RCPB(ML) Holds New Year Social to Ensure the Success of the Work in 2026

Michael Chant, General Secretary of RCPB(ML), gave the Party's New Year message

The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) held its New Year social on January 10, attended by around 30 invited guests. The social had the theme of fighting for the alternative in answering the call of history in the here and now. The event was dedicated to the Palestinian people, their resistance and their right to be. All ages were represented in this festive political event, full of life and vigour, symbolic of the new world striving to come into being.

The venue in London had been prepared well for the occasion, reflecting the determination of the Party activists to ensure the success of the Party's work in organising and facilitating the New and the authority of the working class in 2026.

Michael Chant's toast giving the call of RCPB(ML) to fight for the alternative, to respond to the call of history, the call of the times!

After a well-planned and varied buffet meal, a chorus came to the front of the hall to sing "The Party Is the Most Precious Thing". The MC for the evening then announced the rest of the proceedings, beginning with two songs from a comrade, veteran of the struggle of the Irish people for their sovereignty and a united Ireland. His first song, Palestine, was in solidarity with the courageous prisoners on hunger strike in English prisons. The second, Galtee Mountain Boy, expressed support for Palestine and solidarity with all the peoples fighting for their liberty and self-determination.

Then the social was very pleased to welcome Paul Heron, solicitor at the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), who spoke firstly on the legal battle, as a front of the mass movement, against those forces representing Israeli-Zionism trying to wipe out any and all expression of opposition to Israeli genocide, a battle which is still ongoing. In doing so, he paid tribute to the spark that Party comrades had given to this battle and the faith that RCPB(ML) had placed in the PILC. Secondly, Paul Heron spoke on the significance of the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI), in which he had been instructed by Michael Chant and RCPB(ML) in representing them at the Inquiry. Paul stressed that these actions by the undercover police officers have been political and come from the state, with the aim of blocking a better world from coming into being and attempting to obliterate revolutionary politics and the fight for justice. He particularly paid tribute to the women who had been deceived into long- term relationships with undercover officers and who had then tracked down these officers and exposed them. This is what gave rise to the UCPI, and not the benevolence of the state, Paul said. There must be justice and redress for all those wronged, and an end to the state's interference in the political affairs of the working class and people.

Michael Chant, General Secretary of RCPB(ML), then gave the Party's New Year message, on taking forward the fight for the alternative in 2026. He stressed that this is a period of transition, the destruction of the old forms, the restructuring of the state, the strengthening of police powers, a new phase in counter-revolution in which the fight of the people for the alternative is an historical imperative. He characterised the alternative, arising out of this period of transition, as a condition in which the working people themselves constitute the authority and decide matters directly. The alternative is taking shape as people resist, speak in their own name and reject the existing conception of authority. The alternative is in the course of being created as working people themselves constitute the authority at each turn of events and decide directly how to intervene to make sure whatever the ruling class is implementing at their expense cannot succeed.

The speaker reviewed the Party's activities over the past year, particularly the role of Workers' Weekly, the newspaper of RCPB(ML), stressing that the independent working class press has never been more important than it is at this time, and neither has the need to expand the voice of the working class ever more creatively. This provides a guideline for 2026. He also reviewed the participation and intervention of the Party and its activists in the important movements of the working class and people, such as the anti-war movement, with the perspective of bringing into being an Anti-War Government, the Party's efforts to mobilise the youth, and to support the struggles in defence of the rights of all.

RCPB(ML), he said, is calling on all to take up the fight for the alternative. The people, Michael Chant said as he raised his glass in a toast to the work in 2026, will never agree with coming under the dictate of the most counter-revolutionary forces. That is as certain as day follows night. This is why RCPB(ML) gives the call to fight for the alternative, to respond to the call of history, the call of the times!

The New Year social continued with a lively and inclusive cultural programme of songs, instrumentals and poems, in which many comrades and friends participated. The social went on long after the formal closing time, with many discussions, exchanging experiences, and renewing the bonds of social friendship taking place. The event unquestionably marked a step forward in the work of the Party as it strengthens its leadership and works out its programme meeting the needs of the times, drawing new strength as it moves from success to success, until, as Marx said, "a situation has been created which makes all turning back impossible".

Forward into 2026! Fight for the Alternative!

On Tuesday, January 6, the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attended a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" in Paris co-hosted with the President of France Emmanuel Macron, and joined by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. In a press release following the meeting Starmer said "It's important that we are starting the year like this - European and American allies, side-by-side with President Zelenskyy...standing for peace. And we are closer to that goal than ever." Yet only a day later the Westminster government took part in assisting the US in illegally seizing a Russian-flagged oil tanker from Venezuela, the Marinera (which US authorities are calling the Bella 1 as part of the ploy to say the vessel was stateless), in the north Atlantic [1]. Then on Sunday, January 11, the government also announced that Britain is to develop and produce a new deep strike ballistic missile for Ukraine called "Project Nightfall". Such is the sinister and dangerous state of minds of those who make the decisions behind Starmer's war cabinet.

In fact, Starmer is starting the new year where he left off in 2025, continuing to champion plans to escalate the failing Anglo-US proxy war in Ukraine against Russia, with no intention or indication of "standing for peace". At the January 6 meeting in Paris, Starmer and Macron had signed "a Declaration of Intent... On the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal." They declared that they will establish "military hubs across Ukraine...And build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment... To support Ukraine's defensive needs." As part of these plans, on January 9 the Defence Secretary, John Healey, announced during a visit to Ukraine that the government would "allocate £200 million of funding to prepare the UK Armed Forces to deploy as part of the Multinational Force for Ukraine (MNFU)".

Clarifying this in Parliament on January 14, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister Stephen Doughty said that the Paris declaration "confirms that in the event of a peace deal, the UK and France would deploy forces to Ukraine. It paves the way for a legal framework under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing its skies and seas and regenerating its armed forces for the future." In the same debate, Emily Thornberry MP, former Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales, let the cat out of the bag that Britain was at war with Russia in saying, "We stand with Ukraine-the Ukrainians are fighting the war for us, and we continue to give them every support-and we should be proud of that." In other words, Britain is the main advocate of war with Russia in Europe using Ukraine as its proxy. If there is a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Britain will use it to occupy Ukraine and the seas and airspace around it for themselves and give themselves the option to overturn any peace agreement made between Russia and Ukraine in the future.

In this way, the British government continues to announce plans that it knows are completely unacceptable to Russia in negotiating a permanent peace that Britain claims to support. Britain is leading the charge to expand NATO forces eastwards. The bringing to power of the pro-NATO regime in Kyiv through the Maidan coup in 2014 and the stationing of NATO trained forces in Ukraine and the Black Sea is how the Anglo-US led NATO provoked the war between Russia and Ukraine in the first place.

These days, the Westminster warmongering government represents the huge arms industry in Britain and is trying to prolong its proxy war in Ukraine for its own and these interests. In a press statement on January 11, the government announced that, under a project named "Nightfall", it has "launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometres and designed to operate in high-threat battlefields with heavy electromagnetic interference." [2] The government said that the "Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles, firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes - allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond.... The detailed Nightfall requirements were shared with Industry Partners on December 19, 2025, that had signed the required confidentiality and security arrangements. The deadline to receive Nightfall development proposals is February 9, 2026, with development contract(s) aimed to be awarded in March 2026."

All along, Britain has continued its warmongering role in escalating the Ukraine war and being the first to supply modern battle tanks, Storm Shadow missiles and now Starmer's Nightfall ballistic missiles. The government says in its own words that these are designed to hit central Russia, despite the fact that Russia is a nuclear power. The consequences of these new warmongering steps are unconscionable. The Anglo-US leaders believe their own dangerous illusions that engaging in this war-making brinkmanship, pushing to see how far they can go in the hopes and their plans to crush Russia would prevail and then deal with China from a position of strength.

This is all consistent with Britain's support for the US in carrying out illegal and desperate acts of extreme violence and state terrorism against Venezuela on January 3, kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores and massacring their security personnel, who fought bravely. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, providing support for Trump's criminal act, stated that the British position was that they supported "transition" and that this is "in line with international law". In the same debate, Westminster supported the US threats to attack Iran again. This warmongering also goes along with Britain's continued backing of the genocide of the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people and the British government's persecution of thousands of people protesting in support for Palestine and opposing sending weapons to Israel. Outrageously, it labels them as "terrorists" for opposing genocide. Is this the way to bring about peace in Europe and the world? Will it not more likely bring about mutual destruction of the world if this madness of these ruling elites continues?

The facts show that Britain's Westminster rulers are already at war with Russia and the world's peoples, including its own. It is shown in its sanctions against Russia, its clear involvement in the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline, its assistance to Ukraine in targeting missiles into Russia, its support for attacks on targeting Russian oil platforms and oil refineries and gas hubs, its recent threats to seize more Russian oil tankers, its supply of weapons, and its using of the Ukrainian people as proxy cannon fodder for its aims.

The working class and people must stand up for peace against war and against the warmongering alliance of NATO. They must demand that lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia be supported. Britain's dangerous war escalation and warmongering economy must be opposed, as with its latest Nightfall project, and that no troops should be sent to Ukraine and no conscription in Britain, with not a single youth for their imperialist wars anywhere in the world. The issue for the British working class and people is to increase their opposition to British wars and fight to establish an Anti-War Government.

Notes
1. John Healey, The Secretary of State for Defence on January 7 announced in the Westminster Commons that: "Following a request from the US, I authorised the use of UK bases and the deployment of Royal Navy and RAF assets to support the operation, including airborne surveillance and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Tideforce. This was a US operation. No UK personnel took part in the boarding.
2. UK to develop new deep strike ballistic missile for Ukraine
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-develop-new-deep-strike-ballistic-missile-for-ukraine