Michael Lavalette’s statement for the Your Party Central Executive Committee election

I’m a councillor on Lancashire County Council, elected in May 2025 as one of three Preston Independents. I got 1,782 votes (47.8% of votes cast).

The Preston Independents group are part of Progressive Lancashire which unites Independents and Greens and is the Official Opposition to Reform. I have experience of building and working with a range of groups and networks.

In the 2024 General Election I stood as a pro-Palestine Independent and came second with 22% of the vote. I was previously a Preston City Council councillor (2003-2015) for the Socialist Alliance, Respect and latterly as an Independent Socialist.

I have stood in local elections 5 times and won 4. I have stood in General Elections twice, saving my deposit both times, and coming second in 2024. It is not easy to stand against the Labour Party electoral machine, but I think I bring valueable experience of how to do this.

Since the start of the genocide in Gaza I’ve organised coaches to every national demonstration and I’ve been the organiser of all local demonstrations against the slaughter. I’ve been a Palestinian activist since 1982 when I was at Glasgow University and campaigned to twin the University with Beir Zeit University on the West Bank. I’ve been to Palestine 20 times, written four books and pamphlets about Palestine, and was awarded honorary membership of the General Union of Palestinian Writers in 2022.

I’m a retired University Professor. In my work in the university sector I was a member of UCU. I have written and edited 30 books on a range of issues, primarily social policy and inequality issues, but also various histories of social movements including a history of school student strikes, and a history of the Liverpool dock -lock out of the late 1990s. 

I was a founding member of the Social Work Action Network, a campaigning group in social work that brought workers, service users, academics and students together to campaign against privatisation, cuts and marketisation in social service provision.

I have been a life-long anti-racist and was the main organiser of counter demonstrations to the EDL when they tried to march in Preston (on three separate occasions). I support Together and urge people to join the march in London on 28 March.

I joined the ranks of the socialist movement in 1978 when I joined the ANL as a school student. I have been an activist in my community, my union and progressive social movements ever since.

Since the launch of YP I have spoken at meetings across the country – sharing platforms with Jeremy, Zarah and many other national and local speakers. 

I believe in concentrating on what unites us, rather than factional divisions.

I’m not on any slate. 

I support grassroots democracy and oppose witch-hunts. 

I actively support vibrant, activist, member-led branches and want to see branches set up as soon as possible.  

I want to work to unify YP around key demands:

1. End the cost of living crisis; tackle obscene levels of inequality.
2. Welfare not warfare; invest in public services, no to privatisation, kick the market out of service delivery.
3. Initiate an urgent council house building programme.
4. Renationalise public utilities without compensation.
5. For peace and against war. For the liberation of Palestine, against imperial adventures in Venezuela, Greenland and the Middle East.
6. Against all forms of oppression.
7. For the abolition of anti-trade union legislation.
8. For a green new deal, to invest in jobs and protect our environment.
9. Defend civil liberties, against Starmer’s authoritarianism

YP should be a radical, insurgent, broad, left of Labour Party that is united and active in our communities, our unions and our social movements. Elected representatives should be accountable to working class communities, but also be ‘megaphones’ for our movements to amplify and deepen our collective struggles for a better world. 

That means, for example, urging all YP members to build and support the Palestine demonstration on 31 January and the Together demonstration against racism and the far-right on 28 March.