(S)election alert!

With the defeat in Parliament of the Withdrawal Agreement we don’t also now face the near certainty of European elections on Thursday 23 May, but the increasing likelihood of a General Election, presumably on the same day (unless the Tories have to delay matters while they choose a new Leader).

The Tories obviously intend to present themselves to the people as the “Brexit Party” – Labour needs to focus on our positive, progressive, socialist policies (and – as to Brexit – the logic of the recent position of the Party in Parliament would be that an incoming Labour Government would seek to negotiate a different deal and then put it to the people in a referendum, in which many of us would, I imagine, vote to remain).

For those of us in Brighton and Hove working towards vitally important local elections on Thursday 2 May, the best way we can help Labour in the forthcoming European elections and General Election is to step up the local campaign. Labour Party members need now to bear in mind that we will fight the coming General Election under our elected Leader, and on the basis of policies inspired by the same socialist principles as those which informed our 2017 manifesto.

There is just now the little question of selecting candidates where we do not already have them in place…