UK leftists

We live in a rigged system – a fact that is becoming clearer to many who don’t trust the Labour government, any of the establishment parties, or the political system as a whole. The Electoral Commission Public Attitudes study this year found only 14% trust politicians; that many?!

A new report by the Equality Trust shows exactly why people are right not to trust the establishment. In short, it shows that the limited democracy that we do have in Britain has been gradually stripped away. For 20 years the power of the super-rich over our media and influence over politics has increased sharply.

For fifteen years, the pro-capitalist parties of Tories, Lib-Dems, and Labour before and after Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership have been acting in the interests of bankers and big business bosses, almost unchallenged.

This new report explains how, in that, period membership of the unelected House of Lords has grown, from averages of 676 members at the start of the century to 803 in 2020-2022. One of the individuals Keir Starmer is touted to be bringing in to the Lords: ex-Tory Iceland boss Richard Walker!

The Socialist Party calls for the abolition of the House of Lords, something that is favoured by 59% of people, according to a 2024 YouGov poll (see ‘Abolish the House of Lords’ at socialistparty.org.uk).

Political donations of over £250,000 went from £7.1 million back in 2002 to £47 million in 2019. Since the report was published, a new record political donation from a living individual has been set by a £9 million donation to Reform, from a cryptocurrency investor.

Meanwhile the three biggest media conglomerates in Britain have gone from owning 71% of all media in 2014 – already an obscene concentration of influence – to 90% in 2022. Two publishing chains – Newsquest and National World – run a majority of local newspapers and local news sites.

Super-rich media giants dominating our media means inevitably the interests of the super-rich and of capitalism get pushed through, insisting Labour is doing great in attacking the working class, for example. And using divide-and-rule tactics, trying to keep the working class at each other’s throats with vile articles on migrants, benefits claimants, trans people and so on. Instead, media companies should be nationalised under democratic control, rather than having a handful of billionaires deciding the vast majority of media output.

Equality Trust’s eight policy recommendations from the report would somewhat curb the influence of big business. It asks for a wealth tax, preventing large political donations, closing loopholes, and several measures to diversify media.

The working class has had to struggle for all its existing democratic rights, including the right to vote. A pressing need today is for the working class to have its own party, independent of the capitalist elites.

How do we possibly have real ‘democracy’ when the capitalist elites have loads of parties but the working class has none?

The creation of a new mass workers’ party, including the democratic involvement of the six million-strong trade unions, would be a big step towards increased democracy. It would boost the confidence of the working class to get organised and fight back, which is why the bosses want to stop one coming into existence!

Real democracy would be to have society run in the interests of the working-class majority. That would mean a socialist society based on the public ownership of big business and the banks, and where the wealth created by the working class is owned and democratically controlled by us – the working class.