Candidate(s):

Tom Walker – Nominated by Crouch End, Liverpool, West London 

Statement(s):

Tom Walker
Nominated by Crouch End, Liverpool, West London 

I am currently Left Unity’s acting press officer, which I have been doing for a few months now since being elected by the transitional national council. I have been involved in Left Unity’s press and media work sincethe beginning.

I’m a socialist, a journalist and an activist. My political background is that I’m one of the hundreds who resigned from the SWP in 2013, and a member of the loose IS Network we formed afterwards.  I work for Red Pepper magazine and I’m a member of the NUJ union. Among other things I’ve been involved in anti-cuts, anti-war and anti-fascist campaigning.

I think we need a new kind of left, beyond the betrayals of Labour and the Greens but also leaving behind the self-referential silos of the small groups – that is the potential of Left Unity. It is a chance to put forward a left alternative that is not bogged down in its own jargon or its own precise blueprint for socialism, but instead makes sense to and genuinely involves ordinary working class people.

There is a surprisingly significant amount of space, both politically and in the media, for a left challenge to Labour – as shown most recently by the success of Bianca Todd’s Guardian article, and (hopefully) by media

interest around Left Unity’s conference at the end of March. While I have no illusions in the mainstream media, I am absolutely in favour of using it where we can to get our message across.

In that spirit, I will put one plug here: do get in touch with your local media. Whether it’s sending them a press release about your meeting or event or just getting members of your local group to write letters

regularly, a presence in the local press can really help build Left Unity on the ground. It might sound difficult or intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. Email press@leftunity.org if you need more help or advice.