Josh Asker at Socialism 2020

Josh Asker spoke at a virtual meeting of 115 people at Socialism 2020:

For the capitalist class it is an advantage to have two parties supporting capitalism. That is why Margaret Thatcher thought her greatest achievement was to transform not just one party but two.

Labour was effectively two parties under Corbyn. The possibility of turning Labour into a mass working class party has been pushed back.

And yet there are mass campaigns like the Black Lives Matter and campaigns by the trade unions so the conditions for a mass working class party exist.

Workers find their aspirations are no longer represented in Labour. All the Labour opposition has been saying to the government is "we agree with what you are doing but you did it too late."
Political representation for workers at the ballot box is necessary.

In fact Johnson has spent more than Corbyn proposed to spend. Yet Corbyn's spending plans were derided as a "magic money tree" at the time.

We need to have a conference to bring together the working class movements to create a council and parliamentary challenge.

Labour conference can no longer determine policy. Labour became a completely capitalist party under Blair. In the late 19th Century the working class movement had a capitalist party - the Liberal Party - which purported to represent them.

It will not be a straightforward fight any more than the genesis of the Labour Party itself was.

For a start trade unions should not be giving money to MPs and councillors who vote for cuts. The whole issue of affiliation to a capitalist party is being raised in the trade unions. Union money should be used to promote union policies.

A major demand will be that the working class should not be made to pay for the Covid-19 crisis.