The British Left's Strategic Dilemma: Greens, Labour, or Your Party?
For the long-marginalised British left, parliamentary byelections rarely spark excitement, but the Gorton and Denton contest is a notable exception. Polls, bookmakers, and tactical-voting websites indicate the Greens as close-run favourites, with thousands of activists campaigning for Hannah Spencer, a popular local councillor known as "Hannah the plumber" and owner of four greyhounds. This byelection represents a politics of competing populisms that bypasses the traditional Labour-Tory duopoly, pitting the Greens against Reform UK as rising forces challenging the political establishment.
A New Era for the Green Party
This election marks the first time the Greens have appeared as a majoritarian political project. Hannah Spencer, who did not attend university and is not part of the professional classes, defies the typical image of a Green candidate, potentially expanding their voter base beyond usual supporters. As left parties across Europe struggle to attract non-graduates amid increasing political polarisation, running candidates like Spencer—who aligns with Reform's idealised image of Britain—is a strategic move. If Green party leader Zack Polanski aims to take on Reform and replace Labour as the left-of-centre party, he must navigate an electoral system that favours small-town and rural seats, making more candidates like Spencer essential.
Your Party's Internal Struggles
Your Party finds itself in a different position, riven by factionalism, navel-gazing, and the tyranny of small differences following recent elections for its central executive committee. With results pending, figures like Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn have stood on opposing slates, leading to intense social media clashes among activists. Corbyn's slate advocates for a deeper alliance between the Muslim community and progressive graduates, focusing on shared economic concerns and anti-imperialism over social issues such as trans rights, reminiscent of the Respect party launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. In contrast, Sultana's slate promotes a radical-left approach, emphasising member democracy, building power beyond elections, and ideological maximalism, including nationalising the entire economy.
Both strategies have merit. A January MRP poll suggested Your Party could win four seats and come second in several others, primarily in heavily Muslim areas like Birmingham, Leicester, and Bradford, aligning with Corbyn's gambit. Sultana points to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as a model, highlighting its success in winning elections and organising workers through initiatives like the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. However, concerns persist about whether Corbyn, Sultana, and their associates possess the discipline to execute these plans, given a year of infighting that may have damaged the party's internal culture irreparably.
Labour's Uncertain Future
Labour faces its own challenges, with Keir Starmer's betrayal of his leadership pledges and purges of left-wing members driving thousands of socialists away. While many scorn those who remain, Momentum activists, allied with the soft-left pressure group Mainstream and buoyed by Andrea Egan's election as Unison general secretary, see potential for a comeback. Starmer is likely to depart after the May elections, with polls favouring Angela Rayner or Ed Miliband as successors. Both would likely move left on the economy, invite socialist MPs back, and present a united front against Reform, revitalising the Labour left after marginalisation under Starmer.
A Multi-Party Strategy for the Left
So, which party should British leftists support? The answer is all of them. Personally, after experiences with Labour under Corbyn and a brief involvement with Your Party, I joined the Greens, but not everyone should follow suit. Socialists may have valid reasons to stay with their current parties, such as long-built trust, local councillor roles, influence within party structures, or stronger local branches elsewhere. The grand-strategic case for hedging bets is that no single organisation can transform Britain into a socialist society. Instead, the left should foster a mutually reinforcing ecology of organisations that cooperate, coordinate, and work in productive tension.
Nigel Farage exemplifies this approach, having reconfigured British politics around a Eurosceptic, right-populist agenda through strategic ambiguity across Ukip, the Brexit party, and Reform. He has operated both inside and outside the Conservative party, adapting tactics to change, take over, or replace it as opportunities arise. The left can learn from this, recognising that a surging Green party strengthens the Labour left by forcing a progressive shift, creating media attention and space for left-wing ideas. This dynamic is productive and should continue.
We must admit that many possibilities are open. The Greens could replace Labour as the left's party or falter due to scandals. Your Party may fizzle out, but its activists could fill a DSA-shaped gap in the British left. Labour, despite Starmerism's turmoil, has endured for over a century and might recover with new soft-left leadership. Embracing this ecological approach and hedging bets, rather than choosing one party en masse, is the pragmatic path forward for the British left in an uncertain political landscape.
