbanks, community hubs, uniform exchanges and other things people would tell us they were struggling with. When people start to see the link between community and political activism, they start to build trust in those delivering it. I am excited by the prospect of the Community Organising Units as set out in the founding documents and believe these will be vital in building bases locally.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?We need to be explicit about our socialist principles and vision, communicating them in a way that connects with people, and creates an accessible picture of what socialism means in practice. As Chair of Momentum, I often appeared on television and radio to put forward the argument for socialism and believe we need confident communicators that are able and willing to do this.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?We should be explicit in our condemnation of the far right and clear that the likes of Nigel Farage and Reform are intent on using racism and hatred to divide our communities, in order to turn people's heads away from the true reasons for the rampant inequality in this country. We must also be willing to have difficult conversations with those looking to Reform as an alternative however. This is something I see every day in my job as a Community Development worker - people are angry, want someone to blame and want radical change. We need to have the tough conversations that allow people to see how that can be achieved through rebuilding our communities in a way that everyone can benefit, not in a way that pits people against each other.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Socialism prioritises democratic control, collective provision, and human need over private profit, particularly in essential services such as healthcare, housing, education, energy, and transport. Capitalism is organised around profit and private ownership and produces inequality and concentrated power in the hands of a few. I believe Your Party should aim to move beyond capitalism by democratically expanding public and cooperative ownership and strengthening workers’ rights so the economy serves the majority of people, rather than the majority serving the few.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PolicePolicing in this country has repeatedly failed ethnic minorities, women and girls, and recently, those exercising their right to peaceful protest. The institution of the police is rife with discrimination, abuse of power, and a lack of meaningful accountability. That does not mean every person within the institution is a reflection of that however, and I witnessed this first hand last year, when a member of my family was tragically killed. My family were shown compassion, support and dedication to seek justice - this is the model we should aspire to. Your Party should therefore should commit to deep structural reform: strengthening democratic oversight, ending discriminatory practices, protecting the right to protest, and shifting resources towards prevention, social services, and community-based approaches to safety rather than relying on punitive enforcement.

PatriotismPatriotism for me, should not be about blind loyalty to one nation state, but a commitment to making the place that you happen to live, a fair and just society. I am the child of Irish and Canadian immigrants, born and raised in Britain. I am proud of my heritage but also committed to fighting for social justice and equality in the country I call home.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismMy grandfather was a Canadian veteran in World War Two, who fought for peace, and I believe that should be the primary goal of all world leaders. The British military has a history of serving imperial interests that harm civilians and entrench global inequality, we need to reflect on that and chart a different course. We live in a dangerous world, with a U.S. president that seems hell bent on leading us into global conflict. We must oppose imperialism and fight for self-determination, prioritising peace over force.I oppose Zionism as a political ideology that has enabled the displacement and oppression of Palestinians. I, along with other community independent councillors in Worthing, are part of the Worthing Coalition for Palestine which organised weekly demos over the Summer and continues to campaign for the liberation of the Palestinian people, an end to Britain's armament of Israel and advocate for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workTrans rights are human rights. Everyone should be able to live safely, without fear of discrimination or violence. Abortion is a fundamental healthcare issue and all women should have complete autonomy over their own bodies. I believe sex work should be decriminalised and protected through unionisation and labour rights.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceAs the proud daughter of an Irish republican, socialist mother, I strongly support a united Ireland, and spoke at Your Party conference on this issue. I do not believe that Your Party should organise on the island of Ireland, we should recognise it as an occupied territory. I also support Scottish and Welsh independence, recognising the right of nations and peoples to self-determination.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Zaid Marham

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I’m involved in the Communist Corresponding Society, a Marxist discussion group (not affiliated to any party) which meets regularly in Oxford. As its website says:We draw on multiple strands of Marxist and leftist thinking, and we aren’t always in a rush to nail down definitive answers. At a time when the perspectives for socialist change seem unclear and debatable, the CCS seeks to encourage discussion, analysis, self-education, and self-clarification.I have no other organisational affiliation or membership.

If you have been in a public-facing or high-profile/national role on the left before, what motivates you to run for this role? If you have not had a high-profile role like this before, what concrete organising have you done on the left before and what do you hope to do on the CEC?I have been active on the left since I was a teenager. I was involved in CND from 1979 onwards, in building solidarity with the miners strike in the mid 1980s, and in the movement against the first Gulf War in 1991. I helped set up the Oxford Stop the War Coalition in 1999 when NATO bombed Yugoslavia, and I was convenor of it for a number of years around the time of the Iraq war. I helped organise numerous meetings, protests, transport to national demonstrations, and so on.I joined the Labour Party when Corbyn became leader and left soon after he resigned. During that time I was a parliamentary candidate for Corbyn’s Labour in 2019 and did a stint as Chair of my local Labour Party branch. I briefly joined the WPB [note: Workers Party of Britain] and was a parliamentary candidate in 2024.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?Proletarian background, proletarian consciousness, son of poor immigrants. My father was a postman, I went to a state school, then university, then I did a masters degree. Currently I do private tuition in A-level maths.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?There are many lessons but one I never see discussed is that Momentum – the main organisation promoting Corbyn during that time – endorsed Rayner for Labour deputy, and a quarter of its members voted Starmer for leader. After four years of Corbynism, the political consciousness of its supporters seemed not to have advanced one jot. We also saw in 2018-19 how people were seduced so easily by the Stop Brexit crowd.This shows the need for basic political education – not to tell comrades what to think, but to equip them with the political skills and acumen to make reasonable judgements and not be misled by charlatans. It also puts mantras like ‘maximum democracy’ into context. Democracy is desirable but glib slogans are not the panacea they are portrayed as.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?It hasn’t been great. The enthusiasm of the summer has largely been dissipated. Month after month of briefing, backstabbing, rival membership portals, and entirely avoidable mistakes meant that the days we were around 15% in the polls have long gone.No side has come out of it looking good. Despite the best of intentions, Corbyn has a Labour Party background. So does Sultana, and many other leading members – so they literally know no other way. Despite all the fine words, democratic politics does not come easily to them. Many members also tend to pick their side and support them like a football team. This culture needs to change.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?It may be too late, although I hope not.The main thing that makes Your Party potentially different is Corbyn’s involvement – hundreds of thousands of people signed up in summer because they remember it wasn’t just a dream; he really did get millions of votes in 2017 and 2019. His campaign inspired mass numbers of people to believe things really could change.I believe Corbyn has got a lot wrong and I am in favour of more democracy rather than less. However, people have been imploring him to set up a party for years. Now he’s done it, comrades need to get a grip. The quickest way of destroying everything would be to have a free for all in the name of ‘maximum democracy’ in which he and his team feel under siege.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I have no problem with members of other socialist parties and organisations being in Your Party, including rs21 and the SWP. I welcome their contributions. However, there have to be reasonable conditions. One obvious thing is that they shouldn’t be able to stand against Your Party candidates in elections and still be members (this would rule out the Greens). Oher rules may be desirable, too, and there may be some grey areas where it is difficult to draw the line. Hopefully, the CEC can work out a set of reasonable conditions that allow good faith participation.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?It is a non-issue. When I was in Momentum, I noticed that every time there was a leadership election, the opposition always needed to find things to complain about and campaign on (there were never any actual real differences). So they always used to manufacture some imagined injustice in e.g. the relationship between the centre and the branches, or London and the regions, etc. I’m sure they even believed it.It’s all meaningless froth. In practice, the branches will eventually get membership data, they will be as autonomous as they want to be, they will be able to put on the events and activities they want to put on, they will be able to raise funds as they wish. The composition of the CEC will make no difference.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?Those members of Your Party who are members of trades unions can build support for Your Party among other members of those unions

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Those members of Your Party who are members of community groups can build support for Your Party among other members of those community groups.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?I don’t agree with that framing of the question. The key thing is not ‘broad church or explicit socialism’ but ‘serious explanations or infantile slogans’. We have to learn to speak to people in a language they understand and in a way which is not condescending. We saw masterclasses in this many times from Corbyn during the period 2015 to 2019. An excellent example was the radio programme and the Question Time special when he was grilled on whether he’d be prepared to use nuclear weapons. He didn’t come out with some stupid ‘I’m proudly anti-nuclear’ guff. He patiently explained the point over and over again. And he ended up getting millions of votes. That should be our model.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?Another important question. The situation is serious. I wish I knew the answer!Justified discontent with the current social order makes people look for an alternative. The far-right presents itself, falsely, as the alternative that will make their lives better. Somehow, we have to find a way of making our alternative seem more appealing.I suspect a big part of the answer is not to insult the ordinary people who get swept up in these groups. And to focus on class politics and building alliances. I also suspect it would be a mistake to present these groups as uniquely beyond the pale compared to the mainstream parties, as that would just cement us in the eyes of their potential recruits as being part of the establishment.I confess to not being an expert on this so I’m open to having my mind changed.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?For me, socialism is a classless society, with no coercive state, in which production is for human need rather than profit. This is clearly quite distinct from capitalism which is the opposite on all points.I do think Your Party should aim to replace capitalism with socialism but how we get there and over what time scale are open questions. For the next election I would be happy with a manifesto which curtailed the worst excesses of capitalism and either made progress towards socialism or brought about conditions which made future progress possible.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PolicePatriotismBritish military, imperialism, and ZionismTrans liberation, abortion, and sex workA united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceOf those, imperialism is the only red line for me as it subjugates most of humanity.On the others I think a range of views is acceptable within Your Party. We need to keep in mind how an obsession with the EU and stopping Brexit on some parts of the left led to Johnson defeating Corbyn in 2019 and directly to the situation we are in now. And it didn’t even stop Brexit! We need to avoid getting sucked into such culture wars on other issues.United Ireland, Scottish independence, and Welsh independence should be up to the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh people respectively.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Jonathan Osako

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I am standing as an independent candidate under No Factions, No Slates. I am a member of the NEU and do not hold memberships in any other organisations.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I am an immigrant, did not attend school in the UK, and moved here for university. I work as a humanities and computer science teacher and I rent privately with a friend.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?Corbyn’s leadership suffered from weak advisers unable to counter media attacks. Future left projects must ensure leaders have strategic teams that can protect and amplify their message.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?Your Party should act as a federated space for the left, celebrating plurality and diversity rather than mimicking other parties. This approach can unify fragmented left voices instead of repeating the failures of past initiatives.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?The party launched with strong momentum, but the founder should have taken a more active role in building foundational structures before allowing democratic changes. This scaffolding would better support member-led growth.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I would initiate a member consultation on dual membership, compile a list of potential parties, and liaise with their leadership to ensure recognition before approval.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?I support a federal structure with local freedom over issues, organisation, and branch structure. Around 50% of funding should go to branches, with flexibility for additional support. Branches should manage only their own membership data via designated custodians.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?Nationally, Your Party should seek trade union affiliation, while local branches should retain the freedom to engage with rank-and-file union branches directly.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Your Party should form alliances with national campaigns like Stop Digi-ID and Palestine Solidarity Campaign, while allowing branches autonomy to partner with local initiatives.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?Social media and radio should be central. Messaging should balance a broad appeal in swing areas with radical voices in student-heavy and inner-city communities, allowing branches to tailor communication locally.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?Your Party should confront the far right through local engagement, community alliances, and public campaigns exposing their influence, while offering positive socialist alternatives and building itself as a nationally recognised electoral force.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Socialism should ensure democratic control over key infrastructure, workplace accountability, and public ownership, distinct from capitalism’s corporate dominance. The party should aim to replace capitalism while respecting diverse socialist perspectives.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PolicePolice must be publicly accountable and drawn from the communities they serve.

PatriotismPatriotism is acceptable if inclusive; Britain’s history includes contributions from ethnic minorities and migrant communities.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismI oppose Zionism and Israeli state actions; Britain should impose economic sanctions on Israel. NATO commitments should not prioritize military spending over public welfare, and Britain should adopt a neutral stance.

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workTransgender people, like anyone else, should have their needs fully met.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceIrish unification requires consent from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, with minority protections for Protestants. Wales should hold a referendum on independence before any change.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Ian Driver

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?Apart from membership of YP I have no other current political affiliations. I am a paying supporter of Republic, Liberty, Unlock Democracy and the Electoral Reform Society. I am also a member of the National Union of Journalists.

If you have been in a public-facing or high-profile/national role on the left before, what motivates you to run for this role? If you have not had a high-profile role like this before, what concrete organising have you done on the left before and what do you hope to do on the CEC?I am standing because I wish to help to establish a democratically structured, mass membership socialist party which will replace Labour and ultimately become a party of government. I have had previous high profile roles on the left including
Currently
Elected member of Liberty Policy Council.
Elected member of Unlock Democracy CouncilPreviously
Local Government councillor 1990-8 (Labour), 2011-15 (Green)
Parliamentary Candidate Green Party 2015
Elected member of my trade union (NUPE now Unison) National Executive Committee.If elected I will work hard to support YP branches, regional structures and members in the southeast and represent them on the CEC to the best of my abilities. I will also be a spokesperson for the YP in the south east and raise its profile as a political force in the region.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?Working class. State school educated. Home owner.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?The Labour Party is no longer a home for socialists. Its time to build a new socialist party.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?Every political party has problems from time to time. YP is no exception. We must draw under these matters and unite in building the party, replacing Labour ending capitalism.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?By developing strong community roots and engaging in campaigns and direct actions at local, regional and national level. We also need to develop a strong working relationship with the Greens

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?I support in principle branch and regional autonomy.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?Working YP members should be encouraged to become trade union members, activist, and elected officials. YP locally regionally and nationally should support industrial action. Locally regionally and nationally there must be trade union liaison structures within YP

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?YP should develop deep community roots and lead and/ or support campaigns against public service cuts and closures, environmental issues, racism and opposition to extreme right groups. Nationally we should work with organisation such as Republic, Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Matter, Unlock Democracy etc.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?No truck with right wing media GB News, Sun, Mail etc . Our dealings with the media should be unashamedly socialist and challenge the capitalist status quo

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?Opposition, criticism and taking direct action when necessary.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?A fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of wealth power from the rich and powerful to those who have not

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceGreater oversight more accountability and more representative of the communities the police serve. Zero tolerance of racism misogyny and homophobia.

PatriotismA “modern patriotism” by abolishing monarchy, having a written constitution and telling the truth about our bloody racist imperialist history in our schools

British military, imperialism, and ZionismI oppose imperialism and Zionism and the purpose of our military should become peaceful and for self defence only

Trans liberation, pro-abortion, and sex workI support all but with the caveat that YP women and trans members are encouraged and supported to take the lead on developing policy on these issues.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceI support all

South East CEC Questionnaire

Max Shanly

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I am a member of Your Party & the Stop the War Coalition. I am an organiser with, and sit on the executive committee of, the Democratic Socialists of Your Party.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I am unemployed owing to disability. I have a chronic mental health condition (Bipolar Disorder Type 1) which prevents me from working. I exclusively attended state schools; I own no property and owing to ill-health live with my parents.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?The failure to democratise the party led to an inability for us to effectively express socialist politics and led to the centralisation of power in the hands of the unaccountable few. The entire dynamic whereby the leadership were accountable to the membership was turned on its head; and the instincts of those with an overwhelmingly parliamentary focused mentality reigned supreme, with politics as a secondary concern.We shouldn’t try to hide the fact of who we are. We’re socialists, we want to see an end to capitalism and a new society to be built under the democratic control of the working class. No amount of cosplaying as “respectable” will convince the capitalist media to support us, nor will it win us any less criticism from our opponents. It’s up to us to define the political agenda, to develop a programme of theory & action that can transform our society and liberate millions of people from market forces.That requires us to be a party that stands in elections, but isn’t defined by them; one that puts equal weight in building popular power from below beyond the electoral cycle as it does electioneering, building a ‘state within the state’ that can act as an alternative political authority to the one that exists today. This will take time, time we did not have between 2015 to 2019, but time that is absolutely required.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?In a word - dreadfully. The membership have been treated with contempt by the unelected leadership. Hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent on a founding conference where ‘delegates’ were unable to cast a single vote. It made a mockery of democracy.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?The first thing that differentiates Your Party from other recent left projects and parties is that it has an explicitly mass orientation. Too many previous initiatives on the left have been conceived either as electoral pressure groups, as alliances of already-existing activists, or as moral statements rather than serious attempts to organise millions of working-class people into a durable political force.Left Unity, Transform and similar projects never resolved the tension between being a coalition of tendencies and being a party with strategic coherence; Respect and TUSC, in different ways, substituted episodic electoral interventions for sustained base-building; Enough is Enough mobilised large numbers but consciously refused the question of democratic structure or political direction; and the Greens, particularly under Polanski, demonstrate the dead-end of professionalised, NGO-style politics that seeks accommodation with existing power rather than confrontation with it.Where previous projects either fell into incoherence or ossified into top-down vehicles for a narrow leadership layer, Your Party must build structures that are democratic, transparent and genuinely controlling of the party’s direction. We cannot repeat the error of imagining that avoiding ideological sharpness is the route to growth. The lesson of these failed or limited projects is that without a clear socialist programme, an accountable leadership, and a long-term strategy oriented towards building counter-power, even the most promising initiatives either disintegrate or are absorbed by the political establishment. If Your Party is to succeed where others have failed, it must be honest about the scale of the task and serious about constructing an organisation capable of meeting it.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I oppose dual membership bans and the logic behind them. The fragmentation of the British left is a historical fact, not a disciplinary problem to be managed through exclusion or witch-hunting. Members of other left organisations should be welcomed on the basis of their commitment to building Your Party and abiding by our democratic decisions. Political coherence is built through debate and collective decision-making, not through top-down proscriptions that substitute bureaucratic control for political authority.If Your Party is serious about becoming a pole of attraction for the socialist left, it cannot afford to drive away experienced organisers. A confident, democratic party has nothing to fear from pluralism; an insecure leadership does.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?Branches should have a high degree of autonomy over funds, data, and political and organisational activity, such that they can become centres of initiative, experimentation and political leadership in their own right.That requires concrete material support. Branches should receive a substantial share of membership income (at least 50%) with full autonomy over spending, and elected branch committees must have access to complete membership data in their area in order to organise effectively. Central structures should exist to enable, coordinate and support this work, not to hoard resources or police political activity.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?Your Party’s relationship with the trade union movement must be built from the bottom up, not confined to national-level affiliations or relationships between full-time officials. While national affiliations can play a role, the real engine of a socialist party’s influence in the labour movement is an organised, politicised rank and file rooted in workplaces and sectors. The task of the party should be to support members who are already trade unionists to organise, coordinate and develop political confidence, rather than treating unions as external partners to be lobbied.On the CEC, I would establish a Rank-and-File Workers’ Movement Commission to develop strategy and coordination across unions and industries. Such structures must be accountable to the membership and oriented towards building independent working-class power, not simply reproducing the priorities of existing union leaderships.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Branches must be empowered to work alongside existing local and national campaigns, on housing, anti-racism, disability justice, climate, public services and anti-war organising, as reliable partners rooted in shared struggle, with the autonomy and resources to build durable relationships in their communities.At a national level, the party’s role should be to facilitate coordination, political education and solidarity between campaigns, helping to generalise lessons and connect local struggles into a wider socialist project.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?Your Party should be explicit about its socialist politics and principles and abandon the illusion that caution or triangulation will win it a fair hearing from a hostile media environment. The experience of the Corbyn years demonstrated conclusively that attempting to appease the capitalist press neither reduces attacks nor broadens support; it simply blurs political purpose and demobilises the base. The goal should be to develop a disciplined but plural media operation that empowers branches and members to speak politically, rather than concentrating all messaging in the hands of a small, risk-averse leadership. A party that knows what it stands for can afford to be bold; a party that doesn’t will always end up trying, and failing, to please everyone.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?We must adopt a twin approach: uncompromising opposition to fascist and far-right mobilisation wherever it appears, combined with patient, rooted organising in the communities they seek to influence. Your Party should work closely with trade unionists, anti-racist organisations and community groups to deny the far right space to organise, while refusing the liberal tendency to conflate far-right activity with legitimate dissent or to rely on policing as the primary response. The most effective antidote to the far right is a confident, visible socialist movement that speaks plainly about class, power and exploitation and is capable of winning people away from reaction through collective struggle, not fear or managerialism.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Socialism is a fundamentally different social system to capitalism. It entails replacing an economy organised around private ownership, profit and market compulsion with one organised around democratic control, social need and collective planning. Capitalism is structurally incapable of delivering equality, democracy or ecological sustainability; while reforms can mitigate harm, they cannot resolve its underlying contradictions. Your Party should therefore be explicit that its goal is the abolition of capitalism and its replacement with socialism, understood as the democratic control of key sections of the economy by the people who work in them and depend upon them, and the organisation of society around human need rather than profit.This project also requires a thorough democratisation of political power. Institutions such as the monarchy, the House of Lords and the First Past the Post electoral system to insulate the state from popular control and must be abolished. Your Party should only participate in national government on the basis of a socialist programme actively supported by a majority of the population. In short, socialism must be the conscious, democratic project of an organised working-class majority, committed to equality and liberation for all.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceI am opposed to treating the police as a neutral or progressive institution. Policing under capitalism functions to protect property relations, and disproportionately targets working-class, racialised and marginalised communities. While socialists must defend people from harm, Your Party should orient towards decarceration, community self-organisation, and the long-term replacement of coercive policing with democratic, social forms of public safety.

PatriotismI am opposed to nationalism, which is routinely used to obscure class interests and legitimise exploitation and imperialism. Echoing August Bebel's view, true patriotism aligns with internationalism by prioritising solidarity with all humanity and socialist aims over narrow national loyalty that harms others — thus, our loyalty should be to the international working class, not the British state. That said, socialists must be capable of speaking to people’s lived attachments and collective histories without endorsing chauvinism or myths of national unity.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismI am firmly opposed to British imperialism and militarism, and support the dismantling of the UK’s role as an imperial power. I oppose Zionism as a political ideology rooted in settler-colonialism and support Palestinian liberation. Your Party should be anti-imperialist in practice, demanding a break of all relations with Israel, opposing wars, arms sales, NATO expansion, and all forms of colonial domination.

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workI am unequivocally in favour of trans liberation, full reproductive autonomy including unrestricted access to abortion, and the decriminalisation of sex work. These are not “culture war” issues but questions of bodily autonomy, class power and freedom from state coercion. A socialist party must defend the right of people to control their own bodies and lives.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceI support the right of self-determination for oppressed nations. Your Party should demand the liberation of the Occupied Six Counties and the right of the Scottish and Welsh people to determine whether to break from the British state at their own prerogative.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Maysa Farah

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I am not currently a member of any other political party. My background includes professional work in healthcare and community-facing roles, alongside grassroots involvement with migrant, women-led and wellbeing initiatives. My organising experience is grounded in lived reality rather than formal factional alignment.

How would you describe your class position?I was educated in state and faith schools in Sudan and attended university in the UAE. I previously worked as a professional and built financial independence before moving to the UK.Following separation, migration restrictions, homelessness and reliance on Universal Credit, I am now a single mother living in social housing. My class position has shifted sharply, giving me direct experience of both professional stability and working-class precarity under the UK system.

What are the main lessons from the 2015–19 Corbyn project?The Corbyn period showed the scale of public support for anti-austerity politics and public ownership. However, it also demonstrated the dangers of weak internal organisation, unclear communication and vulnerability to hostile media.The lesson is that transformative policies must be matched with disciplined structures, credible leadership and clear messaging that can withstand institutional resistance.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (launch, conference, etc.)?The party’s political principles are strong, but its delivery must mature quickly. Organisation, accessibility and communication need greater clarity and professionalism.To grow beyond activist spaces, the party must combine political seriousness with modern tools — clear visuals, accessible language and reliable systems — so members feel confident, informed and included.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?Your Party must be rooted in ethics, evidence and organisation. Many previous left projects failed due to fragmentation, internal conflict and unclear strategy.Our difference should be discipline over chaos, clarity over slogans, and credibility over noise — delivering socialism as a serious alternative capable of governing, not merely protesting.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I am cautious about dual membership. While broad engagement is important, competing organisational loyalties can undermine accountability and clarity.Your Party should welcome people from all backgrounds, but decision-making must be transparent and rooted in commitment to this party’s democratic structures and programme.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?I support disciplined autonomy.Branches should have freedom to organise locally and engage their communities in ways that reflect local needs, while national political direction, data security and core principles remain unified.Autonomy should empower creativity — not produce fragmentation.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?The relationship with trade unions must be active, not symbolic. This includes:Supporting rank-and-file struggles on pay, conditions and workplace dignityBuilding trust through presence at disputes and campaignsDeveloping policy grounded in workers’ lived realitiesThe party should act as a political extension of organised labour, not a distant observer.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Community campaigns are where politics becomes real. The party must embed itself in housing struggles, disability justice, migrant support, anti-poverty and local service campaigns.This requires listening before leading, supporting existing grassroots work, and ensuring community organising feeds directly into party policy and representation.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?Your Party must combine political clarity with accessible communication.We should not dilute our socialist principles, but we must explain them in language ordinary people recognise — focused on everyday life: bills, housing, care and security.Professional discipline, consistency and calm messaging are essential when facing a hostile media environment.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?The far-right thrives on despair, misinformation and abandonment.The most effective strategy is to tackle the material conditions that feed it — poverty, housing insecurity and collapsing public services — while firmly opposing racism, scapegoating and conspiracy politics.We defeat the far-right by offering hope grounded in justice, not fear.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Socialism means organising society around human need rather than private profit.Unlike capitalism — which concentrates wealth and power — socialism prioritises democratic ownership, strong public services and collective wellbeing.Your Party should aim to replace capitalism with a democratic socialist system rooted in equality, accountability and dignity.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceI support community safety but oppose the expansion of punitive policing. Public safety should prioritise prevention, accountability, and investment in housing, youth services, mental health and social care rather than criminalisation.

PatriotismI support a civic, inclusive patriotism rooted in care, solidarity and the public good — not nationalism, exclusion or racial hierarchy.

British military, imperialism and ZionismI oppose imperialism, occupation and colonial violence in all forms. I support international law, Palestinian human rights, and an ethical foreign policy that rejects militarism and arms profiteering.

Trans liberation, abortion and sex workI fully support bodily autonomy and human dignity. Trans rights are human rights. Abortion must remain safe, legal and accessible. Sex workers deserve decriminalisation, protection and labour rights.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceI support the right of nations to self-determination, including a united Ireland and the democratic right of Scotland and Wales to choose their constitutional future.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Barbara Duke

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I am a member of the Bolshevik Caucus inside Your Party, in sympathy with the politics of the International Bolshevik Tendency, which I have supported for decades. I’m on the editorial board of its journal 1917. I am a member of Unite GPMIT and active in my workplace branch. I was in Arthur Scargill’s SLP for a couple of years in the 1990s and the Labour Party from 2016 to 2021.

If you have been in a public-facing or high-profile/national role on the left before, what motivates you to run for this role? If you have not had a high-profile role like this before, what concrete organising have you done on the left before and what do you hope to do on the CEC?I have not had a high profile role, but I have done a lot of organising both in political groups with a shared programme and in broad campaigns bringing together people of many views around shared concrete aims (eg, against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, for political prisoners, abortion rights, anti-war and the anti-fascist movement in Oxford and nationally). I know how to figure out what needs to be done and work with the right people to make it happen.Both types of organising will be necessary in Your Party. The CEC needs to empower and resource the branches to respond to local issues and develop electoral strategies, listen to feedback from branches to determine national priorities, provide forums for members to work together nationally, encourage political debate and discussion at all levels, and organise democratic representation and a sovereign conference. I firmly believe that the day-to-day issues we organise around must be connected to the aim of replacing capitalism with socialism.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I attended state school and university in New Zealand before moving to Britain in my 20s. I own a house (with mortgage!) where I brought up two children (now young adults). I work full time as an employee and apart from my house and pension I own no land or means of production. I therefore consider myself working class, dependent on my labour to survive – a much broader category than many people think, in fact we are the majority.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?Socialism cannot be achieved via the Labour Party, which Corbyn clung to for far too long and appeased the right wing in order to retain the ‘broad church’. We need a party that breaks with social democracy and organises for what we actually need, not what is achievable under capitalism.Socialism cannot be achieved via parliament. The ruling class did not want Corbyn as prime minister and mobilised all the resources of the capitalist state to stop him – the smear campaigns, the equating of anti-Zionism and support for Palestine with antisemitism, the veiled threats that people high up in the armed forces were unhappy, the recruitment of the press and even sections of the Labour Party to work for his electoral defeat. Think what will happen if Your Party makes progress with a more radical programme! We need to be prepared to defend ourselves.I gave a talk about this in 2021, which stands up pretty well today. Text and audio are available here: The Corbyn Project: A case study in social democracy.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?The launch was badly mishandled and years behind when it should have been but it proved that hundreds of thousands of people want a new left-wing party – many of whom started organising for Your Party, building proto-branches and caucuses, campaigning and discussing. Since then, the pace of establishing the party has been glacial, meaning that everything has been led by a small group of unelected (and largely unnamed) people. The conference provided a facade of democracy but within carefully limited boundaries. Incredibly, the Members Oversight Committee that was supposed to provide, well, members oversight is only now being established, nearly two months on and well into the CEC election process. I hope the new CEC will be able to change all this.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?Most importantly, there is a class line to draw. Your Party is a working-class party, the Greens are not. Some of those other projects failed to adequately draw that class line. We should collaborate with all kinds of people around concrete issues but strategically we must organise separately from capitalist parties. Being seen as an adjunct to the Greens would be a disaster. Whenever we see them in power at a local level, they default to managing the capitalist status quo.Some of these projects can be characterised as small left groups trying to attract the masses by pretending to be less radical than they actually are, and they have no real social base. The result is both a muddying of political ideas and no traction in the working class. Your Party comes out of real movements, primarily the mass influx into and then out of Labour in the late 2010s and the movement in defence of Palestine over the last couple of years. It is also picking up trade unionists, youth and student movements and anti-racism campaigns.We need to unite all of these into a mass party of and for the working class.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?And therefore … this united party must have no exclusions of socialists, no bans on dual membership, which creates a poisonous atmosphere and dishonesty about political views.We need clarity of political ideas. Your Party members should be allowed to organise in factions/caucuses based on political agreement and to argue for their politics within the party. Policy and political ideas should be debated at all levels of the party. Perhaps some people coming in as the SWP faction might find they actually agree with the RS21 faction or The Many!The Greens, as a capitalist party, are a different story. I am not for chasing down individuals who are as yet undecided where their loyalties lie, but we must be very clear that the politics of the Greens is not socialist, not aligned with our aims. Capitalism is the main threat to the environment.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?A lot! Obviously there will be conference decisions that the branches should adhere to and some things are more efficient when done centrally, but branches are where we interact with local communities, trade unions, schools and workplaces. Branches should be setting their own priorities and highlighting the issues they see to the national party as the same concerns will often also apply elsewhere. Branches must have access to membership lists immediately – for too long those organising locally have not been able to contact all YP members in their area. And they must be properly funded. Some people are calling for 50% of membership fees, which makes a lot of sense, but small branches or those in poorer areas will need more funds per head.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?We should be building Your Party caucuses in the trade union at the national and local level. Local groups should look out for workplaces and industries where they have several members and focus on those, to recruit new members, to gain support for national campaigns and to fight for improvements in wages and conditions that will raise the general level of class struggle.We should call on the trade unions to disaffiliate from Labour and form a relationship with Your Party, but the union leaders should not wield bloc votes.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?By forming alliances, but also taking a lead. We should not just join existing campaigns but build our own, based on our own priorities, to bring in wider forces. Examples might be alliances around housing, immigration, trans rights, Palestine and support for political prisoners, opposition to the anti-union laws, against the far right, and much more.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?We should be honest about what we stand for. Hiding it will get us nowhere. We are the largest socialist party in the country and we should be proud of that.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?Outnumber them. Mass defence against far right street mobilisations and racist violence, especially mobilising the trade unions.In campaigning for better living standards for all, more resources to communities and collective struggle, we also undermine the appeal of the far right to those who feel shut off and ill treated by society. Fascism and the far right gain strength when the capitalist class calls on them to back up its rule. We best counter that with a powerful workers’ movement and a powerful workers’ party.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Yes, definitely! Socialism, peace and justice, protecting the environment, equal rights for all – none of these things can be secure under capitalism. For me, socialism is the rule of the working class, those whose labour produces the wealth of society, in the interests of all. This means collective ownership of the means of production and a planned economy to produce and distribute resources for all, while maintaining the planet we live and depend on. It also means internationalism – supporting the workers’ movement in other countries, particularly those exploited by British imperialism, and replacing capitalism everywhere.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceThe police are the armed force of the capitalist state, and their primary objective is to defend capitalist property. They break up our picket lines, attack our demonstrations and protect the far right. They do not belong in the party or the trade union movement.

PatriotismThe British state is not our friend. We have more in common with workers around the world than we do with our ‘own’ ruling class. We can be proud of the traditions of our workers’ movement but the best of those traditions involve international solidarity. Patriotism is harnessed by the state and the far right for reactionary ends. The monarchy is an important part of this and should be abolished.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismThe army is also the armed force of the capitalist state, mobilised abroad (and at home) in the interests of British imperialism. Imperialism is the world system in which rich capitalist countries extract wealth from poorer countries, through financial and military means. I do not believe that a capitalist Britain outside of NATO would be any less imperialist. We should oppose all imperialist aggression and side with its victims but our main task is working for the defeat of our ‘own’ imperialists. This is most effectively done via the trade unions, striking and blockading, preventing manufacture and transportation of weapons to Israel, Ukraine and anywhere else they will be used to further imperialist aims. Your Party, with thousands of trade unionists, could play a big role in this.It is obvious that Your Party will side with the Palestinians against Israeli genocide, but Zionism will only be defeated with class-struggle solidarity – the unity of Palestinian, Jewish and all workers in the Middle East and internationally to overthrow capitalism in the region and recognise all national and human rights.

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workThe bigotry and hatred we see directed at trans people is astounding. This is one of the defining issues of our time, as gay rights and women’s rights have been in the past. It should be a priority for Your Party to stand for trans liberation in all aspects of life. This means the right to be the gender of your choice in the workplace and all public spaces, free hormones and other healthcare, and puberty blockers for youth who need them. We should fight to reverse the Supreme Court decision on ‘biological sex’ and roll back any attacks on trans rights.I call for free abortion on demand. No one should be forced to carry a pregnancy they do not want. This policy is missing from Your Party documents and discussion so far but it is an important principle we need to discuss.Sex workers should be unionised and part of the wider workers’ movement. We should work towards a world where any sexual activity is a matter of personal choice, not enforced through violence, coercion or economic necessity.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceWorkers in England, Scotland, Wales and the North of Ireland are oppressed by the same state and should unite in common struggle, alongside workers in the South, also oppressed by British imperialism. Your Party should work to build these alliances wherever possible. Whether Scotland and Wales are independent countries should be up to the people there to decide.In the North of Ireland two national groups compete for the same territory, a struggle distorted by the British and Irish capitalist states on either side. A united Ireland that is simply incorporation into the current capitalist state in the South will solve nothing – as always any solution lies in united class struggle. As an absolute prerequisite, Your Party must work for troops out (the British state out of the North of Ireland), leaving the people of Ireland to determine their own future.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Ed Pope

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I was a member of Labour Party from 2016 to 2025 and I left specifically to join Your Party. Never been a member of any Leninist or Marxist group, or Green party though I voted and leafletted for them sometimes. Was in Solidarity a left libertarian group in the 1970s. No other current memberships.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?My father thought he was upper middle class, he had some upper class relations but was an ineffective family business owner. He sent me and my brother unwillingly to "public school" which we hated. I never had a career but lived on unskilled or self-taught labour that was called employment or self-employment at the convenience of the tax authorities. I received some small inheritances and used them to work less. I am now retired and get state pension. I have rented, squatted, owned a house on a mortgage, sofa surfed, lived in an abandoned village, and now own outright a small house in Wales and a boat in Oxtord, and have never been a landlord. Income-wise I'm in the lowest decile. I have no partner or children.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?I joined Labour in 2016 not because of Corbyn but because he was elected leader by a clear majority of members but opposed by a clear majority of Labour MPs. I wanted to understand this better so felt I had to join. What the left in general is blind to is that Corbyn's near-success in 2017 general election was mostly due to former UKIP voters abandoned by Farage who resigned as leader after the Brexit vote. Another lesson is beware of groups like Momentum which was controlled top-down by Jon Lansman.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?Obviously a lot of potential support, particularly among younger people, was lost to the Green Party with the apparent Corbyn/Sultana spat and the election of Polanski as Green leader. I think there are still Lansman-style manipulators trying to run Your Party top-down but I think the rhetoric about being member-led has resulted in more genuine democracy than was ever seen in Labour or Momentum (and maybe other left groups but I can't speak from experience).

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?We have the advantage of starting with a few MPs, but Left Unity &c may have built possibilities that we can build on. Respect can be said to have led the way electorally. Failure cannot be applied to the current Green Party which is a success, and I see Your Party as a backstop on the Overton window, while Polanski is an active midfield player and Starmer is a defensive forward vainly appealing to the ref. Burnham the frustrated sub.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I think SWP are better in than out. They have a particular kind of energy, commitment and organisation which is an established force on the left. Dual membership with the Greens seems stupid to me. Despite the fact that I am in many ways closer to the Greens than the SWP. Your Party has the potential to absorb the old left, modifying its tone while accepting its value. I don't see why the SWP couldn't rename themselves Your Party Socialist Workers Caucus or something.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?I am pretty much an autonomist. Half of member dues as decided at conference seems wise. I think only local branches should decide what to do electorally. and only juries half from branch and half from region should be able to discipline members. Branches should and will take note of national strategy of course.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?These links are there, will grow, and are vital.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?These links are there, will grow, and are vital.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?Recruit from the same demographics the far-right do. Jury expulsions could deal with entrists. Football games between left and right?

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?I'm not an ist and I don't believe isms have more than a vague loose existence. All societies are a mix of solidarity, (collectives, goodwill, support) hierarchy (identity politics, IQ snobbery, wealth inequality) and exchange (money, fairness, democracy). Reduce the hierarchy and increase the solidarity.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceI'm 77 and have never been relieved to see the police arrive. but they are workers too. Ideally everybody should share police work.

PatriotismLike religion I'm not into patriotism but not against it either.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismWe benefit materially from imperial military power. Trying to live in a sustainable, locally self-sufficient economy and supporting refugees are my best responses to this privilege. Making global alliances with the oppressed is necessary, but we have to change the national culture and recruit from the military. Not easy and my viewpoint is weakest here.

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workAbortion and sex work I leave to women, I wouldn't pay for them myself unless maybe if I was begged to. I have some friends who are trans women and men, I have no criticism of them. But I've also met some feminists with reservations about trans and I'm inclined to just listen and say nowt.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceI'm an autonomist so sympathetic to independence. But that includes independence if they want it for the four? counties where Unionists still have a majority. Scots and Welsh can make up their own minds.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Christopher Hall

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?Former chair of Oxford Community Socialists. Botley Socialist Alliance Member and Your Party member. I’m also a local Parish Councillor.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I’m working class (although recently petty bourgeois as I tutor SEND students on a self-employed basis). I’m semi-retired. I’m incredibly fortunate to be a home owner. I was lucky enough to be able to pay off my mortgage when I left the classroom and took my teacher’s pension. I was educated at Twyham Comprehensive School, went to a state 6th form college (Brokenhurst College), and then I chose Oxford Polytechnic because I could get a modular degree. I got my PGCE at Oxford University.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?Several:
a) There is massive potential for a genuine mass left party - reference ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyhn’ at Glastonbury or the Labour membership figures under Corbyn.b) JC rightly commands vast public sympathy and can mobilise huge levels of support when dynamic and assertive.c) You can’t compromise with people who are out to #%@! you.d) You don’t go to the LFI [note: Labour Friends of Israel] (or any FoI) and expect to make peace.e) You can stand proudly as being anti-zionist and take on the task of educating the public that it’s OK to criticise a nation for its’ fascism. Clarity and steadfastness are required.f) Don’t go on TV with your glasses out of whack, looking like you’ve just come from the allotment when you’re up against a serving PM.g) When you’ve been royally #%@!ed, the time for dithering is over.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?It should have been a beautiful, joyful event that launched us triumphally onto the world stage. The founding conference should have been a beacon to the world, and I am mad as hell that this was taken from us. I blame arrogance, stupidity and immaturity - all leaders must take responsibility for the collective actions of themselves and their block. Apologies have ceased to cut it. My reflections on the founding conference are here.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?Our success will be dependent on the extent to which we embed ourselves in our class and build an actual mass party. We have to combine the urgency of the moment with the patience needed to consistently build sustainable relationships between ourselves and between ourselves and our base - be it the workplace, the union, the picket line, our communities, campaigns, or electorate.We must fight the class war wherever it can be fought and value each and every contribution. Our enemies pay for clicks and if that’s all someone can do we welcome it. Moralism about activism breeds pompous elitism. Our vision should be we want to become the political and organisational centre of the mesh of relationships we build.We fight elections:to fight for working class interests when we winto build and broaden relationships in the communityrecruit more comradesWe get a bigger platform for Socialist messaging

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I fully support the right to form tendencies and factions. I would welcome all socialist comrades into Your Party, but not as members of distinct political organisations. I do not believe you can serve the interests of a democratic centralist party’s central committee (e.g. SWP / SP) and the interests of Your Party. To be clear, I think the ideas and comrades of the left should be welcome - as individual members of YP only.I think that having members of the Green’s in YP is simply asking for electoral conflicts of interest. I am also a democrat.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?Branches and ‘central’ will both need adequate funds to ensure effectiveness. I don’t have a fixed position on the exact balance, but it needs to be equitable. Branches should follow national policies and where local circumstances necessitate deviation from a national line there should be open and transparent process that allow this. Branches should always be able to select and deselect their own candidates, and decide local implementation of national policies.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?We should seek union affiliation and to recruit rank and file membership. In fact YP should be encouraging it’s members to join unions. However, I am against the Block Vote.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?At all levels. While in all walks of life authority may run in one direction, importance runs in the other. I would facilitate national and local cooperation, encouraging and local leaders. I would encourage local self and cross organisation. We should support and seek to be in the forefront of campaigns. We have coincident existential crises:(1) We are facing a historic decline in our living standards.(2) The cause of the Palestine is the struggle for the ‘soul’ of humanity.(3) We are facing climate catastrophe, which could potentially blight the lives of billions and decimate vast sectors of our planet.Additionally, we must recognise the contribution that Feminism, the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and the struggle against racism has made to our movement. We must honor and build on this work, never ‘resting on our laurels’ thinking the work is done

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)We are Socialists. The time for shyness is over. Our job is to build relationships in our communities, work places and in the campaigns in which we participate. There is (and will be) massive appeal for a serious Left alternative and the policies and program that only we can bring. We are, afterall about human liberation, and we should stand up proudly and joyfully. There’s a lot we can learn from the Zak Polanski approach to media.We should be using our best minds and talent to promote us and our cause through all media through which we can be effective. We need to train our public representatives on how to deal with assertively and clearly with the media. Mick Lynch is a prime example.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?We have to get into our communities, we have to be a reliable presence and we have to educate people. I am fully in favour of denying fascists control of our streets with mass mobilisations, but the real work is stopping their ideas spreading. That means talking to ordinary people and being prepared to listen and empathise. For all their delusion and hateful ideology, working class supporters of (e.g. Reform) have a right to be pissed off. Their lives are not getting better any time soon.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?I couldn’t rewrite either the ‘Communist Manifesto’, any of the Capital volumes or Lenin’s ‘What is to be done?’ - however, I am a Marxist. I recognise the central contradiction between Labour and Capital. Either Capital will devour us or we absorb Capital into Labour and stop the destruction of our people and planet. Capitalism is about the extraction of surplus value in the endless pursuit of profit. Profit is the only way new value is created which makes it’s pursuit unstoppable under capitalism. (there is also money printing, but that devalues our money.)Socialism would take the means of production into the democratic control and ownership of the working class. (This is Socialisation rather than Nationalisation)

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceBetween now and establishing Socialism when we will not need a ‘traditional’ police force, we need a Police that serves the public rather than brutalise sections of our community and serve the interests of it’s imperialist masters. Any officer involved in detaining non-violent anti-Genocide protesters should be dishonorably discharged, from the top to the bottom. As a starting point, our Police should be locally and democratically accountable, as well as being responsible for the implementation of International Law.

PatriotismI am dead proud that when our aristocracy were arguing about whether we should be speaking French or Latin our peasantry did something revolutionary - they created a language almost completely devoid of gender assignment to objects. I’m dead proud of our inventiveness historically and our scientific and intellectual progress. I am also deeply disgusted by our colonial and imperial past, and the treatment of our poor and working class through our history.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismAt one point the British Empire spanned some 25% of the Earth's surface. There have been crimes against humanity, massacres and the massive stealing of resources. I am in favour of our ruling class paying reparations.Since 1948 it has been (was) illegal to acquire territory by conquest and I fully support that. I completely oppose any and all imperialist misadventures (e.g.) Afganistan, Iraq and Iran.Our military budget needs massive scaling back. Putin is a threat only in people’s minds (if a snail would have left Moscow on the day Putin declared his ‘special military invasion of Ukraine, it would have reached Kiev by now. We do not need nuclear arms and we should end our involvement in oversees deployment (with the exception of as a part of a UN force in pursuance of International Law).(It’s very clear that the most dangerous ‘rogue state’ on our planet is te USA and it’s very clear that our military planners have been caught completely unprepared.)

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workTrans liberation is human liberation. The struggle for Trans Liberation is inseparable from the struggle for Socialism.Sex work should be legalised and sex workers allowed to self organise and encouraged to unionise. Sex workers should get the same protection from the law as any other worker.I fully support a woman’s right to choose and support bodily autonomy. Safe abortion should be available on demand. As to time limits on abortion (e.g. 3rd or late term), I’m totally happy to be guided by our female comrades.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceIreland is for the Irish and the fate of Ireland should be decided by the majority of Irish people. My personal opinion is that there should be a united Ireland. I feel exactly the same about Scottish and Welsh independence - while I support it, these decisions are for the Welsh and Scottish.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Rasmus Johansen

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I do not have any affiliations or memberships with any other organisations.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I have a college-level qualification. I’m employed (sales role) and I do not own a business. I own my home jointly with my wife, and we have a daughter.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015–2019?Corbyn faced sustained hostility from within the party, from opponents, and from parts of the media, which shaped public perception heavily. The controversy around antisemitism allegations also shows how a witch-hunt can destroy a great stand with defence and principled positions, including solidarity with Palestinians.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc.)?So far it has felt poorly organised and overly opaque. Communication has been inconsistent, and many members don’t know what is happening or how decisions are being made. If you’re not already well-connected, it’s hard to access information. We need clear timelines, regular updates, and transparent decision-making.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?We need to operate like a serious party: clear policies, credible spokespeople across key areas (economy, housing, health, education, climate), and professional campaigns. Those policies must be agreed by members and communicated consistently, not improvised or personality-driven. We should be known for what we will do to improve people’s lives — not mainly for attacking Labour, Reform, or the Greens. If we want broad support, we need clarity, discipline, and delivery.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I’m sure there are good people in other organisations, and I’m not interested in gatekeeping individuals. But I don’t think it helps if Your Party becomes a place where organised factions bring sub-agendas that pull us in different directions. If we want unity and a clear message, loyalty in decision-making roles should be to this party and its democratic decisions. My priority is cohesion and trust.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?Local branches are the heart of the party, so they should have real autonomy over local campaigning, priorities, and organising. On national political direction, members across the whole party should decide — not a small group — through transparent democratic processes. Funds and data should come with clear safeguards and accountability, but branches should not be reduced to “delivery units”. The aim should be empowered branches within a member-led national strategy.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?I want Your Party to build formal, practical links with trade unions and rank-and-file workers. The labour movement is where working people organise power, and we should be aligned with that — including affiliation discussions where appropriate. We should be a reliable political voice for workers’ rights, pay, conditions, and public services. The Scandinavian model shows what’s possible when unions and a workers’ party are strategically connected.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Branches should be active supporters of local community campaigns where the goals align with socialist values — housing, services, anti-poverty work, anti-racism, and local democracy. That means turning up, offering practical help, and building long-term relationships, not just photo opportunities. Nationally, we should also be visible in major campaigns that protect ordinary people and marginalised communities. The party should be rooted in communities, not just online.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?We need disciplined communications: trained spokespeople for major policy areas and clear messaging agreed by members, including through electronic voting where appropriate. Your Party is a socialist party and our politics should reflect that clearly — we shouldn’t blur our values to chase votes. That includes not shifting our principles on issues like immigration just to appeal to Reform voters. We should put our case confidently in debates, interviews, and public forums, and win support by being serious, principled, and practical.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?I don’t think we should make the far-right the centre of our political energy. We should focus on offering a stronger, credible alternative that tackles the conditions the far-right feeds on: insecurity, poor housing, low wages, collapsing services, and distrust in politics. We should rebut racism and misinformation when it appears, but our main job is to organise and win people with solutions and solidarity. The far-right is beaten by building hope, power, and material change.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Socialism, to me, means people are equal in worth and should have genuinely equal opportunities in life. It also means society should not allow extreme wealth on one side while others struggle to pay bills and live with dignity. That requires progressive taxation and a major shift in how wealth and power are distributed. Yes — I believe Your Party should aim to replace capitalism with socialism through democratic organisation and a clear programme.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceIn favour of public safety, but policing must be accountable, non-discriminatory, and rooted in consent. People should be protected, not targeted.

PatriotismNot in favour.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismI’m against imperialism in all forms. In an ideal world we wouldn’t need an army, and in the real world I favour a greatly reduced, defensive approach rather than interventionism. On Zionism: I oppose any political project that privileges one ethno-religious identity over equal rights and dignity for all

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workI support individual freedom and bodily autonomy, and I don’t think a socialist party should police people’s private lives. Our focus should be safety, rights, and reducing harm.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceI support a united Ireland. On Scotland and Wales, my instinct is for solidarity and unity across Britain rather than separation.

South East CEC Questionnaire

Iqra Ibrahim

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?Quranists Network & United Panther Party.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I'm working class, long-term sick and disabled. Grew up in a single parent, council-owned home (raised by my dad, who did attend uni- first in our family- but was blacklisted for his trade union activity). I attended state schools. Dropped out of uni myself due to inaccessibility and responsibilities to my very young family at the time. I don't own any property.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?Personality politics are a losing game, and I really hope we can just focus on policy and community service as a group.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?I've not been impressed with organisation, honestly, and have experienced a number of accessibility issues, personally, as well as issues with cliques, which I really hope will all be alleviated with the formation of the CEC.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?I'm hoping that we can be a truly inclusive and intersectional group that really values the insights and experiences of our most multiply marginalised members without tokenising anyone or alienating marginalised people.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I'm open to dual membership.
I think we should have regular member check-ins and vetting to ensure we're all still moving in the same direction, and as a matter of safeguarding to avoid infiltration by spycops and other far-right infiltration.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?I believe we should be a truly members-led party with local branches shaping themselves to meet the needs of the local community, and resources fairly distributed across branches and access to necessary data.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?Rank and file. I'm a firm believer in local grassroots organising and bottom-up leadership.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?I hope that we can really lend a voice and hand to smaller community and specific-issue campaigns without centering ourselves or leaving people feeling like we're using them or their concerns for our own political gains.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?I think we should be explicit and transparent about our socialist principles, and not play or pander to the mainstream media at all.
We should nurture positive relationships with local media and make ourselves visible in our communities so we don't have to rely on the mainstream portraying us favourably.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?I think the way to handle the far-right is to work to meet their genuine material needs and to not engage in regards to their unreasonable demands.
We should be listening them in terms of what appeals to them about other parties' policies, and drawing up policies that address out common worries and issues without pandering to them at all.
Good policy that alleviates the struggles of the working class will speak for itself.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?I am 100% for creating a truly equitable society where workers and communities control industry and resources, and for redistributing the wealth of capitalists and holding them to account for the exploitation and devastation of our communities and the environment.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceAgainst. I'm a staunch abolitionist and firmly believe we can alleviate to causes of most crime in our communities with properly funded community resources.

PatriotismAgainst. I'm an internationalist. I believe in mutual co-operation fostering unity and solidarity.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismAgainst. For many reasons, but mainly because of the devastating impact I've witnessed first-hand of the "War on Terror" on the community I'm from in High Wycombe, and the wedge it has driven between religious groups who once shared spaces, cultures and traditions in relative peace before the interference of colonialists.

Trans liberation, abortion, and sex workTrans liberation is central to my politics, I believe in a person's right to choose, and sex work IS work and sex workers should be fully respected and protected.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceI would love to see a united Ireland in my lifetime and independence for all British colonies led by the inhabitants of those lands alone.

South East CEC Questionnaire

John M Durtnall

What other organisational affiliations and memberships do you have?I am not a member of any other political party or formal slate. I have been involved in trade union activity and local community campaigns, particularly around public services, workers’ rights, and defending local provision. My political activity has been rooted in practical organising rather than factional alignment. I believe this independence matters, as it allows me to approach the CEC role with loyalty to members rather than to any external organisation or internal grouping. Where I work with others, it is based on shared goals and solidarity, not discipline from outside bodies. I support cooperation across the left, but I do not believe Your Party should be dominated or informally controlled by pre-existing organisations. My commitment is to a democratic, member-led socialist party that welcomes pluralism while ensuring transparency and accountability in all affiliations and relationships.

If you have been in a public-facing or high-profile/national role on the left before, what motivates you to run for this role? If you have not had a high-profile role like this before, what concrete organising have you done on the left before and what do you hope to do on the CEC?I have not held a national or high-profile role on the left. My motivation comes from lived experience as a working-class worker and from grassroots organising in branches, unions, and community campaigns. I have seen how top-down politics repeatedly fails people like me, while local organisers keep movements alive with little recognition or support. This motivates me to stand for the CEC: to help build structures that empower ordinary members to lead, rather than be mobilised only at election time. My organising has focused on building participation, supporting colleagues, and pushing for democratic decision-making. On the CEC, I want to prioritise branch development, proper resourcing, political education, and clear accountability from leadership to members. My aim is not personal advancement but to help create a durable socialist organisation rooted in everyday struggles.

How would you describe your class position (for example, state/private school, employee/self-employed/own a business, renter/home-owner/landlord)?I am working class. I was state educated, I am an employee rather than self-employed, and I do not own a business. I am a renter and do not own property or act as a landlord. I have worked as a bus driver, a job that reflects both the economic pressures and physical demands faced by many workers in this country. My politics are shaped by direct experience of insecure work, declining public services, workplace stress, and the gap between political rhetoric and lived reality. I do not approach socialism as an abstract theory but as a necessity arising from material conditions. My class position informs my commitment to democratic control, trade union power, public ownership, and social solidarity. I believe it is vital that Your Party is led by and accountable to people rooted in working-class life, not professional politics.

What do you view as the main lessons to be learnt from ‘the Corbyn project’ in Labour from 2015-2019?The central lesson of the Corbyn project is that socialist policies alone are not enough without organisational power, democratic control, and mass participation. While the programme inspired millions, the party apparatus, media hostility, and lack of structural transformation left the project vulnerable. Members were mobilised for elections but not empowered to control the party or defend the project when it came under attack. Another lesson is the danger of compromise with hostile institutions rather than confronting them politically. Finally, leadership without a deeply rooted, organised movement cannot withstand sustained pressure from capital and the state. For Your Party, this means prioritising internal democracy, political education, workplace and community organising, and building confidence to challenge power directly. We must avoid personality-driven politics and instead build collective leadership and durable structures that can survive setbacks.

What is your view on how the party has been run so far (the launch, the conference, etc)?The launch of Your Party showed real enthusiasm and political potential, but it has also revealed weaknesses in transparency, communication, and member involvement. Conference demonstrated appetite for democracy, yet many members felt decisions were already shaped from above. This risks repeating mistakes of previous projects where leadership moves faster than accountability structures. A new party must overcorrect in favour of openness, even when it is slower or messier. Members need clarity on decision-making, access to information, and real influence through branches and elected bodies. The CEC should exist to enable, not manage, the membership. Going forward, the party must prioritise branch formation, fair resourcing, clear lines of accountability, and consistent communication. Without this, early goodwill will erode. With it, Your Party can become something genuinely different on the left.

How do you see Your Party differentiating itself from, and/or not repeating the failures of, other recent left projects and parties (for example, Left Unity, Respect, TUSC, Transform, Enough is Enough, Greens under Polanski etc.)?Recent left projects have often failed due to top-down structures, weak roots in workplaces and communities, overreliance on charismatic leadership, or unclear political identity. Some became electoral vehicles without movements; others became activist networks without mass appeal. Your Party must learn from both. The key difference should be democratic control from below, sustained organising beyond election cycles, and a clear socialist purpose. We must avoid building a party that exists mainly online or around national figures. Instead, success depends on empowered branches, trade union links, and practical solidarity work. Political clarity matters too: being vague to appeal to everyone often results in appealing to no one. A confident socialist politics, combined with openness and pluralism, is the best foundation for growth. Durability, not quick wins, should be the guiding principle.

What would your approach to whitelisting dual membership be (for example, would you welcome members of other left groups and parties such as the Greens, rs21, SWP etc.)?I support a transparent whitelisting approach to dual membership that strengthens Your Party rather than undermines it. Many committed socialists are active in multiple organisations, including trade unions, campaigns, and left groups. Excluding them would be sectarian and self-defeating. However, transparency and loyalty to democratic decisions of Your Party are essential. Dual membership should be welcomed where individuals engage in good faith, respect party democracy, and do not act as an organised bloc controlled externally. The aim should be cooperation, not capture. A clear, published whitelisting policy agreed by members would avoid confusion and mistrust. This approach balances openness with accountability and reflects confidence rather than fear. A mass socialist party will inevitably include people with diverse organisational backgrounds; the question is how we manage that democratically.

What is your view on how much autonomy branches should have (funds, data, political and organisational direction)?Branches should have significant autonomy over funds, data, political priorities, and organising activity, within a democratically agreed national framework. Without real power at branch level, participation will decline and decision-making will concentrate at the top. Branches are best placed to understand local conditions, campaigns, and opportunities. National structures should support, coordinate, and redistribute resources, not control day-to-day activity. Financial autonomy is especially important: branches should not be reduced to fundraising units for the centre. At the same time, autonomy must come with accountability, transparency, and solidarity between branches. A strong party is built from confident local organisations that feel ownership over the project. The CEC’s role should be to enable this autonomy, resolve disputes democratically, and ensure equality of access to resources across regions.

How will you link Your Party to the trade union movement (national affiliations and/or rank and file)?Your Party must be rooted in the trade union movement both nationally and at rank-and-file level. This means pursuing formal affiliations where possible, but also actively encouraging members to organise in their workplaces and unions. Too often, left parties rely on union leadership endorsements without building worker power from below. We should support shop stewards, workplace branches, and cross-union solidarity. Political representation should flow from organised workers, not replace their activity. The party should offer practical support for industrial struggles and political education for trade unionists. Building a socialist party without deep union links is impossible; unions remain the largest organised force of the working class. The relationship must be democratic, not transactional, and based on shared strategy rather than occasional electoral cooperation.

How will you link Your Party to community campaigns (local and national groups)?Your Party should embed itself in community campaigns around housing, health, transport, climate, and anti-racism. This requires active participation, not branding or takeover. Branches should be encouraged to support existing groups, offer resources, and help connect struggles across areas. Nationally, the party can amplify local campaigns and help coordinate action. Community organising is essential for reaching people outside traditional political spaces and for demonstrating socialism in practice. It also grounds the party in real material issues rather than abstract debate. Importantly, community links should shape party policy, not just be vehicles for it. Listening is as important as leading. A party that is present in everyday struggles will earn trust and relevance over time.

How should Your Party take on the media, and what kind of comms strategy should it adopt (should YP appeal to a broad church and not risk alienating people, or be very explicit about its socialist politics and principles)?Your Party should be clear, confident, and unapologetically socialist in its communications. Attempting to dilute politics to avoid controversy has repeatedly failed on the left. Clarity builds trust, even among those who disagree. That said, language should be accessible and rooted in everyday experience, not jargon. We should prioritise our own channels, local media, and face-to-face communication rather than chasing hostile national outlets. Media strategy must support organising, not substitute for it. A broad church does not mean political vagueness; it means democratic debate within clear socialist principles. By speaking honestly about capitalism, inequality, and power, Your Party can differentiate itself from technocratic or evasive politics and build a distinct public identity.

What should Your Party’s strategy be on confronting the far-right?The far right is best confronted through organising, solidarity, and addressing the material conditions it exploits. Moral condemnation alone is insufficient. Your Party should oppose racism, nationalism, and authoritarianism clearly, while also offering credible socialist answers to insecurity, declining living standards, and alienation. This means being present in communities, workplaces, and online spaces where the far right seeks to organise. We should work with trade unions, anti-racist groups, and community organisations to mobilise collective resistance. State repression and censorship are not reliable tools against the far right and often backfire. Instead, building confidence, collective power, and political clarity among working-class communities is key. A socialist movement that offers dignity, security, and solidarity undercuts the far right at its roots.

Your Party is a socialist party according to its constitution. What is your conception of socialism, and how is it distinct from capitalism, and should Your Party aim to replace capitalism with socialism?Socialism, to me, means democratic ownership and control of the economy by the people who create the wealth. It is fundamentally distinct from capitalism, which is based on private ownership, profit, exploitation, and inequality. Under capitalism, economic power is concentrated in the hands of a few, shaping politics, media, and daily life. Socialism aims to replace this with collective decision-making, public ownership of key industries, strong workers’ rights, and production organised for need rather than profit. Your Party should be explicit that it seeks to move beyond capitalism, not simply manage it more humanely. Reforms matter, but they should be steps toward structural change. Without this clarity, socialism becomes an empty label rather than a transformative project.

Where do you stand on how Your Party should relate to each/any of the following, demonstrating whether you are in favour, against, or unsure and why?PoliceCritical of policing as currently constituted; support accountability, community safety, and alternatives to punitive systems.

PatriotismOppose nationalist chauvinism; support internationalism and solidarity across borders.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismOppose imperialism, military aggression, and settler colonialism; support Palestinian liberation and international law.

British military, imperialism, and ZionismFully support trans rights, reproductive freedom, and decriminalisation of sex work, centred on safety and autonomy.

A united Ireland, Scottish and Welsh independenceSupport Irish reunification and the right of Scotland and Wales to self-determination through democratic processes.