Camden, London — war has not quelled determination
by Amnon Cohen
Despite 15 weeks of war and protest, the mood was determined and angry. Hundreds marched on Camden Council on 20 January.
“What do we want? Ceasefire! When do we want it? Now!”, was chanted. And the answer to the question ‘How do we get it?’ was contained in the material that the Socialist Party distributed.
We called for united mass workers’ struggle in Palestine, and a new socialist intifada, to overthrow the capitalist regimes responsible for the carnage.
Photo: London Socialist Party
Demonstrators were angry at the complicity of the British government in the war on Gaza, and the bombing of Yemen. A popular chant was “Rishi Sunak shame on you! Keir Starmer shame on you!”
At the closing rally, an elderly Jewish speaker, who was a Holocaust survivor, explained, to great applause, how he resigned from the Labour Party after being threatened with investigation by Starmer’s machine.
But if Labour is no different from the Tories, who should people vote for in the London and local elections in May, and the general election this year? This question was not answered, or even asked, by any of the speakers at the rally.
But Socialist Party placards, with the slogan ‘Build a mass workers’ alternative to Sunak and Starmer’ were eagerly carried by demonstrators, turning the demonstration into a sea of Socialist Party placards.
Enfield, north London – what’s the point of Labour?
by Ian Pattison
It was meant to be a small campaign stall organised by the local Palestine solidarity group. But so many people turned up that it turned into a protest of 100!
Enfield Trades Union Council is organising an event outside the full Labour council meeting on 24 January to protest its silence. Socialist Party member Sarah Sachs-Eldridge got the crowd chanting: “Enfield Council, hear us say: Staying silent, no way!”
Sarah also said: “What is point of the Labour Party? They don’t show up to protest the slaughter in Gaza. The same way they don’t show up to fight poverty, homelessness, or the cost of living.”
“We need a council that will be part of the anti-war movement with us. That will be part of the trade union movement fighting back”
This promoted another protester to get up and speak. “Some say the Labour Party is the lesser evil. But I don’t want to vote for Tory-lite. What about homelessness, children, mothers, and babies that need help?”