Corbyn plans to host monthly “people’s forums”, which he describes as “a shared, democratic space” for local campaigns, and trade, tenants’ and debtors’ unions.
He believes these forums will form the basis of a new grassroots organising model that can be replicated across the country.
Most MPs hold regular surgeries for constituents to air their grievances or lobby the MP on a particular subject.
The Islington North MP called for people to “stand up for themselves and against those who have ignored their demands for peace and humanity”.
Marchers at the Durham Miners’ Gala, July 13, 2024Photo: Neil Terry / neilterryphotography.co.uk
DEMANDS for action by the Labour government to end child poverty, end arms sales to Israel and abolish all Tory anti-trade union laws were cheered at the 138th Durham Miners’ Gala.
The gala crowd of tens of thousands roared on Saturday as speakers called on Labour to use its record 172-seat majority in the Commons to transform society for working people in Britain.
Speakers called on the government to end arms sales to Israel and Britain’s complicity in the continuing slaughter in Gaza.
The 138th Durham Miners’ Gala began with the traditional marching of dozens of proudly raised trade union and campaign banners and brass bands through the streets of the city to the gala field for Durham Miners’ Association’s (DMA) Big Meeting.
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The gala celebrated the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike against pit closures, and Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), praised the courage of the miners for the strike which he said “has been vindicated ever since.”
He said the strike had also seen the power of the state unleashed. “They used the press to lie, the police to batter, the courts to lock people up for defending their jobs and communities,” he said.
He warned: “That was the message from the boss class in 1984-5.
Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer at NATO summit, July 2024. Source: Emmanuel Macron/X
In a letter to voters, Emmanuel Macron appears to downplay the results of the general election in France and stated that “nobody won”
“In the end, nobody won,” President Emmanuel Macron remarked in an open letter published on July 10, describing the outcome of France’s general election. However, the New Popular Front (NFP), a left-progressive coalition, secured over 180 seats in Parliament, emerging as the largest group. As most would put it, the NFP won the elections.
Macron’s letter has sparked rage and incredulity, with many claiming that the president is undermining essential democratic mechanisms. At the very least, he seems to be gaslighting millions of voters who mobilized to keep the far-right from power.
Despite their victory, the NFP lacks an absolute majority. This means that the left would have to build support for its program among opposition parties. Failure to do so could plunge France into chaos and exacerbate the cost of living crisis and other issues (largely stemming from Macron’s policies), according to mainstream analysts.
Capitalizing on this fear, Macron is now calling on political forces that “uphold republican institutions, the rule of law, parliamentarianism, a European orientation, and French independence” to set aside differences and form a joint program for the country’s benefit. His appeal excludes the far-right National Rally, the third-largest group in parliament, but also appears to marginalize the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI).
During the campaign, Macron and his allies repeatedly equated the “far-left” with the far-right, despite an ongoing agreement that the priority of the election was preventing a National Rally victory. Yet, voters strongly supported France Unbowed, making it the most represented partner in the NFP. In response to Macron’s so-called call for unity, France Unbowed members reiterated their commitment to the existing NFP program, which gained significant voter support but excludes Macron’s ideas.
“We were told we won’t be able to achieve unity, and we did. We were told we won’t be able to come up with a program. We did, and we’re the only ones to have numbers to back it. We were told we wouldn’t win, and we won. We will succeed in proposing a prime minister and a government,” Éric Coquerel from France Unbowed stated on Thursday.
Since the election results were announced at the beginning of the week, Macron has taken steps to delay the scenario Coquerel describes. He has asked current Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to stay on a bit longer after offering his resignation. By publishing the letter, Macron may be buying more time to see if parts of the NFP can be persuaded to abandon the mandate given to them by the people and join the liberals, excluding France Unbowed. Signs of his success will emerge in the coming days, with the NFP’s potential announcement of a prime minister candidate and the first parliamentary session on July 18.
Bolivian President Luis Arce addresses the crowd in Plaza Murillo. Photo: Ivan Bellot
“No one can take away our democracy!”
Bolivian President Luis Arce addressed the people of Bolivia on the afternoon of Wednesday June 26 to declare that the attempted military coup had been defeated.
On the afternoon of June 26, hundreds of military personnel had mobilized under the order of General Juan Zúñiga in the center of La Paz and surrounded the Quemado Palace (the government palace) ahead of a ministerial meeting. They proceeded to break down the main door to the palace with a tank and attempted to enter by force.
Zúñiga then announced that the military personnel would mobilize to the prison and free Bolivia’s “political prisoners” including Jeanine Áñez and Luis Fernando Camacho who are imprisoned over their involvement in the 2019 coup against Evo Morales. Áñez later wrote on X that she rejected the attempt by the military to destroy constitutional order and that “MAS with Arce and Evo should leave through the ballot box in 2025. Bolivians will defend democracy.”
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales immediately alerted to the development and called on the Bolivian people to mobilize in defense of democracy.
Bolivia’s foreign minister Celinda Sosa said in a video message, “The Plurinational State of Bolivia denounces to the international community the irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army that attack democracy, peace, and security of the country. We call on the international community, on the Bolivian population to make sure that democratic values are respected.”
While the army attempted to storm the palace, hundreds of Bolivian people began to mobilize to demand that democracy be respected and the army stand down. These protests with members of mass organizations, trade unions, and the general population were met with heavy repression by the military police officers who shot tear gas indiscriminately and blocked off access to the Plaza Murillo.
The Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) representing over 2 million workers, declared an indefinite general strike and “the mobilization of all social and union organizations to the city La Paz to defend and restore the constitutional order and our legally established government in Bolivia.”
After an hour of the military encirclement of the Palace, Bolivian President Luis Arce held a press conference to name José Sánchez as the new military command to replace Zúñiga. Sánchez ordered the military personnel that had mobilized to the center to return to their stations to avoid any bloodshed of the Bolivian people and affirmed that he supported the legal and constitutional government of Luis Arce.
A video also emerged of Arce confronting Zúñiga in the palace and firmly telling him to stand down and respect democracy. Shortly after the pronouncement by Arce and Sánchez, the tanks that had initially blocked off the plaza and surrounded the palace began to withdraw, and thousands of people flooded the area to affirm their rejection of the attempted coup and support to Arce. “Arce you’re not alone! Long live democracy!” they declared.
The attempted coup in Bolivia had international repercussions. Political leaders across Latin America and the Caribbean vehemently rejected the attempt by a fraction of the Army to subvert Bolivian democracy and celebrated the swift defeat of the attempt. Many highlighted that this took place just five years after the coup d’état which took Evo Morales out of office and installed the de facto leader Jeanine Áñez. After a year of resistance and violent repression to anti-coup protests, the Bolivian people restored democracy and elected Luis Arce.
Xiomara Castro, the president of Honduras and the pro-tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), called on all the presidents of CELAC member countries to “condemn the fascism that today threatens democracy in Bolivia and demand the respect of civil power and the Constitution.”
The International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA) wrote in a statement, “The heroic people of Bolivia have successfully defeated the coup! The people’s movements mobilized to defend the democratic government of President Luis Arce. We will always stand with democracy and sovereignty—today we saw the Bolivian people rise up against the Bolivian elites and their US masters’ attempts to destabilize the country.”
COB and other organizations in Bolivia have celebrated the people’s victory but also called on the Bolivian people and the international community to continue their vigil and state of alert against any further coup attempts.
