London 2030: An Agenda for Hope

What would ending “forty years of neoliberalism” – the professed aim of Prime Minister Andy Burnham – look like in London?

Priorities might include the public ownership of Thames Water; the mass insourcing of Transport for London services, alongside local government and other public contracts; the further decentralisation of political power down to ordinary Londoners; and a transport policy that promotes climate-friendly transit – perhaps including cheaper public transport fares and an end to airport expansion.

Given that popular socialist ideas have moved into mainstream discourse at the national level, it seems sensible to start working out policies that could be applied in the capital and might form the basis of a Labour platform for the London Mayoral and Assembly elections in under eighteen months’ time.

This is the thinking behind the inaugural meeting of London 2030: An Agenda for Hope, to be held in London on the afternoon of Sunday December 6th. The meeting seeks to bring together different strands of Labour opinion, who all opposed the neoliberal factionalists in our Party whose bankrupt policies and fixing of selection processes under Keir Starmer and his henchman Morgan McSweeney cost us so many seats in London at this year’s local election.

On that basis, Andrew Achilleos, parliamentary candidate in Romford in 2024 and now on Labour’s NEC, Islington Councillor and Unite activist Ruth Hayes, Pablo John, one of the co-founders of Mainstream, and Campaign Group veteran and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP will introduce a discussion open to all members to map out the way forward. Sign up here.

Jumbo Chan, a Brent Councillor for ten years until he was blocked by Laobur’s factional apparatus from standing again, and one of the organisers of the event, said: “Good, decent Labour members are sick of the hyper-factionalism which underscored the previous leadership, and are eager to work with colleagues from across the labour movement to help turn into reality our Labour Prime Minister’s vision of ending forty years of neo-liberalism.

“Though popular, moving beyond the neoliberal orthodoxy — through public ownership, mass insourcing and decentralisation — will be extremely formidable. This is why we have assembled a broad team in the spirit of Labour’s historic pluralism, to help deliver this vision. We welcome all Labour Party members who feel the same to join us to build our Agenda for Hope on Sunday December 6th.”