Lindsey German on the democratic deficit, housing, football and fighting fascism

Reform was the bookies’ favourite to win the Caerphilly by-election for the Welsh Senedd on Thursday. Nigel Farage was in town expecting to celebrate the win, and there was a victory meal planned for the Saturday night to be addressed by Lee Anderson. But Farage scurried off and his candidate left the count without giving a speech, as the Plaid Cymru candidate won comfortably. However, Reform still took a sizeable chunk of the vote at 36%. The upset in Caerphilly pushed Labour into a distant third place, making it an utterly disastrous night for Keir Starmer.

The constituency has been Labour for a century. Anyone with even remote acquaintance with the South Wales valleys will know that these former mining and steel areas have been the heartland of Labour for that time. Labour’s founder, Keir Hardie – after whom the hapless Starmer was named – was MP for Merthyr Tydfil. Nye Bevan, Michael Foot and other Labour luminaries had their constituencies there. That’s gone and Labour is facing possible wipeout in next May’s Senedd elections.

The result showed the disillusion with the two main parties. The Tories – never a good bet in the Welsh valleys – scraped 2%, in recognition that whatever the faults of Starmer, few have forgotten the 14 years of misery for working-class people under successive Tory governments. But Labour’s collapse demonstrates a visceral hatred of Starmer himself – the most unpopular prime minister since polling began – and of the failings of a Labour government which is in hock to property developers and the City and which has attacked pensioners, the disabled and sick, and has continued the systematic discrimination against children that is the two-child benefit cap. As someone said to me, it’s like waiting for a bus for hours on a dark, cold night and then it drives straight past the bus stop.

Starmer’s aim has been to destroy the left in Labour and to ignore the concerns it champions, while tacking to the right on every issue. This government is hateful and punitive about refugees and asylum seekers, scapegoating of Muslims, dismissive of workers’ rights, nationalist and warmongering, and is complicit with genocide in Gaza. This is dressed up as fighting Reform, with the stress on patriotism, flag-waving and ‘toughness’ on migrants. In reality, Starmer is paving the way for Reform.

Already Labour is saying at the next election the contest will be between Labour and Reform. But the vote for Plaid – which is a vote to the left of Labour – showed that many people want to oppose Labour from the left, not succumb to its right-wing pandering of racists. They are not prepared to be triangulated by an ever rightward-moving Labour and want an alternative. That’s the reason for the success of Plaid’s candidate Lindsay Whittle, who proudly declared himself as growing up on a local council estate and who stood for policies which much more represented working-class people’s needs – such as free childcare – than the racism that was at the centre of Reform’s campaign.

The result showed that left ideas can provide an electoral alternative – but they need to be fought for. Starmer’s mimicry of Reform has only strengthened them. There are many in Labour despairing and this has resulted in more voices within the party calling for gestures to the left. These are pretty much impossible for Starmer’s coterie to make. Wes Streeting attacks doctors threatening to strike. Rachel Reeves ponders increasing the level of income tax for many workers. Yvette Cooper tells us she will be as tough as Reform and the Tories on migrants but more efficient. None of this is going to change – the right is in control of Labour and even ousting Starmer is likely to bring little change in orientation.

The ousting of Starmer, however, can’t be far off. It seems to me the debate is whether to get rid of him after the May elections or even earlier. If Caerphilly is typical, Labour faces a bloodbath electorally, losing to both left and right. These are important elections in Scotland and Wales, for the London boroughs and many seats elsewhere in England. So there is a case from a Labour point of view to challenge him soon and at least salvage something in May.

Crucial for us is building an alternative to the left. The growth of the Greens shows the demand is there and also reflects some frustration with the speed and uncertainty of the Your Party project. It is however attracting large numbers to meetings and that needs to be translated into campaigning on the ground. Time for some politics, not top-down process.  

The big lie about antisemitism and football

One of the most unedifying spectacles in parliament last week was the performance of Lisa Nandy. She denounced the Independent MPs who supported the ban on violent and racist Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending the match against Aston Villa next month. She ignored the fact that the team’s latest match with a rival Israeli team had been called off only the day before following violent disorder. According to her this was all about antisemitism against the club’s fans. Her very strong implication was that this accusation extended to the Independent Muslim MPs and to large swathes of the citizens of Birmingham. The fascist Tommy Robinson, on a visit to Israel, said he would be at the match.

Opposition to the game – from police among others – was clearly based on the threat of what the fans would do, as became clear when the police reasons for banning the fans were leaked in a Guardian article the next day. None of this stopped Nandy and Starmer from branding any objection to it as anti-Jewish, rather than anti-Israel. Nor did it lead to an apology afterwards – although the furore around it died down almost immediately. This is shameful Islamophobic behaviour against the MPs, one of whom, Ayub Khan, has been subject to serial abuse on the issue.

The match will go ahead – and there will be a protest against it. That’s because many believe there should be no sporting links with an apartheid state. We protested over South African racism, and we will do so again. Any Labour government worth its salt should be boycotting sporting and cultural links itself, not justifying the unjustifiable. And certainly not slandering those who understand this as antisemites and racists.

A bad week for the fascists

Only a few days ago the people of Tower Hamlets were faced with the threat of fascist Nick Tenconi and his motley UKIP band bringing their call for a crusade against Islam and in favour of mass deportations into the centre of a borough with a large Muslim and ethnic minority population. The threat of mass mobilisation by the community forced the police to hurriedly ban the march and relocate it to one of the richest parts of London, where it barely mustered 100. Meanwhile a thousands-strong victory gathering took place in Whitechapel, with the right mix of celebration and defiance. There were also other protests against the fascists and far right across the country where they were outnumbered in places like Canterbury and Exeter.

This is important not just to confront the fascists but to challenge the rise in racism which is emboldening the right. Reform MP Sarah Pochin had to rightly apologise for her remarks that it sends her mad to see ethnic minorities instead of white people on adverts. But this, and the calls for mass deportations, show how emboldened racists are to spout this kind of thing. What the fascists think today, Reform thinks tomorrow, and Labour the day after that. That’s why they have to be stopped. We need to build a genuine broad united front against the fascists, involving left forces including Labour left MPs, which is why it was wrong that Tower Hamlets MP Apsana Begum wasn’t allowed to speak to the protest in Whitechapel. That shouldn’t have happened, and hopefully won’t in future.

Housing crisis, what housing crisis?

The Prince Andrew scandal has focused on his rent-free 30-room mansion in Windsor. That’s only the beginning. According to an Observer article, it’s a bonanza for royals when it comes to (probably free) housing.

‘These include the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, who live in 120-room Bagshot Park in Surrey, the late queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra, who has lived since 1963 in Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park, west London, her daughter, Marina Ogilvy, who occupies a cottage at Windsor; and the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, who are about to move into the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park.’

This latter has led to the closure of 150 acres of parkland previously used by the public. The royals have access to hundreds of properties on their various estates. Remember that when we hear of asylum seekers being housed in ‘luxury.’ The obscenity and entitlement of the royal family knows no bounds.

This week: I’m hoping to do some writing on women, catch up with Palestine organising and help publicise the London meeting on 4 November to discuss how Your Party should be organised. This will be the chance to hear from figures such as Mark Serwotka, Tariq Ali and Salma Yaqoob who are playing an important part and to discuss how we organise at the grassroots for maximum democracy and accountability.