Momentum banner on a demonstration

Last week, Momentum Organisers was launched – a group within the left faction of the Labour Party – Momentum. Momentum Organisers was set up with a commitment to bring an ‘organising agenda’ to the elections to Momentum’s National Coordinating Group (NCG) taking place in June and July. The NCG is the body within Momentum with takes key decisions about the direction and strategy of the organisation.

Now, a second group has emerged to contest the elections – Your Momentum. Drawing its support from the existing leadership of Momentum, Your Momentum claims the outgoing NCG has strengthened the organisation’s democracy, trained a new generation of activists, and got the organisation on “a fighting footing”.

Your Momentum is making the case that the left can advance through four key areas – organising within the Labour Party, supporting trade unions, participating in social movements, and mobilising Momentum’s membership. The group has issued an extensive platform in relation to each of these.

The most extensive part of Your Momentum’s platform relates to its intentions within the Labour Party. The group has pledged to “construct a political bloc that is strong enough to successfully push the party to adopt socialist policies and democratic reforms” by working with parliamentarians and unions on the left to achieve this. The group is also seeking to develop the Momentum Councillor Network, in doing so committing to provide “socialist councillors with resources, networks and training, and lead a push for community wealth building initiatives across the country”.

The group’s platform also contains a number of key commitments in relation to the other areas listed as its priorities. With regards to trade unions, Your Momentum has pledged “to establish 10 active local trade union networks across the country”, to campaign against anti-trade union laws and to support ongoing industrial action within the labour movement. On social movements, the group has said it will “bring a socialist and internationalist perspective” to campaigns against climate change, poverty, racism and imperialism. And on engaging Momentum’s membership, Your Momentum intends to provide training and support for members, as well as build regional networks for skill-sharing and coordination.

In addition to the lengthy platform the group has issued, Your Momentum has also published an extensive list of supporters from the left of the Labour Party. These include:

  • Labour Party National Executive Committee member Mish Rahman
  • Current Momentum co-chairs Gaya Sriskanthan and Andrew Scattergood
  • Current Momentum NCG members Darran McLaughlin, Shona Jemphrey, Liz Smith, Phil Clarke, Harriet Protheroe-Soltani, Mick Moore, Deborah Hermanns, Solma Ahmed and Ana Oppenheim

Your Momentum has not yet agreed its candidates for the NCG elections and will be deciding these at a meeting on June 12.

Members of Momentum will be able to vote in the NCG elections from June 28 to July 6.

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Image credit: Funk Dooby – Creative Commons