Wednesday 25 September 2013

Important upcoming dates for Left Unity

28 September: Policy Workshop Conference
11 October: Deadline for submission of statements and resolutions
16 October: Send out submissions to local groups
16 November: Deadline for submission of amendments
22 November: Send out statements, resolutions and amendments to groups and members
30 November: Founding Conference

Thursday 19 September 2013

Ideas to Challenge Austerity

All sides of established politics now agree on austerity as the answer to the crisis, the only difference is not what will be cut cut but simply how quickly.

If a privatised NHS is believed to be the answer to this crisis then no-one seems to be asking the right questions.

Britain is desperately in need of a political force to the left of Labour, expressing the concerns of the average working person, the disabled and unemployed; willing to stand up for all minority and oppressed groups in society and work in their interests rather than those of the banks and big business.

  • But what will the shape of this new politics be?
  • How will it be constituted?
  • Should it stand in elections?
Join the discussion...

Thursday, 19th September, 7.00pm
Central United Reform Church
60 Norfolk Street
Sheffield
S1 2JB

Register for the Left Unity Conference

Left Unity will be holding its Founding Conference on 30th November 2013 at Royal National Hotel in Bedford Way, London WC1H 0DG. The venue is fully accessible. If you have child care requirements please contact us.
The conference will be tasked with deciding the policy and structure of the party/organisation, as well as making decisions regarding ongoing anti-austerity campaigns and electoral strategy.

Please note that in order to participate in the founding conference you must first join to become a Founding Member of Left Unity. To become a Founding Member, please click here.

There are significant costs associated with organising a conference of this scale, in the region of £5-10 000, and it is therefore necessary to charge a registration fee, in order to cover this cost. However we recognise that in the face of austerity, non-essential costs such as this are often very difficult or impossible for people to afford. Registration fees have therefore been kept as low as possible, so that nobody is excluded, whilst also ensuring the cost of the conference is covered adequately.
The minimum registration fees to attend the founding conference are:
£10 (waged)
£5 (low waged)
£3 (unwaged/retired)

To register for the conference, please either send a cheque to: Left Unity, c/o Housmans, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, or to pay via paypal please go to http://leftunity.org/lufounding-conference/. If you are paying by cheque, please write ‘Registration fee’ along with your full name, address and email address on the back of the cheque.

National Demo at Tory Conference


Coach tickets available from http://bit.ly/17r5eaa

Thursday 30 May 2013

An Open Letter to the left in Sheffield

This is an invitation to all working class and socialist organisations to participate in the official launch of Sheffield Left Unity on Saturday 29 June. The event will take place at the Central United Reformed Church (S1 2JB) at 1pm. 

As the welfare state is being dismantled by the coalition government, great suffering is being brought to the most vulnerable in society and eroding the living conditions of millions of ordinary people. Worse still, the Labour Party is not presenting an opposition to the austerity programme and instead appears to have wholeheartedly adopted neo-liberal policy, instead advocating its own brand of austerity and privatisation. We do not seek to replicate anti-cuts campaigns but working within them recognise the need to rebuild independent working class political representation. 

Left Unity was born out of Ken Loach’s appeal for a new party of the left. In the short time since, the appeal has been met with large success: more than 8,000 supporters so far, and more than 100 local groups already established. Over the past 15 years, numerous unity initiatives have been attempted, yet all were unsuccessful.Rather than open old wounds, we believe it is necessary for the left to once again attempt to unite on a principled socialist basis. Sure enough, disagreements will exist and arise but that ought be no reason to not attempt to bring together what is a largely fractured left. As part of this process, we believe the urgent task should go further,to not simply unite existing organisations but also appeal to those disillusioned with Labour, those that want a fighting working class alternative to austerity, and those that have refrained from joining any of the existing socialist left. 

There are many different left unity initiatives in Europe. While circumstances and political programmes differ, we believe there are certainly lessons to take from the continent.. A united left would be better placed to begin to offer solutions to the problems and challenges we currently face as a class, as well as beginning to offer a counterweight to the rise of UKIP. 

Members of all left-wing organisations are welcome to join. We hope you will consider our proposal, participate in our launch event, and assist in building Left Unity in Sheffield.
  
In solidarity, 
Sheffield Left Unity
Email:   sheffieldATleftunity.org 
www.facebook.com/groups/SheffieldLeftUnity/ 
Twitter:  @  SheffLeftUnity

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Sign up to support Ken Loach’s appeal

The welfare state is being dismantled by the coalition government, bringing great suffering to the most vulnerable in society and eroding the living conditions of millions of ordinary people. Worse still, the Labour Party is not presenting a strong opposition to austerity and instead appears to have wholeheartedly adopted neo-liberal policy, advocating its own brand of austerity and privatisation.

Ken Loach's The Spirit of '45 gives us a perspective on the achievements of the post-war generation, transforming the lives of ordinary people by bringing improved health, housing, education and social security to the people of Britain. We need to defend these achievements and continue the tradition of protecting the most vulnerable in society.

Support Ken Loach's appeal to discuss the formation of a new political party of the Left to bring together those who wish to defend the welfare state and present an economic alternative to austerity:

Sign the Appeal