Why I’m standing against Stephen Kinnock at the next General Election

Dan Evans*, Annibyniaeth Trwy Sosialaeth/Independence Through Socialism

Stephen Kinnock is the Labour MP for Aberavon with a 16,761 majority.  That’s 68.1% of the vote.

So why am I standing against him?  What hope is there of me beating him and why would I want to stand against Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party?

I’m standing because Kinnock is also one of the most prominent New Labour opponents of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. Even if Labour had a majority in Parliament, he is highly unlikely to support the formation of a Corbyn-led government.

He will almost certainly be looking to join with Tories, Lib Dems and others to form a Government of National Unity/Emergency in order to take advantage of failing Brexit negotiations to call the whole thing off.

I would stand as an independent socialist candidate against Kinnock. And pledge, if the numbers were there, to actively support the formation of a Corbyn government. For these reasons, my candidacy could in no way be described as an act of reckless sectarianism.

Many would ask, “why not support the Plaid Cymru candidate as the alternative that could unseat Kinnock?”

Unfortunately, Plaid are now one of the most pro-EU and anti-Brexit parties in Britain and offer little that is different to Kinnock’s New Labour in that respect.

Neither do they have a recognisably socialist manifesto let alone the kind of radical socialist programme that the situation around the rapid dissolution of capitalism demands.

Rip off

Although I pledge to supporting the formation of a Corbyn government my programme would not reflect Corbyn’s rather modest manifesto.

Nor would I be in Parliament to argue that Westminster offers the working class people of Wales a route to socialism. Only an independent Wales offers that.

Whilst not standing in the way of the formation of a Corbyn government I would have my own radical programme for a Socialist Brexit and a new European settlement that favours the interests of workers over those of the corporations and the super-rich.

That programme would include the demand for a National Bank that can lend at a base rate to small business and facilitate social investment in accordance with a democratic and sustainable plan.

This bank would have a monopoly of credit to prevent private financiers, bankers and speculators from ever ripping us off again with their counterfeit money and claims on the social product.

It would include the demand for a regime of full-employment whereby school and college leavers and unemployed workers who cannot find their own jobs are bought into the local workforce to share in the available productive work.

Each would be paid the minimum of a trade union living wage whose hourly rate would be based on a 21-hour week.

The programme would include provision for the socialisation of the mega profits and property of the corporations and the super-rich and for worker-elected managers to replace fat cat executives and absentee share holders answerable to the workers, consumers and the government of the day.

Finally, I would advocate for a Federation of Sovereign Nations to replace the wretched Westminster Union.

I believe that my radical programme for a Socialist Brexit plus the call for sovereignty can unify the working class in Aberavon and enable me to beat Stephen Kinnock here as a first step to winning across the entire country.

So, I would urge you to support my candidacy against Kinnock in the next election, and stand against all New Labour MPs whose local CLP has failed to de-select them.

*Please note that this is not Desolation Wales’ Dan Evans, who is also an occasional contributor to this site.

---

Nation.Cymru is currently fundraising to pay for independent journalism. Just £2 a month by 600 people would achieve this – please click here for details.