Take Up the Task of Electing Representatives of the Working Class and People in the Next General Election!

Workers' Daily Internet Edition: Article Index :

Summing Up the June 10 Election Results:
Take Up the Task of Electing Representatives of the Working Class and People in the Next General Election!

On June 10, local government and European Parliamentary elections were held throughout Britain. In London, the mayoral and assembly elections also took place.

The results of these elections cannot be analysed from the point of view of assessing the "popularity" amongst the electorate of the parties which stood candidates. Rather, they underline the deepening crisis of legitimacy of the capitalist system of party rule. In particular they demonstrate the complete avoidance amongst the so-called "mainstream parties" of the issue of involving the working class and people in working out and influencing their own future. The cynicism of the political leaders of these big parties is reflected in the disaffection of the electorate, and the growing support for small and alternative parties and independent candidates.

One striking aspect of the results is that in none of the elections did voter turnout exceed 40% of those entitled to vote. Participation in the local government election was highest at 39.8%, at 38.2% for the European parliament, 36.9% for the London mayor and 34.7% for the London Assembly constituencies.

Another significant development has been the dramatic falling away of support for those parties most associated with the neo-liberal programme of the monopolies of war and aggression, privatisation and attacks on democratic rights. The Labour Party, which is in government and playing the leading role in the implementation of this programme, lost over 460 local government seats and received their lowest share of the national vote for over 90 years. Some Labour leaders were forced to concede that the electorate had given the party "a kicking". The official opposition, the Conservatives, did not fare much better, failing to make any significant gains compared to their performance in the General Election of 2000, despite the collapse in support for Labour.

In contrast, the Green Party increased its share of the vote, averaging 10% of votes cast in the constituencies where it stood candidates, and gaining an additional 10 local government seats. The United Kingdom Independence Party, which campaigned in the European Parliamentary elections on a platform of Britain's withdrawal from the EU, secured over 16% of the vote in that election. Respect – The Unity Coalition, which emerged out of the anti-war movement and stood candidates in the European elections and the London mayoral and assembly elections, secured over a quarter of a million votes in the former, while its mayoral candidate gained over 6% of the first preference votes, amounting to over 60,000 votes. The Independent Working Class Association which stood candidates in the local government elections and the London mayoral contest won four local government seats while its mayoral candidate secured nearly 40,000 first and second preference votes. There were also numerous other parties and independents that stood in these elections, gaining support from various sections of the people. For example the Pensioners Party stood in the European elections and secured over 30,000 votes. These developments show clearly that people are looking for an alternative to the anti-social offensive of the rich and the big parties that represent them.

WDIE hails the results of the small and alternative parties and independent candidates which are challenging the monopoly of the three major parties over political life. We especially hail the work of those candidates who took a bold step in challenging the politics of the rich and of big business head on, and did so much work in targeting the concerns and aspirations of the workers, women, youth, national minorities and the working people as a whole.

The June 10 election results point the way to the possibilities which exist for building up and uniting the people's forces as the only force capable of defeating the programme of the monopolies and putting the country on a different road. Now is the time for all those in favour of a pro-social programme to discuss as widely as possible how to build their unity in the course of rejecting the factional struggle with which the three "mainstream" parties seek to divide the people. It is how to further the political struggle to oppose the agenda of warmongering, attacks on social and public rights, and attacks on the rights of workers and working people as a whole, how to further the struggle to defend the rights of all human beings and the collectives of the people.

The immediate task is to prepare for the next general election and organise amongst the working class and people to facilitate to the utmost the election to Parliament of the best representatives of the workers, the youth, the women, the pensioners and the national minority communities.

WDIE calls on all members of the polity to take up this task and build an organised force, spearheaded by the Workers’ Opposition, which is dedicated to combating and stopping the warmongering and the growing fascism of the capitalist state and bringing into being an anti-war, pro-social and pro-worker government which is accountable to the electorate.