The Communist Party thanks all of our candidates and supporters who have campaigned intensively over the last six weeks to bring popular, socialist and anti-imperialist politics to the heart of working class communities up and down Britain. Their hard work was the cornerstone of our campaigning work across Britain.
Our objective in standing in this election was to raise the level of class and revolutionary consciousness and to continue to build the Communist Party for the struggles that lie ahead. We have been successful in these terms: contesting 14 constituencies and targeting more than 50 cities and towns in our Red Weekend initiatives. More than 1,000 people attended our pre-election rally. Almost 1,000,000 leaflets and election addresses were distributed across in England, Wales and Scotland. Membership applications from young and working class people are being received at an exciting rate.
While do not aspire to be primarily an electoral party, the Communist vote share is patently still very far from where we want it to be. We are under no illusions as to the scale of the task facing us in rebuilding the Communist Party, including as an electoral force. We face the monopoly media and state-backed anti-communism. This is a task that will take time and diligent work. This campaign, our biggest since refoundation, is part of that process. The successes and the shortcomings of this campaign will be analysed and learned from in the months ahead. The tally of votes alone does not reflect the scale of the impact of Communist campaigning.
As predicted, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party have won a significant majority, benefitting from the First Past the Post System, the collapse of the Tory vote and the rise of Reform. But looks are deceiving. Starmer’s majority is founded on a significantly smaller vote share than Corbyn received in both 2017 and 2019. Starmer and his Labour Party do not have widespread support from working people. The pro-big business platform on which Starmer ran offers no meaningful change or progress for working people. Starmer’s victory in and of itself is not a victory for working people.
The Communist Party is a party of the class struggle, on the side of workers. We contest elections to advance their interests and the class struggle. We seek the rebuilding of the labour movement through active trade unionism. We engage in the battle of ideas and assert Marxism-Leninism as the political compass for our Party and for workers. Combined, these three elements present a powerful political force.
The task now is to build and strengthen the trade union movement and the broad progressive and peace movements for the fights that lie ahead, to advance and deepen the class struggle under new conditions.
The Communist Party will continue to be at the forefront of the struggle for workers’ rights, public services and peace. We will continue to build our Party as part of the international communist movement.
For communists every day is polling day and every day is a chance to win for working people.
Forward together to put Britain on the road to Socialism.
END.