Does Tottenham want ‘anti-worker’ David Lammy or Independent Socialist Nandita Lal?
Ms Lal, an Independent socialist, is challenging Labour Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy after receiving endorsement from Tottenham Palestine Action and other groups.
She says Tottenham is “proudly anti-racist” and the public mood is hugely unhappy with Lammy because he has “abandoned Palestinians and is complicit in their dehumanisation and genocide”.
Not only that, but Lammy is seen to be profoundly anti-worker – a contradictory position for a representative of the Labour Party. According to the Morning Star, “he has previously said it’s wrong for workers to demand a pay rise from their Heathrow airport bosses.”
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He is also seen as a betrayer of people who should be his natural allies: “He hasn’t said anything…about the treatment of Diane Abbott,” said Ms Lal.
And he is considered a supporter of the austerity that has taken from the poor and given to the rich: “There have been years of austerity cuts. But it doesn’t seem that Lammy wants to reverse any of those.
“The only interest being perpetuated by the Labour Party and the Tories is the interest of the ruling class,” Ms Lal told the Morning Star.
Her own platform is “pro-working class, socialist, anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist”.
She wants to highlight the arms trade and the way it harms ordinary people in Britain: “So much money goes into warmongering instead of bettering the conditions of people here. We don’t support the expansion of Nato, it’s just not in our interests.”
She said continued war and imperialist expansion contribute to the climate crisis: “To keep global warming in check there has to be a massive decrease in military spending.
“We want a safe and secure future where the spending on war is put towards tackling climate change and the housing crisis.
And she said her campaign is broader than just standing for the people of Tottenham – it points to the systemic failure of our current capitalist system.
“We are in a global capitalist system which is driven by profit, that’s the only motive,” she said.
“It’s really important to draw attention to the connections and why all our sufferings are linked.
“That’s why the young have so much to say about Palestine; because they see all these connections. They see that capitalism isn’t offering them a future.”
In fairness, I should make it clear that Nandita Lal is one of 10 candidates standing in the constituency. Besides Lammy, the others are:
- Amelia Allao (Christian People’s Alliance)
- Pamela Holmes (Communist League Election Campaign)
- Attic Rahman (Conservative Party)
- David Craig (Green Party)
- Hari Prabu (Liberal Democrats)
- Roger Gravett (Reform UK)
- Andrew Miles (Rejoin EU)
- Jennifer Obaseki (Workers Party)
I’ve said this elsewhere and will repeat it here: if you are a voter in Tottenham, This Site urges you to examine carefully each candidate’s election material, coupled with their parties’ manifestos (if they’re in a party and it has one), then work out which individual candidate’s plans coincide most closely with what you, personally, need.
Then vote for that candidate on July 4 (or by postal vote, if you have one, before that date).
Do not pay attention to the party mouthpieces urging you to vote tactically to “keep ——* out”. Tactical voting simply doesn’t work; we have four consecutive Tory election wins in our recent past to demonstrate that.
And it means you would be voting against your own best interests. Don’t do that.
Vote for what you need. How can you expect politicians to make things better if you don’t tell them how?
*Whichever party they think is the greatest threat to their own.
Source: Socialist Nandita Lal is challenging David Lammy in Tottenham – Socialist Worker
