Jeremy Corbyn will attend the launch of Southport Community Independents in the seaside Merseyside town on 1 March. This local party “will balance a community-led approach with an alignment to Collective, nationally”, according to a press release. It will focus on “the needs of our town, while also gaining the shared knowledge and support of other independent groups up and down the country that share the aim to change the way British politics operate”.
Jeremy Corbyn: heading to Southport
On the launch’s webpage, the grassroots movement “for a more inclusive, compassionate, and community-focused Southport” said:
We are thrilled to announce our special guest speaker, Jeremy Corbyn, former Labour leader and lifelong advocate for social justice, equality, and community empowerment.
The press release added that Andrew Feinstein would also be attending. Feinstein was the independent challenger who significantly reduced Keir Starmer’s majority in the 2024 general election.
The webpage, meanwhile, clarified that:
This event will be in partnership with the Collective, Peace & Justice Project and Assemble.
Southport Community Independents’ leader is councillor Sean Halsall, who received Collective’s endorsement in the 2024 election. He campaigned against Labour, insisting that Keir Starmer’s authoritarian leadership “tore the soul out of the party” and risked serving as “a midwife for fascism”. And following the shocking events at the end of July, he praised how the local community came together.
The Canary visited soon after, and Halsall showed us round the town, introducing us to some of the people living and working there.
“A fundamental change to how politics works”
Southport Community Independents are committed to:
improving the way political structures and people interact
And Halsall explained:
Politics is broken. Locally, we see a disconnect between the way decisions are made and what residents actually need – their voices are not being heard and their interests are not being served. Nationally, we have a government that seems hell bent on breaking every single promise it made to the electorate. There are better ways to do politics – a type of politics that serves people first and foremost, whether that’s locally here in Southport, or nationally working with Collective to provide a genuine alternative to the UK’s political status quo.
He continued by stressing that:
For too long, politicians have asked for your vote and then very often taken it for granted. We want to ensure we are rooted in the community – making the decisions that are in the interests of the people who elect us, campaigning on issues that matter to and are led by you. We want to make a fundamental change to how politics works. We feel there is a dramatic problem when decisions aren’t made by the community, for the community.
The official launch of Southport Community Independents is on Saturday 1 March at Southport Pleasureland Valhalla room. You can book tickets here.
Featured image via the Canary
