Sandy Martin of @Labour4PR is the guest on @LabourHub Labour Left Podcast. We discuss PR in tte wider context of a struggle for democracy, put the socialist case for electoral reform & consider how we can get the job done. Please share. #Labour4PR 1/4

If you’re thinking Starmer campaigning for his sworn opponent in a by-election is unprecedented you’re absolutely wrong! Here’s Dennis Healey campaigning for Tony Benn in the 1984 Chesterfield by-election. It’s hilarious and even the poor banner couldn’t take any more! VOTE LABOUR!

After Starmer’s electoral catastrophe we now more than ever need to turn our attention to Nigel Farage. The clock is ticking & we have got until 2029. Listen to writer David Renton consider how we Stop Nigel Farage and the Far Right? youtu.be/5pl_yzo90c8

In Colchester like many parts of Britain the Greens only have a toe hold, Your Party are barely visible with no candidates, no nationalists of course and there are no left independents so to keep Reform out on 7 May it’s definitely. 2/2 VOTE LABOUR

We held back Reform in New Town and Christchurch in Colchester in a recent by-election and we’re fighting to do so again. Here’s our leafleting session in the Colchester West Branch where I am Chair. Here’s the Labour Hub report of the by-election. labourhub.org.uk/2025/10/26/a... 1/2

Great event in Colchester on the 1 May. Join us on the May Day Weekend to sing songs of resistance. Book your ticket here 👉 www.ticketsource.com/folksingarou...

I think today I’ll draw my inspiration from this wonderful woman and her placard who I saw on the recent massive demonstration in London! 📷Bryn Griffiths 2/2

Today’s the day we show our support for refugees in Colchester. If you’re in North Essex please join us at 11.30 am at St Botolphs to say loud and clear #RefugeesAreWelcomeHere 1/2

If you want to stop Farage the first thing you must do is register vote. Don’t forget the Chartists and the Suffragettes in some cases sacrificed their lives for our right to vote. Let’s use it to stop the racists. Click here to register. www.gov.uk/vote-uk-elec...

120 years ago this year a group of MPs in Parliament first took the name of Labour. It is an unmitigated disaster that Keir Starmer’s poor leadership is putting at risk Labour’s historic link with the unions that created it! 1/2

On #IWD2026 I’ve written an article celebrating all the wonderful socialist feminists who’ve appeared on the Labour Left Podcast. Lots of fantastic women to listen to on #InternationalWomensDay2026 labourhub.org.uk/2026/03/08/m...

Finally, please consider voting Left for change in Labour’s 2026 internal elections. I also urge you to transfer your votes to the soft left’s @mainstreamlbr to unite all those in the party who want to see change. Labour Left Podcast www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... 5/5

It is now our duty today & everyday to look in the mirror & ask ourselves what can we do to stop Wes Streeting - Mandelson’s protégée - from becoming the next Labour Leader so we can save our party. You can’t do it alone so consider joining Momentum join.peoplesmomentum.com 4/5

Make no mistake if it wasn’t for the Labour Right’s vicious factionalism we would, this morning, be celebrating Andy Burnham’s great victory in #GortonAndDenton. 3/5

Starmer has just lost Labour’s 38th safest seat. The Green’s have won their seemingly unwinnable 127th target seat. The credit for this result belongs in its entirety to Labour’s right wing. But at least we can say Labour’s right did not gift the seat to Reform. 2/5

This weekend every Labour Member and affiliated Trade Unionist should be angry beyond belief at what Peter Mandelson, Morgan McSweeney and Keir Starmer have done to our Labour party. #GortonAndDenton 1/5

Scargill’s response to the Clause IV (4) abolition was to leave Labour & establish the Socialist Labour Party. By doing so he overstated the clause’s significance & undermined his ability to fight back against Blair. Here’s my critical assessment in Labour Briefing in 1996. 6/6

The left responded with a campaign to defend the existing Clause IV (4). And of course we had a badge! Here’s a slightly battered version from my archive. 5/6

The nearest Labour ever got to acting on its socialist commitment was Atlee’s post war Labour Government. The post war story of our best ever Labour Government and its introduction of public ownership is wonderfully portrayed in Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ‘45 3/6

Clause IV (4) was always seen by many party members to be Labour’s socialist commitment but that somewhat overstated its impact on Labour’s actual practice! The Manchester Guardian report on the clause’s adoption on 27 February 1918 certainly saw it that way (cutting below). 2/6

#OTD on 26 February 1918 the Labour Party adopted Clause IV (4) of the Labour Party constitution. The original wording of 2018 can still be seen below on my old 1987 membership card. 1/6

A Million Podcasts have recognised the Labour Left Podcast as one of the Top 100 A Level Politics Podcasts on the web. You can find their whole list here: www.millionpodcasts.com/synthwave-po... 1/2

It’s Dennis Skinner the @BolsoverBeast’s 94th birthday today. Here he is in a photo I took in 1992 with Arthur Scargill & the late Peter Heathfield opposing another wave of pit closures. A great Labour MP & a committed trade unionist in the Great Strike. Happy Birthday Dennis.

The latest Labour Left Podcast is with New York’s Prof Ted Hamm. Find out how Zohran Mamdani became the Mayor of New York. Consider what’ll happen when he takes office on 1 Jan 2026. What can we learn from our own 1980s Red Ken? Please share. 1/4

The latest issue of the Labour Left Podcast is out and the guest is Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP the Labour Left’s candidate in the recent Deputy Leadership Campaign. Hear about Bell’s fight against racism in Parliament. Links in replies. 1/4

The latest Labour Left Podcast is out and I’ve been talking about Keir Starmer with Mark Perryman. Mark’s edited the best Starmer book so far - The Starmer Symptom. I think it’s fair to say neither of us are happy! youtu.be/qb50qcMmcow?...

The Labour Left Podcast #Lab25 Conference special is with the Campaign Group’s back from exile @johnmcdonnellMP Expect a bit of everything we talk Gramsci, PR, the whip, Ireland, Gaza, coups, Deputy Labour Leadership, conference & much more. Links in the replies. Pls share 1/4

Yesterday Colchester had its 100th Gaza vigil. It was the anniversary that should never have taken place. The country’s mood is moving against the government & its complicity. Keep pushing. #CeaseFireNow

Richard Burgon MP gives his thoughts on the Labour Deputy Leadership contest. 1/2

How can socialists oppose antisemitism, grapple with the politics of Zionism & support the Palestinian people? Rachel Shabi is a great starting point to help you learn how to navigate this difficult terrain. #SocialistSunday youtu.be/GAJ9KMnxKGQ?...