Organiser describes “huge positivity and hope” at local Your Party meeting, but says questions remain

After witnessing “huge positivity and hope for the future” at a local Your Party public meeting last week, independent organiser Khalid Sadur says there are still questions about how things are going to work going forwards.

‘Community campaigning as the bedrock of the new political party’

Sadur is the leader of Enfield Community Independents (ECI), which has been organising since 2024 against the local council’s Labour-Tory axis. He received Jeremy Corbyn’s endorsement in a low-budget challenge to the local political establishment last year, and now represents the main opposition to Labour-Tory domination in the area.

Speaking about the recent Your Party meeting in Enfield, Sadur told the Canary that:

ECI hosted a Your Party Enfield public meeting bringing together nearly 200 people from all parts of the Borough; inclusive of community groups and people of all ages, backgrounds and faiths. Corbyn himself pre-recorded a special message outlining the importance of community campaigning and this being the bedrock of the new political party.

The evening clearly highlighted the need for something new and resident-led in the Borough. The complete dissatisfaction with the current Labour council was clear but there was no real appetite to revert to the Conservatives either.

Criticising how “for far too long in Enfield, councillors have seen elected office as a status symbol and a means to a political end”, he said the area needs:

true representative democracy where councillors are engaged with their local area and are answering emails and solving problems for residents.

With this mission in mind, he asserted:

The meeting ended with huge positivity and hope for the future, especially with the local council elections coming up in May.

‘Unprecedented grassroots involvement’ and remaining questions

Speaking about the “thousands of local assemblies and regional rallies” Your Party is planning before November’s founding conference, and the plan for members to contribute to party documents, Sadur stressed that:

Grassroots involvement on this scale is unprecedented, culminating in a one member, one vote at conference for all those in attendance, either in person or online.

And in the interest of building “a proper alternative” nationally, he said, “we look forward to residents taking part and getting involved”. He added:

For too long, politics has been seen as something done to people rather than constituents actually taking an active part.

While “the nature of the consultations being planned is encouraging”, he asserted, some questions remain. For example:

Will Enfield Community Independents fold into the new Your Party or will it just maintain an affiliation at a local level?

Can people sign up and be members of both?

How will the local Your Party assemblies work and who will attend the 13,000 strong founding conference?

Sadur hopes there will be answers to these questions in the coming days and weeks. But in the meantime, the organising in Enfield will continue.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/ECIndependents