This post will be segmented as it has been a busy week. Starting with Exeter.

Exeter:

I have been given the privilege of heading an Exeter branch. Speaking with branch leads and branch secretaries, what once felt like a slight nudge has turned into a full endorsement. I am not the type to appoint myself or to ask, so I am glad to have had the insightful chats over the last two days.

So now, how do I go about creating a branch in Exeter? From what I have heard from others who have done the same, with both success and defeat, they all gave similar insights: “It’s hard, but once you recruit one, it’ll get a lot easier.” So far, I have begrudgingly made a Facebook page and created an email account through Tuta. The rest is feet on the ground, leafleting across Exeter in the hopes of finding committed comrades.

Plymouth:

I was in Plymouth from Monday through to Tuesday morning. We had an early start, leaving Exeter at 7:30 am and arriving by 9 am. We headed to the Branch Lead’s house where we wrote the daily itinerary. Then, we moved on to canvassing Plymouth’s social housing estates. The reception was beyond anything I had seen before; we were selling newspapers left, right, and center, and getting TUSC votes. After that, we went to a school where we spoke with parents and handed out leaflets in a final push for the general election. More canvassing took up most of the day until the public meeting with locals hosted by The Socialist Party. The locals were eager to know who we are and what we represent as a workers’ party. The evening continued with drinking, which went on until the early hours.

Lessons Learned:

Election season is intense. The fun kind, like working a bar with four other staffers on World Cup finals – no time to think, but suddenly the bar is empty and we’re closing. Before we leave, we drink, we chat, and we’re all bound by the same experience.

The general election isn’t about the outcome for us. It’s state machinery and it needs dismantling, so it’s not important. What it’s about for me and my fellow comrades is class consciousness. People wake up and see the reality during a general election. We have contaminated drinking water for profit, electric and gas pricing that enriches shareholders and incentivizes environmental destruction, and a political class that sees us as mere objects to step over. We won’t see rent go down, we won’t come out of austerity, and we will continue to pad the pockets of our overlords.

So, comrades, take this time to push and agitate. Turn up to pickets, knock on doors, and ask, “Why are you voting reform?", “Any thoughts on our NHS?”. Be revolutionary.

Solidarity comrades,
Squid