Pictured: Tariq Ali speaks

by Theo Russell, The Mew Worker

A lively meeting of local activists was held at the Indian YMCA in Central London last Wednesday to mobilise grass roots support in Keir Starmer’s constituency for the Camden People’s Alliance (CPA), which is standing in the May local elections in co-ordination with Your Party and the Greens.

The CPA is led by Andrew Feinstein, a former South African ANC MP, Gaza and anti-arms trade campaigner, who has played an active part in the creation of Your Party. In July he submitted the motion inviting Zarah Sultana to leave Labour and join Your Party as an “interim co-leader” with Jeremy Corbyn.

The meeting was held to launch the CPA’s local elections campaign, which will be run “in consultation with” the Greens and Your Party, with the Gaza war and affordable housing as key concerns.

Andrew Feinstein stood against Keir Starmer in Holborn & St Pancras as an independent in the July 2024 general election, taking second place with 7,312 votes against Starmer’s 18,884. His manifesto included opposing austerity and corruption, increased public spending and an end to NHS privatisation, and opposing the British government’s involvement in the Gaza genocide.

Feinstein told the meeting that the CPA’s creation was due to Britain’s support for Israel
and said “it’s a myth that Israel represents all Jews”. He said Kier Starmer was “actively complicit
in the genocide”.

“Starmer does not regard ordinary people – teachers, care and health workers – as important, for him only donors to the Labour Party are important. We have the best democracy money can buy.”

“We don’t just want Starmer out of power, we want him out of Camden too. And we want whoever replaces him to take him to The Hague to face justice for complicity in genocide.”

He added that “Zhoran Mamdani (the new Democrat New York mayor) would have no chance of being selected as a Labour Party candidate”.

Sarah Friday, Camden Trades Council Secretary, commented that “it’s a scandal that the British
government refused to agree an end to the appalling slaughter in Ukraine”.

The meeting was also addressed by the veteran left activist, journalist and author Tariq Ali, who said “I think this time we’re going to win – unless Starmer goes first”. Ali has joined Your Party, the first time he has joined a party since 1981, when he was expelled by Haringey Labour Party. He commented that “Reform, which has four MPs, is getting far more media coverage than Your Party, which has six MPs”.

Around 40 people joined the meeting including many extremely enthusiastic activists, including
a Your Party member from Tottenham who said they would be standing against David Lammy
in the next general election and said “we can bring him down”. He said that three councillors had been physically removed from a Haringey Council meeting after they called for withdrawing investments in Israeli companies.