CEC Candidate Profiles.

Below is a breakdown of answers, submitted by Your Party CEC candidates, to the Spotlight Your Party CEC Candidate’s questionnaire. This page is live and will be updated as we begin to receive further submissions from other CEC candidates.

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YOUR MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS

1. Please list any past and present memberships of political parties, trade unions and other political organisations, please detail any previous political offices you have held, explain the work you undertook there and what experience you feel you’ve gained as a result.

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

I haven’t really had too much of a role and have been more of an activist but have been a paying member of the following: Labour Party 2016-2019, transform 2021, Green Party 2024-March 2025

 

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

Party and before that a member of the Labour Party. I am a paying supporter of Republic, Liberty, Unlock Democracy and the Electoral Reform Society. I am also a member of the National Union of Journalists. I have held a number of political offices. Currently an Elected member of Liberty Policy Council and an Elected member of Unlock Democracy Council. Previously I was a Local Government councillor (1990-8, Labour), (2011-15, Green), then a Parliamentary Candidate for the Green Party in 2015, an Elected member of my trade union (NUPE now Unison) National Executive Committee, as well as Trade Union branch secretary (1983-90).

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

I have stood for election as a Labour candidate in Codnor, Derbyshire (parish council) Bridlington (East Riding Council) and as a TUSC candidate in the Cornwall Council elections in 2017, 2021, 2015, each time standing on a Needs Budget platform.
Political activism.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

I am a member of the Stop the War Coalition and DemBloc and I am a supporter of Your Party LGBTQIA+. I am formerly a shop steward for the USDAW trade union and was a member of the Liberal Democrats briefly in 2016 following their firm anti-Brexit stance. As a shop steward I was mainly responsible for representing members in grievances or disciplinaries. I discovered that union powers in retail had been repeatedly curtailed which committed my belief in socialism and power to the workers.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

I am a member of Your Party and a trade unionist, currently serving as a National Education Union (NEU) Union Representative. I have not held office in other political parties. My political experience is not rooted in career politics but in workplace organising, union representation, and grassroots activism. As a union rep, I’ve represented members in disputes, supported colleagues facing unfair treatment, organised collective action around workload, pay, and conditions, and helped members navigate institutional processes. This has given me practical experience in democratic accountability, transparent decision-making, defending members against power imbalances, and building solidarity — all directly relevant to serving effectively on the CEC.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

Internationally, I am a member of the United Panther Party (UPP), and the Quranist Network. These have been fundamental to my political learning and activism, which is grounded in the Principles of Disability Justice, the 10 Point Programme, and intercommunalism. The experience I gained, gave me a robust, equitable theoretical framework that informed my approach all local activism (wherever I was based at the time), and remains the basis of my praxis. For the Quranists Network, I organised conferences and still run the Quranists Revert and Convert (QRAC) group. Belonging to the UPP informed my work as a member of the High Wycombe Community Advocates – we blocked police/social workers in the community when they tried to fracture families, we attended court/police stations with minors who weren’t otherwise given the support of an appropriate adult, and we coordinated street dinners, grocery drops and clothes drives for vulnerable and unhoused community members. Nationally, I was a member of Unison while employed by a leading national housing association; and I was Wycombe Lib Dem Youth & Equality officer 2013-2014. I joined them in protest to hold my local Tory council to account for children being abused in out-of-county foster placements and special needs schools. I worked with a number of prominent politicians on national campaigns for issues relating to children and families, and campaigned to save my local library, which was successful, and our local A&E- which was not. I received an award for being the most successful canvasser in the South East: I encouraged the most 18 year-olds and over 60s to register and vote for the first time, and worked on two electoral campaigns for the European elections and Bucks County Council/Wycombe Council. My experience in these various political actions and campaigns has helped me to develop my insight into the world of politics. I have a strong sense of discernment around policies and actions that will benefit the people of Britain, versus those which will only benefit the few elites. As a seasoned campaigner, I am well able to build rapport with individuals, communities, and those within the political system. My unwillingness to compromise my principles to placate or comfort the ruling classes has earned me a reputation as someone who gets things done for the benefit of people at the bottom of the pile. This is seen variously as an advantage or a threat, as evidenced by the number of campaigns and campaign leaders who have sought out my support, only to drop me and move on when they found me unwilling to support their success at the expense of the people and communities they purported to serve.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

Member of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Held office at branch and constituency level, including Women’s Officer, branch chair, chair of LCF. Gained knowledge of the background activity that goes on to make political parties work

 

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

I was a member of the Labour party as soon as I was able to vote at 18, a civil servant in London with my first strike action for the Miners with the Battle of Orgreave in 1984 on 18 June the day before my birthday. In 1986 I moved to Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire and joined my local Labour Party Branch where I spent my time supporting the Oldest Poppy Seller and Labour member Wally Randle, who taught me everything and we delivered our local Labour newsletter pounding the streets. Most of my activism was local while I raised my family. I fought against many closures of community facilities in my local area, like the closure of parts of RAF Stanbridge in 2013 (famous for its collaboration with Bletchley Centre WWII Code Breakers) parts that were open to the public, and I always participated in canvassing and supporting neighbouring towns to get Labour members voted into local government. I have fought to reinstate bus routes in rural areas, closure of leisure centres, high street markets to list but a few. I was expelled from the Labour party in 2020 following a suspension from 2017 for weaponised antisemitism for my support of a free Palestine. I live in a Tory dominated area since 1986 until last year, when we received a token helicoptered in Labour MP who won. I have been a member of GMB Union and am currently a member of Unite Community. When I can, I assist with telephone canvassing at Unite HQ to assist with Strike Actions. My years of community activism, forming charities, foodbank, community fridge, community centres along with my involvement with the Labour Party and unions has given me a solid foundation that I have built on year after year.

 

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YOUR POLITICAL ACTIVISM

1. Please breakdown any previous political actions and campaigns you have been involved with – either through helping to organise, taking part in, or instigating – and explain what role you played in each.

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

Participated in: Nationwide protest against student fee loan rises in 2010, nationwide protest against Brexit in 2017, vigil for Sarah Everard. Spoken at and led Barnstaple unite March, organised by stand up to racism, spoken at Exeter unite against the far right organised by stand up to racism. Attended Palestine candlelight vigil just before Christmas. Have an organising role in local North Devon & Torridge protobranch as chair, currently building campaigns against proposed library cuts and south west water. Founded intersectional your party initiative called ‘safety isn’t optional’ – aimed at policy direction & discussion around gender based violence

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

I am currently working with local residents to set up a campaign to oppose the siting of an aggregate processing facility near to densely populated area. I was a founder of the Ban Live Animal Exports from Ramsgate campaign (2011-21) which through a combination of political lobbying and lobbying of animal welfare charities and direct action was instrumental in securing Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024. I helped to establish the East Kent Against Fracking campaign and was a speaker at several public meetings.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

I have marched against for nuclear disarmament, against Apartheid, against police brutality (Christopher Alder), against the poll tax, against the far-right in all its manifestations and against the genocide in Palestine. I was sacked from the Hull Daily Mail for my union activity. I organised Hull City UNISON into a fighting organisation when it had previously been in the pocket of the Labour administration there. I immerse myself in the class struggle.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

I am a member of DemBloc – a group that campaigns for a real member-led Your Party and holds frequent meetings to keep people updated on the current events in the party and promotes individual candidates for the CEC. I have attended a national march for Palestine with STWC and will attend as many others as I can until Palestine is free.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

I have been active in trade union campaigns on pay, workload, and working conditions in education; anti-racist organising; Palestine solidarity campaigning; and local grassroots political activity. My roles have included organising meetings, mobilising members, attending demonstrations, engaging in political education, and connecting structural political arguments to people’s lived experience. I am particularly focused on linking economic justice to everyday realities such as housing insecurity, debt, energy bills, and declining living standards, rather than relying on abstract or technocratic language.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

I began canvassing for the Labour party when I was 9 years old, with my dad – BBC Trade Unionist Richard O’Mahoney (who subsequently lost his job and was blacklisted for his TU activity). As a teenager, I participated on Imagine Lewisham residentials and conferences, having been invited by Lewisham Council and the Metropolitan Police, with the aim of improving community cohesion in the wake of the murders of Rolan Adams and Stephen Lawrence. As a young adult and single parent to a child with special educational needs, I campaigned for all children affected by lack of inclusion at school, preventing their attendance. I successfully changed Buckinghamshire County Council policy through judicial review, after they targeted me and removed my son from my care. This removal was later deemed inappropriate and retaliatory by the High Court, however the damage it has done to my son and my family, has been irreparable (due to the frequent and severe dangers of trafficking and abuse he was subjected to within the foster system) and this has served to fuel my activism and political determination with all the rage and heartbreak wrought by systems that continue to harm the most vulnerable families in the name of ‘support’. As an adult I have run successful campaigns to demand justice for vulnerable adults imprisoned without due cause – Osime Brown and my son, Elliot – as well as supporting families affected by a death in state custody. I have also worked to shed light on corruption and abuse in the police force, notably around their behaviours around violence against women and girls, and the lack of transparency/accountability when police officers are involved in cases of abuse. I am particularly pleased that just this week, my back-door missives seem to have helped drive the new standard whereby police officers will be required to complete registration and demonstrate suitability for, and compliance with the law in order to retain their jobs. I have continued to fight for family and educational justice, especially for SEND kids, and unsupported families of children being pushed along the school exclusion to prison pipeline. I have unfortunately had to deal with violence and deliberate misrepresentation of facts from tabloids and right-wing parties (notably UKIP’s Nick Tenconi and his ‘Disciples of Christ’ at Norwood Primary School, locally – where a decision to move the school’s Easter service onto school property to enable the inclusion of SEND children, was portrayed nationally as an attack on Christianity, and Islamophobia was encouraged by keyboard warriors on social media, our county Police Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, and right on up to Suella Braverman). I also founded and continue to run my own grassroots organisation, Siblings of Marsha, at a local, national, and international level, with a view to offering community education and support, centred on the Principles of Disability Justice. Siblings of Marsha began after I was excluded and ostracised by a local so-called ‘People’s Pride’ after standing up for trans and Global Ethnic Majority people’s rights to attend their event without being subjected to abuse. I have since taken quiet delight in watching them fall as I rise – their founder attempted to smear me as a terrorist, after rejecting me from the group for advocating for global ethnic majority and trans people, having themselves been accused of misappropriating funds and then convicted for having breached a sex offence order! Oops!

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

Came late to political activism. My main activities have centered around organisational and management aspects and offering support to those who are more “up front” than me.

 

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

From 1984 I boycotted work in the civil service through union action along with fundraising for the miners. 2004 worked in London running a youth facility and Adventure Playground working alongside Other youth groups like Kick Start and campaigned for Greener Streets and Food Programme, securing £750K for various projects, keeping the community fed and maximising their job opportunities, all fighting class war, abject poverty in Southwark, Borough and Peckham, the demolition and social cleansing of the Elephant and Castle Haygate Estate, while 2 streets away million pound penthouse flats. From 2006 I started and grew a Palestine support network in the early days of facebook.  We still have lots of activists in private groups orchestrating co-ordinated direct action against the Israeli regime.  Storming websites, business feedback forums, boycotts on line of businesses.  Later came twitter storms, raising awareness, marches and protests, and mass BDS campaigns.  I am a proud member of the PSC.  Our groups from around the world under the banner group Humanity for Palestine, influenced many at APAIC in 2014. I was part of a smaller group, who financed and hosted Independent Pro Palestinian Israeli Journalist David Sheene, driving him to speaking arrangements in the UK.  Also financed and hosted Iyad Burnat (peace award recipient) from the village of Bi’lin in the Westbank on his speaking tour of the UK (brother of the film maker Emad Burnat 5 Broken Cameras). Distributed Iyad’s book (around the world) Bi’lin The Non Violent Resistance.  In 2017 myself and my Pro Pal colleagues were targeted by Gnasher Jew and Zionist David Colliyer in a dossier given to Labour HQ and the Daily Mail.  Most of us were ruined, lost jobs, (I did) our Labour Party Membership, and then went underground with our activism. In 2020, I co founded a community charity in my home town and surrounding villages.  Foodbank, Community Fridge, Social Supermarket, Community Centre.  I have led campaigns to get food waste donated by law (as in france) to groups such as this. Ran as an independent cllr  in my Tory dominated area) unsuccessfully.  Fought cuts to bus routes, implementation of pre paid utility meters, stood outside Peoples homes to prevent bailiffs entering. Assisted and still do the homeless, veterans, and refugees get access to all the help they deserve.

 

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YOUR HOPES FOR YOUR PARTY

1. What does Your Party mean to you, what do you want to see Your Party members doing more, and how would you support that work from within the CEC?
2. What processes and safeguards would you want to see implemented to curb factionalism in the party and ensure that members remain sovereign when it comes to important decisions.

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. Your Party is a place where everyone can come together and start to campaign and fight for what is right. I’d love to remove barriers that would see more members participating, holding educational seminars etc.

2. I think factionalism is okay, but it tends to become dangerous when it drowns out ordinary member’s voices. I would ensure branch visits prior to CEC meetings to collect members’ voices so that we can improve processes to their standards. The CEC should be answerable to its members, not the groups the CEC belongs to.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. The opportunity to build a new and powerful member led democratic socialist party which will eclipse the Labour Party and ultimately become a party of government. Your party members must build the organisation by focusing on campaigning on local and regional issues such as cuts to, and closure of public services, environmental issues etc. The CEC should support local campaigning by providing training, publicity and other resources.

2. YP must be a democratic member led organisation which, within the limits of its membership approved constitution, supports and encourages a broad spectrum of socialist opinion. An active internal democracy counters factionalism.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Your Party means a chance for the working class to have a voice. This has been absent since 1995 and I have spent that time, as a member of the Socialist Party, calling for and working for political representation for the working class. Your Party members in Cornwall are already in action, supporting the “Needs Budget for Cornwall” campaign. As a CEC member, my priority would be ensuring members, organised in their branches, control the party via annual conference.

2. Healthy debate is normal and to be welcomed. There will naturally be a struggle between contending tendencies but this can be accommodated within an organisation which has internal democracy. I stand for all elected reps to be paid no more than the average wage of those who elect them; elected reps to be recallable, should a majority of constituents desire it and for all all positions to be subject to yearly or biennial elections.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I believe Your Party is our last chance to see a real socialist programme of government in this country and to really organise at the grassroots level. If we can successfully help branches to form in every constituency and give them the funding and advice they need to reach out to their neighbours, we can make a real change and give people a real voice. If elected to the CEC I would prioritise solutions for members to communicate with each other both nationally and at constituency or regional level..

2. I would campaign against the formation of slates and the use of MPs social platforms/mailing lists to promote specific candidates or messages. There has been a “Jeremy vs Zarah” narrative form around this election which I believe will taint the CEC and risks a massive disengagement in the party from those that identify with one particular MP if their candidates aren’t elected in their specific region. I would fight to ensure that at least a percentage of conference attendees is always decided by sortition to ensure that people that can’t/don’t wish to join branches or other groups have an opportunity to be heard.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Your Party represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a genuinely democratic socialist alternative rooted in working-class self-organisation rather than parliamentary careerism. I want to see far more workplace and community organising, stronger political education, and more visible local activity beyond election cycles. From within the CEC, I would prioritise resourcing branches, improving transparency and communication, and removing unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to member-led initiatives.

2. Factionalism thrives where power is concentrated and decision-making is opaque. To counter this, I would push for: a) Clear, published explanations for all CEC decisions, b) Consistent, rule-based procedures applied equally, c) One Member, One Vote enshrined constitutionally, d) Mandatory member ballots on major strategic decisions. Unity cannot be imposed from above — it has to be built through fair, democratic structures that
members trust.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Amidst a national sociopolitical climate that is increasingly comfortable with right-wing ideology and bigotry, and given the intense scrutiny of Your Party as a leftist option, it is important to be extremely clear about where the lines are drawn. If people are desperate to cling to a little bit of racism, as a treat, then parties with lower standards are ready and waiting for them. I VEHEMENTLY believe the best hope for Your Party (and all of Britain) is to establish truly intersectional politics, with members leading and empowered to build successful communities. To achieve this, we need to establish local authorities that are truly democratic, transparent, and able to be held to account not just by members, but by the communities they serve. There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer, and one of the things that makes me most optimistic about the way Your Party has been established, and continues to gather support – despite all the chaos – is seeing active and engaged members who are not afraid to tackle the hard questions and demand the best from each other. My plans for working within the CEC are to continue this work; to encourage the drive for improvement both for Britain, and our political culture, by putting the most marginalised people front and centre in our decisions. We cannot say we are a party #ForTheMany if we do not prioritise the needs of the working class, and most vulnerable members of the non-working class (children, the elderly, and disabled people). Within Your Party, I am seeing the beginnings of movement towards success with the incorporation of various new groups as the administrators understand the need for them. Just this week a Progressive Muslim group has been established after feedback when I was questioned on how I (a Queer Muslim) would promote positive working relationships between the Muslim and LGBTQI+ groups. I am also lobbying to establish an Equity Oversight Committee to bridge the various working groups and ensure the development of and adherence to internal policies that truly safeguard people’s protected characteristics. Alongside this, I hope to offer educational opportunities for those keen to learn more, and am very willing to re-engage with my consultancy work for Your Party, on this. I am so buoyed by the rising understanding being demonstrated by key players in Your Party, that people from majoritised backgrounds, do not have the necessary understanding and experience to write and enact policy that safeguards those of us in marginalised/multiply marginalised groups. As grassroots activists it is vital that we are aware of our own strengths and limitations, and collaborate together to ensure that the people with the most expertise, have the opportunity to lead.

2. The Principles of Disability Justice (created by disabled Black and women of colour in grassroots activist group Sins Invalid) provide a comprehensive framework that will enable cohesion and clarity around decision-making. The overwhelming majority of decisions that need to be made, will be supported by these Principles, and the more party members who implement them as a lens for supporting decision-making, the more cohesive we will be. Following a process that promotes policy over personality, will also be important. I have watched with dismay as slates (that may not have the best policies, but are headed by popular members) have gained over and above the numbers of votes needed to put candidates in the ring. I have been told by other members that ‘members who can’t drum up 75 votes locally probably need to work on that first’ – this is a disappointingly limiting perspective, and the ability to network 75 people in your local area, is a multifactorial issue unrelated to your ability to write good policies. It is a disappointingly myopic view, for a group that suggests they are trying to avoid replicating top-down decision-making. Removing personalities from the equation would take the wind out of a lot of factionalism, and enable the actual grassroots work of collaborating to create and action excellent policies for the benefit of the communities we live in.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. YP is a chance to be something completely new and different in the politics of this country. It’s exciting to think that we can actively engage with people and value what they have to say and incorporate this into national policy, alongside local campaign issues.

2. I’d work to make sure we remain committed to this ideal, calling out authoritative or disrupting behaviours. We can disagree respectfully and build consensus through listening and debate. We need to remember we have more in common with each other than we have differences, and take the fight to our real political enemies. I will support and uphold the constitution on these matters. OMOV is at the heart of our organisation and should remain so.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Your Party feels like its our last chance to build something honourable, honest and uncorrupted politics.  For me I call Politics, community support/activism.  It gives me hope that individual people like me, in our thousands, can change politics for the better and leave a better world for our children and our grandchildren.  I want to see YP members form People’s assemblies, free to support their communities because they know what their communities need better than westminster.  It will be the CECs duty to provide all the tools and finances to empower the branches and the assemblies.

2. The processes and safeguards to me are simple.  I have spent most of my adult working life developing these in various job roles and volunteer roles. Clear, plainly written, unambiguous policies need to be developed, with members.  Every member and member of the CEC must sign up to this programme. If people deviate or seek to undermine the party, there will be a clearly defined process, with recall face to face opportunity for discussion and resolution.  We must all pull together. 

 

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LETS TALK POLICIES

On Disability

1. A disabled person’s care needs don’t end when a parent or carer reaches retirement age but the carer’s allowance does. What do you think the CEC and Your Party could do to address this injustice?
2. Are you committed to the social model of disability?
3. How do we ensure the rights of disabled people are taken seriously?
4. How will you ensure accessibility and inclusivity for disabled people in Your Party?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. I’ve always been firmly for Universal basic income, but as an immediate improvement to parents of disabled children or unpaid carers however, carer’s allowance should be a full time wage.

2. Yes, I’m committed to the social model of disability.

3. We listen to them, and include them in decision making processes that directly affect them.

4. I have AuDHD so I’m well aware of the shortcomings the party has had in regards to accessibility. I would ensure accessibility and inclusivity by not only creating guidelines for branches to follow with disabled people leading the initiative, but also by arguing for ring fenced funding so that accessibility doesn’t depend on local access to funds. 

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. My partner and I care for our 2 disabled daughters. Carers allowance which is currently £83 per week is a joke and ending carers allowance on retirement is a sick joke. Carers must be paid the equivalent of the real living wage for the hours that they care and this should apply to retired carers.

2. Yes, I am.

3. The Equality Act 2010 must be reviewed and improved strengthening the rights of disabled people and their carers and with tougher penalties for those who abuse, mistreat and discriminate against people with disabilities.

4. YP must have a strong constitutional commitment to supporting inclusivity for disabled people both within the organisation and within society. I would argue for the setting up of elected regional and national disability advisory committees within the party comprised of disabled members and perhaps seats for the disabled members on the CEC.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I don’t know enough about disability benefits to comment authoritatively but in general, my stance is that we live within a state which begrudges paying the social wage (as it is a drag of profit). We will always struggle to get what we need under current circumstances. I currently lead Cornwall TUC’s “Needs Budget for Cornwall” campaign and am liaising with families of children with special needs/learning disability who are currently looked upon a burden.

2. Social work students learn about the social model counterposed with the medical model. As a Marxist, I subscribe to the social model of disability with the caveat that we need to change society for disabled people to be enabled.

3. By making provision for them within Your Party and joining them in their wider fight.

4. Accessible meeting venues, signers, exploring barriers to disabled people becoming involved, reserved places for disabled people in the party structure.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Quite simply we need to make carer’s allowances last as long as that person is a carer. We additionally need to increase it from the paltry £83 a week it currently is and increase the maximum amount that working carers can earn to still be in receipt of the allowance.

2. I’m not sure on the wording of this question! I fully believe that disabilities are exacerbated by societal conditions and that we can do much more to make it easier for disabled people to participate in society in the same way as everyone else. I reject recent legislative changes such as “premium” cars being removed from the Motability scheme when these cars are among the most reliable and comfortable to drive – two very important attributes for disabled individuals.

3. At a party level we ensure our constitution recognises the social model of disability and ensures that access to participation in the party is always considered first and foremost.

4. When hosting in-person events (venue accessibility, nearby accessible and affordable accommodation, organised accessible transport between venue and accommodation) and when hosting online events (ensure quality closed captions and a BSL interpreter).

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Care needs do not expire with a carer’s working life, and neither should support. Care is work and must be recognised as such. Your Party should campaign for lifetime carer support and disability benefits based on need rather than arbitrary age thresholds or cost-cutting assessments.

2. Yes — fully. Disability is not primarily located in the individual but in the social, economic, and physical barriers that exclude people from full participation. Policy must focus on removing those barriers rather than forcing people to adapt to unjust systems.

3. By embedding disabled people directly into policymaking, abolishing punitive assessments, ensuring legal enforcement of accessibility standards, and treating disability rights as non-negotiable social rights rather than discretionary welfare provision.

4. Accessibility must be proactive, not reactive. This means hybrid participation as standard, accessible documents, funded reasonable adjustments, flexible meeting structures, and ensuring disabled members can participate fully at every level of the party, including leadership.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Universal Basic Income with supplements for disabled people and those who provide care for us, would address many of the current challenges caused by the current social welfare system. This would also help to weaken the possibility of duress from external factors and unmet support needs, as we consider the Assisted Dying Bill and contingent legislation..

2. Yes, I am. I have multiple disabilities, most of them caused by how society is currently operating, and all of them impacted by society. Anyone can become disabled at any time, and far more people are currently disabled than are acknowledged to be. It is more than time we act to diminish the stigma around disability and ‘being disabled’, and focus on inclusion and accessibility. We showed, as a country, that we could make fast changes to enable inclusion – think how quickly we innovated and enabled working from home, and how many people reported their wellbeing improved, their work-life balance was better, and productivity was increased! Accessibility is for everyone.

3. By using the Principles of Disability Justice as a framework to support all decision-making, the rights of disabled people will be prioritised on the basis that ensuring access and the ability to thrive for even the most multiply marginalised person, will require systems that inherently benefit everyone else, too.

4. I intend to centre us. We exist in all levels and groups of society, but are still (usually) left out. Accessibility and inclusion is for everyone, and if we prioritise and accommodate the most multiply marginalised no-one will be left out.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Currently, we live in a disjointed system where healthcare and social care are separate entities, and often provided by private companies or thrown onto relatives without adequate support. Elderly carers, who may need support themselves, are expected to continue caring for others. This is neither sustainable nor socially acceptable. We therefore need to work to create a better system. Short term, we need to campaign that (at the minimum) carers’ allowance continues for as long as the care continues, and also to raise the amount considerably. There is an army of carers out there who are saving the government a fortune while being forgotten and neglected. This needs to change.

2. Short answer, yes!

3. By listening to them. “Nothing about us without us” because anything else is patronising.

4. By building these values in as a constitutional right and enforcing them vigorously. To work with disabled people to help decide what is needed and necessary. By having hybrid meetings as S.O.P.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Carers Allowance should continue for as long as the carer is caring for a disabled person, and not finish when they retire.

2. I am most definitely committed to the social model of disability.

3. By having a disabled working group and forum.  They know whats best, they live it.

4. By continuing through legislation to make our transport, town, facilities, and workplaces more inclusive.

 

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On Benefits

1. What is your vision for sickness, disability, carer, child and unemployment benefits?
2. Do you support a Universal basic income / Universal basic services?
3. Currently, Amnesty International calls the social security system in the UK ‘Consciously cruel’. What do you think needs to be done to tackle this?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. As mentioned before, it should be universal basic income. All benefits are not sufficient to live on and seeks to punish those not in work as opposed to empower them and enable them to pursue things in their own time that might fulfill them on their own terms.

2. Yes!

3. Attitudes on social security need to change — instead of viewing people by their capacity to make money, we should view people who rely on social security as exactly that … people. Any changes or policy on people who rely on social security should be done in consultation with them.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

In answer to all these questions, I support Universal basic income / Universal basic services 100% and I would argue that the current benefits system be replaced by a Universal basic income.

 

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. We haven’t moved on from the Poor Law model of deserving and undeserving poor. Benefit claimants internalise this attitude and it poisons that attitude of people in work towards those claiming benefits. This all contributes towards a sick society that produces sick people. Your Party must encourage “claimants” (that word is a loaded term) to take part in the party and the political process in general.

2. UBI doesn’t address the fundamental inequality in society which produces the attitude referred to above. Leaving the capitalist class in control will mean UBI will always be under pressure and funds devoted to UBI will be diverted from other parts of the social wage. So I do support it as a potential improvement but with reservations.

3. I think Amnesty International took that from Ken Loach! It is indeed consciously cruel for the reasons outlined above. We could, as a party, encourage civil service unions to stop participating in this cruelty along with a general campaign to make the public realise there is plenty of money in our society and no need to cut/ration/sanction benefits.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Benefits are an extremely divisive subject and are all too often weaponised by the right-wing media. Your Party needs to tackle the bias against benefits. We should ensure that if someone is a full time carer for a sick or disabled individual, then this can be their sole focus without them having to seek employment just to make ends meet. Remove the stigma from being sick or disabled and ensure there are no future caps on child benefit introduced.

2. Yes. This is a core tenet of the socialist society I wish to see.

3. As in Q1, the social care system is used by the right-wing press as an easy way to manipulate its readership into blaming the most vulnerable in society for all its ills. A strong press regulation should exist to prevent this sort of victim blaming.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. The benefits system should be universal, non-punitive, and sufficient to live on. Benefits must exist to provide dignity and security, not discipline and coercion.

2. My priority is Universal Basic Services — guaranteeing access to housing, healthcare, transport, education, energy, and childcare as social rights, thereby reducing reliance on cash transfers. I do not currently support UBI, but I believe it is worth exploring in the future as part of a broader transition away from punitive and means-tested welfare, provided it complements rather than replaces strong public services.

3. Sanctions should be abolished entirely. Disability and sickness assessments must be humane, non-adversarial, and rooted in trust. The entire system needs to be rebuilt around dignity, security, and social solidarity rather than deterrence and punishment.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I support UBI and also insist that it must be given alongside nationalised services and improved access to community, educational, and comprehensive healthcare support that is free at the point of access. It would be a radical change from the current cruelty of the system, and our nation’s wellbeing index would be transformed by the consistent provision of people’s basic needs.

2. Absolutely. I prioritise them.

3. I anticipate that UBI and universal services that are informed by the Principles of Disability Justice will successfully alleviate the cruelty we currently face when engaging with welfare services. One of the things that gets flagged up time and time again (especially by disabled activists) is the lack of opportunity to feed back on process that affect us, and in many instances it feels we are deliberately denied the chance to inform the development of services we use, and that affect us. Your Party being committed to grassroots work, will need to translate to integrated processes for gathering feedback on systems by those who use them, to ensure development is structured supportively and effectively.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. As said previously, a much more effective social security system is needed. Something like UBI combined with UBS for those needing additional support could be a good way to deal with this so I’d like to see this actioned.

2. Yes!

3. And yes, Amnesty International are right. We have descended from a system that supports to a system that punishes, yet any of us could need social security at any time through no fault of our own. We need to tackle societal attitudes and its going to be a difficult job. However, it’s been done before and can be done again.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. It is my vision that we should stop calling them BENEFITS. That makes them sound like a perk.  They are not.  They are the collective social network that supports our most vulnerable when they need it.  Social Security should stay in line with VAT, and we should look to increase them in line with our European counterparts.  They need to be increased for decades of deliberate stagnation.  It is the poorest who support our economy the most.  They spend every penny just surviving, while areas of our society don’t spend their money in the uk or pay their fair share of taxes in the uk.  Poor people keep the economy going.

2. I support Universal Basic Social Support with greater Services provided.

3. We must be more compassionate. Stop vilifying our most vulnerable people in society, stop funding private training companies on the gravy train for those out of work. Legislate to remove pre paid utility meters.  And I will repeat above, stop calling them BENEFITS. That makes them sound like a perk.  They are not.  They are the collective social network that supports our most vulnerable when they need it.  Social Security should stay in line with VAT, and we should look to increase them in line with our European counterparts.  They need to be increased for decades of deliberate stagnation.  It is the poorest who support our economy the most.  They spend every penny just surviving, while areas of our society don’t spend their money in the uk or pay their fair share of taxes in the uk.  Poor people keep the economy going.

 

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On Jobs

1. How do we generate more well paid jobs in this country?
2. Do you believe the wealth gap between employers and employees needs to be addressed and, if so, where would you cap it?
3. Do you think the real living wage should continue to be voluntary or obligatory?
4. Do you think we should introduce a ‘back-to-work’ scheme in this country where people are given an annual allowance, instead of fortnightly benefits (for a period of time), so that they can become self-employed instead?
5. Do you think think the Employment Rights Act is adequate and, if not, why not, and how would you want to improve it?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. End low pay by design – minimum wage is not enough to live off, support worker owned businesses and invest directly in ‘good jobs.’ I believe that UBI will also allow people to participate in the arts too, creating flourishing entertainment sectors.

2. Yes. I would support pay ratio limits, so the highest paid individual cannot earn more than 10-20 times than their lowest paid individual.

3. Obligatory.

4. Yes! Some people work better for themselves.

5. No. I don’t think it goes far enough to protect workers. We need rights from day one. More protections for disabled people in work and end exploitative practices like zero hours contracts, personal improvement plans etc.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. More investment in the public sector.

2. In my opinion a cap at somewhere between £80k and £120k might work.

3. The real living wage is widely recognised as being a much more realistic assessment of a basic minimum hourly rate of pay which is higher than the national minimum wage. On that basis I believe that it should be obligatory and should replace the national minimum wage.

4. I believe that both the self-employed and employees should all receive the universal basic income when unemployed. Where people wish to become self employed or have a business idea I believe that the state through loans and grants should provide support.

5. It is not adequate. Workers should be protected from unfair dismissal from day one. The rights of trade unions should be strengthened.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Scrapping the anti-union laws, democratising the unions, Your Party orientating towards the trade unions, £15/hour minimum wage now, bringing the economy into public ownership, ending tax havens and repatriating the £1 trillion lying there and re-distributing it. Shorter working week with no loss of pay. Basically, socialising production and basing investment decisions on need.

2. Emphatically yes. It would be worked out by the measures outlined above.

3. RLW needs to be scrapped and £15 minimum wage fought for.

4. Reframing monies received as an allowance would be helpful but are we talking about coercion into self-employment or something else?

5. ERA is an utterly cynical stitch-up between the discredited Labour Party and the equally discredited TUC in an attempt to support Labour into power in the 2024 general election. It would be improved by immediately scrapping the Cameron government’s anti-union strike threshold law as they promised.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. We can do this in a number of ways but most important in my view, is the removal of privatisation and private equity from industry. Profit is stolen labour and this must be invested into the workers. Workers truly owning a business and making business decisions to grow a company is entirely realistic and achievable. If the workers choose to elect a managing director from their numbers then they are free to do so, but we should absolute reject the principle of investors that make a single financial contribution to a business and then forever take dividends that should be paid to workers.

2. No business would exist without the workers. We need to acknowledge this first and foremost and while it is true that some businesses are built on the good ideas and experience of one individual, it doesn’t mean that they should earn 1000% more than the people that make their business exist. If we had workers owning the means of production, then there simply wouldn’t be a pay gap, but before we get there, we can cap CEO/MD salaries and we can change the system to prevent them being paid in line with the personal allowance and taking out dividends or director loans etc. to supplement their earnings in a low tax/tax-free way.

3. I commend the small businesses that pay this but it should be obligatory and it should increase each year.

4. I believe we should change our marginal tax system in general so that people who work two jobs (i.e. while trying to build their own business) aren’t punished for their entrepreneurship.

5. I commend the upcoming changes in the ERA to remove the two year waiting period for protection against unfair dismissal but this should be from day one, not 6 months. We should abolish the concept of zero hours/gig workers and ensure they are paid a living wage not linked to how many deliveries they make, but while this system exists it should have the full protections of the ERA.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Through large-scale public investment, a green industrial strategy, reindustrialisation, and the expansion of public services. Decent work will not be delivered by deregulation or market incentives but by democratic planning and public ownership..

2. Yes. Extreme pay ratios are socially corrosive and undermine solidarity in the workplace. I support enforceable pay ratios between highest and lowest earners within organisations, alongside progressive taxation on excessive remuneration.

3. It should be mandatory. No one working full time should live in poverty.

4. I am open to voluntary, non-coercive schemes that support people into self-employment. However, I oppose punitive “back-to-work” programmes that shift risk onto individuals without adequate income security or collective protections.

5. No. It must be strengthened to include sectoral collective bargaining, secure contracts by default, stronger protections against unfair dismissal, and the full repeal of anti-union legislation. Workers must have real power in the workplace.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. The simple (yet not-so-simple) answer is to reduce the wealth gap between employers and employees, and ensure we start investing in the generation of innovation, emerging technology, and regeneration of our economy. The long-term and (equally complex) answer lies in the way we approach education, broadening our horizons and our understanding of ‘work’, and developing the kind of economy future generations can thrive in.

2. Yes, and I believe it needs to be addressed quickly to reduce the gap, with incentives that offer ringfenced funding for investment in supporting businesses that make this a priority. As to suggesting a cap for employers I think the terminology is a little broad – ‘employers’ could mean individuals, corporations, or state services. I also think there would need to be regulation to ensure parity between British and overseas employers of people in Britain. I don’t mind owning that it will take a keener financial mind than mine, to navigate the complexities and come up with a workable answer – and this is the beauty of Your Party – those experts are among us, bringing a wealth of experience and capability. We are stronger when we collaborate.

3. Any business that prioritises profit over paying a wage that safeguards the basic survival needs of its most junior staff members, deserves to go out of business for terrible ethics. If a business cannot operate without exploiting its employees, it should cease to function because it is a bad business. I refuse to see that as radical – it should be the baseline. One of the main challenges to employment in our country is the current employment laws, that continue to benefit the elite at the expense of everyone else, and to the specific detriment of those unable to work. These challenges currently manifest through unsupported, vulnerable families feeding the school exclusion to prison pipeline, and the failed SEND provision to NEET pipeline. Britain’s people are being stretched beyond their limits, are left without support, and then blamed for ‘their’ failures to attain well-paying jobs and achieve the traditional milestones of adulthood, or even the basic markers of adult function (stable home, consistent nutritious food, economic independence, good health and wellbeing). This urgently needs to change, and I believe the introduction of UBI would be an excellent start. From there, we will be able to implement employment policies akin to those in Finland, where work-life balance is prioritised and productivity increases due to accessibility and employee satisfaction. All current policies relating to employment seem to fall woefully short of protecting the rights of employees to HAVE a work-life balance, seeming instead to enforce a culture where people must work to survive, and those who do not work are seen as unworthy of survival, never mind the ability to thrive. It is my earnest belief that everyone should be housed, fed, warm and safe before anyone has a right to a super-yacht – and that shouldn’t be controversial.

4. No, because it would be impossible to legislate. Self-employment is extremely hard, as most self-employed people will confirm. Self-employment is also not suitable for everyone, due to the complex nature of the administration involved and interconnected factors that must align for the business to succeed. Where do people get the education to manage the elements of self-employment? Is current self-employment policy fit for purpose in a future Britain that will look very different under Your Party? What happens after a year, if someone is not yet self-sustaining? How can you write sensible policy when the outcomes for so many people would depend on unquantifiable variables? The introduction of UBI would give people stability, and community hubs would give them the chance to access training and support to enter the workforce in a practicable, sustainable manner.

5. It is not, because too many people are struggling to make ends meet, even working several jobs, and too many CEOs get paid handsomely for the exploitation of their workers. As a disabled person who has been variously employed, worked in voluntary positions, done unpaid work, and been unable to work at all, I can say with complete confidence that my energy is not best spent on generating recommendations for a piece of legislation that a) is not my area of expertise, and b) needs rebuilding from the ground up following the introduction of UBI.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Going to turn this around slightly and say, more jobs should be well paid. If a job needs to be done, people should be paid fairly to do it. There have been so many cuts made through the lens of “austerity” – especially to things like the arts, sports, museums, music, local services – that simply restoring investment to public services will generate jobs. Additionally many people would like to work for themselves, especially in creative fields, but insecurity and overheads either puts them off or makes it difficult to earn a living. UBI would certainly help in this sort of scenario.

2. Yes it does. Nobody works a billion times harder than somebody else! I haven’t got a figure in mind but I’ve heard a figure of 20x from bottom to top. So if the people at the top want more, the people at the bottom have to get more too.

3. Obligatory (and should be higher).

4. No comment on this as I haven’t looked into it, but see also comments about self-employment above.

5. Again, not completely up to speed on this (I’m now retired!), but things like workers and union rights have been eroded and the constant threat of “burning unnecessary red tape” would undoubtedly be a threat to health and safety at work. So I’d like to see it reviewed and made properly fit for purpose. This would include things like the right to strike and to picket.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Reduce business rates, particularly high streets which are dying. Tax breaks and grants to encourage more business to start up.  Small family owned businesses also pour their money back into the local economy.  Introduce more apprenticeships in our trade industries.  Build/develop more council houses, like we did after WWII. Creating jobs and tackling housing simultaneously.

2. There is massive inequality between employers and employees.  Eg wages for an administrator role in an office has remained the same for the last 15 years, in my region.  We must introduce a real living wage. and stop subsidising the big businesses, eg like Tescos, who made unprecedented profits in 2024 (3.182 million up 10.9 %) and then top up their workers wages with Universal Credit because they don’t earn enough. That Scam has to stop.

3. A real living wage should be obligatory.

4. I would welcome a ‘back to work scheme’ as previously stated, its small businesses in their local community who put money back into their communities along with the workers who spend their wages locally.

5. I know the Employments right act has been eroded over the last 2 decades.  I am no expert, and will answer the question honestly, I would need to research and speak to those more qualified than me, along with workers from all industries to understand how their working week is affected, eg Zero Hours Contracts.

 

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On Housing

1. How do you think we can improve housing in deprived areas, so as to tackle the urgent issues of rising rents, unaffordable housing, shortage of social housing and, in some areas, Airbnb or developers taking over all free properties that could become homes for people? This issue is badly affecting young people who can’t afford the rent on their low wages and also older people 50+ who also can’t find enough work
2. When we win an election, and if it’s within your remit to do so, what measures would you implement to address the homelessness crisis.

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. As someone from Devon I know the issue with housing intimately. I’m for ending right to buy to keep local stock of housing, mandatory affordable housing, I also support abolishing landlordism but in the meantime, rent control, higher council tax for second homes and seizure of homes that have been empty for more than 3 months is a good start.

2. I would provide stable housing without expecting people to address issues that led them to homelessness. Housing is a right not a privilege. I would invest in social housing, using public land and funding to build affordable, secure homes. I would also push for stronger protections for renters, ending exploitive practices that landlords engage in.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. YP must argue for a massive increase in the rate of council house building including greater powers to compulsory purchase and convert into council homes, residential and suitable non residential properties which have been empty for over a year. Planning gain rules and the current viability assessment loopholes must be strengthened to ensure that private property developers contribute more towards building affordable rented social housing.

2. As above plus a large investment in temporary housing so no one will have to sleep rough.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. There is a huge housing crisis in Cornwall – 22000 on the waiting list at the same time as Cornwall Council feeding developers hundreds of millions of pounds to build anything but social rented homes! Don’t worry, we’re onto them with Cornwall TUC’s “Needs Budget for Cornwall” campaign. This advocates the hundreds of millions being channelled into private hands to be diverted into creating a direct labour organisation building housing for need, not profit. There are a host of other measures a local authority could take to alleviate the crisis but until Your Party gets going, we only have councillors who work against our interests.

2. See above plus immediate end to Right to Buy and the Bedroom Tax.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Social housing should be the sole remit of local authorities and private landlordism should be abolished. We should immediately commence a national council house building scheme and tax property developers (who have failed in their obligation to provide affordable housing for many years) to achieve this. Airbnb would not be abolished in this country, but it would be confined to only providing holiday homes that aren’t suitable for day-to-day domestic use (such as for camping/glamping etc.). We should introduce total bans on second homes in areas where there are waiting lists for accommodation such as Cornwall, Devon & Wales and these could be bought back by the Local Authority under a compulsory purchase scheme such as in the Housing Act 1985 (Part 2).

2. Any vacant properties would be used for housing the homeless immediately, regardless of any legal challenges that might arise. Where the property is deemed to be a second home, acquired only for tax purposes or other unsuitable reason, it would revert to the local authority and be repurposed as affordable housing.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Housing must be treated as infrastructure and a social good, not a speculative commodity. We need mass council house building, rent controls, restrictions on short-term lets in high-pressure areas, and limits on speculative buy-to-let ownership. Young people priced out of housing and older people facing insecure work and unaffordable rents are victims of political choices, not market inevitability.

2. I would prioritise Housing First models, end “no recourse to public funds”, and support emergency acquisition of long-term empty properties for use as secure housing. I am also keen to explore Professor Steve Keen’s Housing Authority proposals, which offer the kind of radical structural thinking needed to break housing speculation permanently.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. If we win an election, I propose we massively overhaul our current social housing system, bringing the housing stock back under the management of local authorities; investing in the creation of excellent social housing intended for long-term use (likely after models implemented in France and Spain, where purpose-built blocks offer various sizes of accommodation, with integrated parking, gardens, and service hubs – provision that increases the number of people accommodated on a single footprint, as well as creating space for sustainable/regenerative features such as rooftop gardens, living walls, and integrated vertical wind farms); creating safer, more appropriate temporary accommodation; creating a system where people can easily exchange a property that no longer suits their needs; and taking a “housing first” approach to tackling the homelessness crisis. We need to establish new legislation that safeguards local housing for local people, and makes it harder for unscrupulous landlords to exploit holidaymakers at the expense of local communities, but this has to go hand-in hand with increased provision of social housing, as the ‘staycation’/microbreak industry also an important economy that should not be destabilised as facilitators face legislative changes.

2. My plans for UBI, social housing, and community hubs should offer huge steps towards addressing the homelessness crisis. There also needs to be a comprehensive review of the current provisions for homeless people in Britain, that seeks to understand not only the causes of homelessness, but that identifies and tackles the barriers back into housing. Punitive shelter rules that preclude beloved companion animals, partners, or penalise people who struggle with addiction, need to be developed to enable provision that is compassionate and user-focused – it is not enough to just get people off the streets, we need to create systems that equip and empower them to stay off the streets.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Housing and homelessness is a huge issue and will need tackling from several directions. Personally I’d like to see an end to things like buy-to-let mortgages, “investment properties” being built and then standing empty, and no-blame evictions. I’d also like to see renters able to use their rent payment record as part of their credit rating. Low cost mortgages from councils/government for those who are first time buyers, social housing for those preferring to rent. Refurbishing existing properties to a liveable standard and redeveloping brownfield sites rather than endless urban sprawl which mainly benefits developers. For starters!

2. I’ve covered most of this above as regards the long term, but there also need to be more immediate measures regarding homelessness and those who live on the streets. Extending emergency shelter provision comes to mind, as does ensuring these are truly safe spaces. Working with homeless charities to see what needs to be done, and (longer term) trying to prevent homelessness in the first place.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. We need a programme of building more council houses (not privately rented by the council and not housing associations (effectively private landlords)).  We need to remove the unfair and crazy system of “bidding” on social housing properties.  We solved the homeless problem during the Pandemic which shows it can be done.  I would like to see more innovative programmes like small housing villages, (1 person dwelling spaces) built from containers etc.  I think we should look at other countries. There is a great programme by TV Presenter George Clarke called “Does Vennia have the best council housing” for inspiration.

2. We need to address the mental health and substance abuse crisis in our country, we need to provide more free accessible help to this community and then get them into housing with continuous support to help them maintain their housing.  Working closely with Homeless organisations, Mental Health Organisations, Veteran Organisations etc.

 

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On Inequality

1. Where do you stand on Trans rights and do you believe a woman’s place on the CEC should also be open to Trans women?
2. What is your stance on a youth/student wing, Disabilities group, BAME group, Women’s group or a LGBTQIA+ group within the party?
3. If it were within your remit, what measures would you want to see put in place to combat Transphobia, gender stereotypes, racism, religious intolerance and the general ‘fear of the other’ within our communities, for example in education, in health, in the work place and in negative media portrayals.
4. How do you think we can tackle the centuries-old culture of blaming poor people, and address the real causes of poverty?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. Trans women are women, their liberation is vital. Yes I do.

2. These are all essential groups that are needed, so long as the women’s group is intersectional.

3. Prejudice grows when people are misrepresented or are pitted against one another. I would push for measures that educate, protect, and empower rather than punish or divide. In education, it is important to teach age appropriate lessons on the diversity of society. Schools should normalise our differences, not fear them. In healthcare, training is vital to ensure staff remain respectful and provide informed care to everyone. In the workplace I woud support stronger protections against discrimination, fair pay and clear routes to challenge harassment safely. On media, I would challenge harmful narratives and support humanising representation of marginalised communities. We should centre lived experience not panic.

4. We need to start challenging ideas that poor people are to blame for their own poverty. There’s always a reason, be it a loss of job, social circumstances or disability/sickness.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I can see no reason why there could not be a woman’s and a trans seat, but this should be matter for discussion by women and trans members with recommendations on a way forward.

2. I support the establishment of such groups.

3. As mentioned above I would like to see a review of The Equality Act 2010 and improvement and strengthening of the rights of disabled people and their carers, the BAME population, Women and LGBTQIA+ people disabled people and their carers and with tougher penalties for those who abuse, mistreat and discriminate against people with disabilities within the workplace and throughout society.

4. By having an education system which addresses the real causes of inequality and injustice in society. Tackle these causes by the introduction of a wealth tax and increasing rates of income and corporation taxes, closing tax avoidance loopholes and offshore tax heavens to redistribute income more fairly and by investing this money into improving public services.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I support trans rights and would support a trans woman taking a seat reserved for women.

2. Young people, based on my observations are largely absent from Your Party although they are seen on street protests demonstrating against racism, climate-change etc. That must change! In principle, I support youth/BAME/women etc groups but there need to be safeguards in place which prevent empire-building and careerist tendencies. A structure needs to be found where the different groups feed in seamlessly to the main party.

3. We will always have negative stereotypes while capitalism exists. We need to hammer home the idea that we are the working class, whatever colour, sex, orientation we are and that we should be united against the common enemy. The current attempt to impose the IHRA definition of anti-semitism in the NHS is a massive threat to health workers and has to be opposed.

4. See above. See our history to understand it – Peasants’ Revolt, Henry 8, enclosures, vagabonds, Speenhamland/Work houses, deserving/undeserving poor. Along with that history is a proud history of working class resistance.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I am a committed LGBTQIA+ ally and was extremely disappointed to see the gendered language used around CEC “gender balance” that excluded nonbinary comrades. I believe CEC regional seats should have been comprised of either 1 Man and 1 Woman or Trans woman or 2 Women/Transwomen.

2. They are important, but care must be taken to ensure they are not sidelined but are always kept at the forefront of how the party runs.

3. Transphobia (and other fear of the other statements) would be classified as hate speech and social platforms would be heavily fined for each instance of it they allow to stand. I believe this would trickle down into society and form a healthier general discourse.

4. We need a political party that isn’t owned by big business and private lobbyists. By ensuring that no Your Party MPs accept gifts or donations above £250 as in our constitution, we could then have a political party that speaks to the real causes of inequality – billionaires that don’t pay their way

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. I approach these issues with humility and a willingness to listen. I believe everyone is entitled to dignity, safety, and equal treatment, and I support equality before the law and within society for all people, including trans people.

2. I support the existence of groups and spaces within the party that enable members who face disadvantage or exclusion to organise collectively, share experiences, and participate more fully — provided these structures strengthen inclusion, accountability, and democratic engagement across the whole membership.

3. The party should prioritise political education, transparent and fair disciplinary processes, and foster a culture of respectful debate rather than fear or exclusion. Structural discrimination must be confronted directly, not treated as interpersonal misunderstanding.

4. By consistently exposing the structural causes of poverty — exploitation, low wages, housing costs, asset inequality, and political decisions that concentrate wealth and power — and rejecting narratives that frame hardship as personal failure rather than social injustice.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Trans rights are fundamental to the Principles of Disability Justice, and trans women ARE women. Science and society both provide evidence that there is no way (nor rationale) to exclude trans women without causing a ripple effect of harm and exclusion that is a) needlessly illogical, and b) continues to erode women’s rights wholesale. I believe trans women should (and need to) have a place on the CEC, however it is important that this is as a point of inclusion, not exclusion – this place should be in addition to, not instead of the place of another woman. I also firmly believe that the CEC should have additional places for other marginalised genders, as we are not currently considered at all, and the focus on trans exclusionary reactionary talking points has overshadowed the need to also include non-binary masc and femme representation, as well as offer a seat at the table for intersex people, who seem to be left out of everything!

2. I would be very honoured to mentor a youth/student wing (alongside dropping the voting age to 14, and increasing the provision of political, social and cultural education via the aforementioned citizenship classes in schools and communities) to empower our children and young people, who are currently overlooked and denied the right to a voice in decisions that affect them. I am a member of the Your Party disability, LGBTQIA+ and VAWG groups – whilst all of these cohorts and marginalised groups need and deserve their own forums, the purpose of intersectionality is not to create pigeonholes, and there should be cohesion across working groups. Again, this is where the Principles of Disability Justice show their worth, with their framework providing a comprehensive structure to enable this.

3. The Principles of Disability Justice also provide a framework for combating bigotry and ‘fear of the other’ within our communities. Community citizenship classes and the aforementioned overhaul of the education system, along with UBI, improved services and access to healthcare, and robust community education on culture, media literacy, and life skills, will remove the ability of the elites to generate division and discord in communities by scapegoating minority groups for the impact of harmful legislative decisions.

4. The other (and more important) aspect of how I plan to address inequality (including but not limited to the blaming of poor people for their own poverty) is to create one-stop community hubs where people can access education and services. These hubs will be provided by local authorities in coordination with, and led by communities, within a system of re-nationalised services and improved access to social housing. By instigating UBI, we will ensure that people are entitled to the minimum they need to survive, and the community hubs will put an end to the cycle of opaque devolved responsibilities, and for-profit charities picking up government slack, without the ability to effect change. Community hubs will help to reinvigorate engagement in a culture of neighbourliness and solidarity, as well as empowering people to work together to develop local solutions for local problems. There needs to be a dramatic shift in the culture of the ruling class, from viewing constituents as faceless, demanding groups who exist to drain the budget, to partners who bring their expert local knowledge to guide decision-making for the benefit of the communities they live in. Your Party has the opportunity to drive this change, and knock the elites from their pedestals and investing wealth hoarded from exploitation, back into the people of Britain.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I stand for trans rights and believe trans women are women, so yes women’s places should be available. I further believe that the current wave of transphobia is the tip of a large misogynistic iceberg, so a threat to trans women is a threat to us all.

2. I’d certainly support the other groups you mention to have proper representation within the party, including CEC level, as it says in our current Constitution.

3. Combating these attitudes (including scapegoating the poor) needs to be societal and legislative. I can’t believe how far and how quickly gains have been reversed!

4. Again, we need to reverse a whole way of thinking. Not easy to do overnight, but people tend to empathise more with individuals than homogeneous groups, so telling stories of those people might be a way in. We need to make perjorative words (eg ‘scroungers’, ‘workshy’) unacceptable in describing the poor in the same way as we do for words that are racist or homophobic. But most importantly, we need to end poverty itself.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Yes I believe there should be a place on the CEC for Trans.

2. We should have working groups for Youth/Student, disabilities, BAME, womens and a LGBTQIA+ within the party, without  doubt.

3. I would definitely like to see more educational programmes/services rolled out to our communities (education age appropriate) and workplaces.  Education is the key to this.  I think we should also introduce new legislation or enforce existing legislation to tackle mainstream media misrepresentation, non representation and outright lies.

4. We need to stop calling them poor.  It’s a  working class war that has been raging upon us for decades now.  We need to change the public narrative through a balanced media and rid ourselves of foreign influence directing the narrative.  We need a public relations department that calls OUT any misinformation, deliberate lies and direct unwanted foreign influence. And they need to do it immediately, not days or weeks later.

 

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The Environment + Green & Renewable Energy

1. Consider the challenges of building renewable energy. What is your view on how we should handle the trade‑offs between industrial growth, renewable construction, environmental impact, and the concerns of local people, for example, in the proposed Morgan & Morecambe Wind Farm?
2. What do you think should be done to tackle global warming and environmental degradation?
3. How do we achieve a just transition from the fossil fuel extraction industry to carbon neutral occupations?
4. How do you think we can tackle the lobbying power of the fossil fuel and animal agriculture industries?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. We urgently need to expand renewable energy, but how we do it matters just as much as how fast we do it. The climate crisis is real and accelerating, and delaying action has serious consequences, especially for working-class and marginalised communities. That said, renewable projects should not be imposed on communities without proper consultation or care for local environments. Decisions must be transparent, evidence-based, and genuinely participatory, with local people involved early, not after plans are already fixed.

2. We need a rapid transition to renewable energy, through public and community ownership. Keeping energy affordable, democratic and sustainable. This includes major investment in insulation, public transport and green infrastructure, creating well paid jobs as part of a just transition for workers too.

3. A just transition has to start with workers and communities, not targets alone. People who have powered the economy for decades should not be discarded in the shift to a low-carbon future. We need guaranteed retraining, ensuring pay, conditions and pensions are protected and regions need long term investment. We also need to ensure that workers and communities have a direct voice in the planning process, as well as having a system backed by public ownership, so the transition serves people and the planet, not private profits.

4. I think lobbying to influence policy is wrong and the practice should be stopped.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I support the development and building of renewable energy facilities but accept that some projects can be unpopular or baldly planned. However, the planning system has in recent years become, following Tory and Labour interference, heavily biased in favour of developers at the expense of local people. A review of planning law and the introduction of a new more independent system with greater public participation would lead to the submission of better proposals from developers and the need for fewer public objections.

2. We must move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible to clean non-polluting energy. We must invest in restoring forests, the natural environment and the flora and fauna it supports.

3. A carefully planned transition and re-skilling/ training is essential.

4. All political lobbying by industry and the rich and powerful is wrong full stop. It should be made illegal as it is a form of corruption.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Global warming has been weaponised by the far-right and the capitalist class in general. It is utopian to believe the existential crisis facing us will be solved without ridding the plant of capitalism. I have seen nothing from Your Party which prioritises the reversing of global warming and that needs to change fast.

2. See above.

3. See above.

4. See above.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. We are facing a climate catastrophe and we must accelerate our adoption of green energy. While in some instances this might upset locals I personally don’t believe offshore wind is a reasonable thing to protest about given its benefits. Wind, Solar and Hydro should be the focus of a 10-year green energy push which can be funded by levies on big energy companies.

2. We are currently on track to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 – this is one way in which the government is tone deaf to the needs of real people as the national infrastructure simply does not exist for many people to charge EVs and isn’t likely to exist in a mere 4 years time. We need initiatives like this backed up with real affordable EV options for all and cheap and plentiful EV charging. An EV scheme to get people into an EV car subsidised by the government would be essential and could create many thousands of jobs.

3. The costs of transition should fall on fossil fuel corporations and accumulated wealth, not on workers or energy users. This means windfall taxes, ending subsidies for fossil fuels, and redirecting that money into public green investment. We need to nationalise our energy industries to democratically plan and execute the transition.

4. Take money out of politics. By adhering to our constitution we can prevent Your Party MPs from taking gifts or donations and therefore ensure they don’t have interests outside of serving the public.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Renewable energy must be rapid but democratic. Projects should involve local communities from the outset, deliver tangible local benefits, and be publicly or cooperatively owned wherever possible. Climate policy must not replicate extractive capitalism under a green label.

2. We need rapid decarbonisation, public ownership of energy, massive investment in renewables and public transport, large-scale retrofitting of housing, and an end to environmentally destructive extraction and industrial agriculture practices.

3. By guaranteeing retraining, income security, and union involvement for all workers transitioning out of fossil fuel industries, alongside public investment in green manufacturing and infrastructure.

4. Through transparency laws, strict political donation controls, public ownership, and removing corporate access to policymaking processes that undermine democracy and environmental survival.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Great Britain has a unique and threatened ecology, with our national resources being undermined by harmful policies and the prioritisation of executive bonuses over sustainable practice. Our national identity is bound up in the image of ‘this green and pleasant land’ but is being undermined by the nation’s leaders selling our land from under our feet to international corporations like BlackRock, and pushing our farmers to the brink. Our seas are full of shit, and we have been turned into a nation of NIMBY’s without ever being given the opportunity to understand the many alternatives. Our view on renewable energy has been shaped by the political and media agenda to see it as existing in opposition to industrial growth, construction, and the concerns of local people. I deny that this is true, but until we can step away from the scaremongering that the only way forward is for everyone to have a windmill in their back-garden. We are ignoring the effective and already-proven technologies available in other countries, and seem fixated on wind farms or nothing. What about solar panels that cover and support grazing pasture for animals? What about roads with pressure panels that generate energy as cars drive? What about the hundreds of thousands of miles of wasted spaces on business rooftops, where small, vertical windfarms can contribute enormous amounts of energy without anyone’s back garden being taken up? What about every lamp post and telegraph pole and bus stop currently standing that offers possibility? What about investing in truly sustainable, renewable energy and embedding it into practice to free us from incapacitating power bills?

2. I think the first thing has to be to educate the people. The climate crisis has been painted (deliberately, I might add) as the purview of ‘woke snowflakes’ and ‘loony lefties’. Whilst protest is meant to be impactful, the actions of groups like Just Stop Oil (however well-intentioned) have alienated the majority of the public, weakening their desire to engage with climate justice. This has been exploited by groups like Reform, who portray the pursuit of net-zero as directly in opposition to the improvement of daily living standards of the people of Britain. The country has been driven to view science with cynicism, pushed by a government agenda that prioritises ‘getting back to normal’ in the face of an ongoing pandemic, and anti-scientific bigotry paid for by fossil fuel companies as a distraction from climate change (https://atmos.earth/political-landscapes/fossil-fuel-billionaires-are-bankrolling-the-anti-trans-movement/). My community hubs will be tasked with offering relevant applications of actions that improve understanding of, and engagement with climate justice for everyone, as well as supporting local innovation and community leaders who will develop solutions to local problems, and can contribute to national policy. Beyond that, in terms of the levels of financial penalties incurred by businesses continuing to use fossil fuels, and the incentives offered to those willing to invest in innovation and the development of sustainable technology and processes, collaboration with the experts will be key. I would start by bringing them to the table, as consultants on these matters.

3. As above – by collaborating with experts and incentivising change.

4. The only way to halt the lobbying power of fossil fuel and animal agriculture industries is to stop funding it. This will happen through education, community cohesion, investment in alternatives, and ultimately a cultural shift in our economy and political decision-making, (based on, you guessed it – the Principles of Disability Justice) that will enable EVERYONE to thrive – both now and into the future.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. This is a challenge, but one in which we have at least made a start in this country. People seem to generally see the need and benefits of renewable, but there is still tension about the siting of projects. I can’t speak for the particular development mentioned except in general terms, that sensitive environments should be protected. This also goes for farming practices.

2. In short, everything that could be done, must be done. And quickly.

3. Getting the green economy right is essential. We cannot keep having infinite growth with finite resources. People working in threatened sectors (fossil fuel industries etc) need reassuring that their livelihoods will not be devasted, but transferred to greener industries (with free retraining where necessary).

4. Clamping down on all the “incentives” currently on offer from powerful lobbyists would be a good start and could easily be legislated for. Neither should they be allowed to publish or promote factually inaccurate campaigns.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. We need to introduce new legislation that can also be retrospectively applied to all housing/industrial/ commercial builds.  They must have solar panels/ rain water collection for each property to sustain itself.  Every new large building programme must have an autonomous environmental impact study.  All large infrastructures must also have solar/water collection facilities.  Roads and busy walk ways can collect electricity too. We must look at simple readily available systems to start to tackle our energy and environmental crisis.

2. (see above).

3. (see above).

4. We must legislate against ALL lobbying of businesses to parliament.

 

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The Economy

1. Imagine Your Party has just won the General Election. How do you think Your Party could best manage the hostile economic reaction of the capitalist markets and hostile hyper capitalist countries?
2. What is your view of economic growth versus de-growth, and what do you think the key economic policies of Your Party should be?
3. Do you support the Wealth Tax?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. Economy is not my area of expertise. I believe any decisions should be taken in consultation with experts

2. Again, this is sadly not my area of expertise.

3. Yes, I do support a Wealth Tax.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Pre-planning is essential to manage capitalist plans scupper a socialist government. Emergency legislation to prevent the outward flow of capital and selling off shares and investments etc may have to be used. Working with other parties such the Greens, Plaid, SNP SinnFein and aligning with other sympathetic countries will demonstrate solidarity and help resistance. Finally a socialist government under attack by capitalists must appeal to the voters who elected it to come to its support in a show of unity and strength.

2. I support economic growth in climate change mitigation and clean energy industries and de-growth in fossil fuel industries.

3. Yes, 100%.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Your Party won’t win a general election without a generalised upswing in consciousness which YP necessarily has to be involved in bringing about. In this situation we can assume similar developments worldwide. If there are no parallel developments we will indeed come under enormous pressure. An aroused and united working class will not allow gains to be taken away. A clear-sighted awareness of where we are at each stage and confidence in our ideas will enable us to cope with any challenge.

2. I have already enunciated the policies we should take on the economy. Producing for need rather than profit will have the same effect as “de-growth”

3. I support taxing wealth. 165 billionaires resident in this country are a rich resource! But a wealth tax is a reformist measure which the capitalists can take back at a future date. We need to make billionaires history.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Short term we should expect hostility from capital and plan for it in advance. Mitigate this by being decisive and enacting our core policies as hesitation causes market turmoil. Longer term, we should ensure that we nationalise key industries quickly and that this translates to a lower cost of living quickly to ensure we are a popular movement. We should implement tight controls on finance to avoid other events like the 2008 global crash that people are still feeling today.

2. GDP is a terrible measure. It is anti-human and I have never personally been better off just because GDP increased by half a percent. Your Party should aim to preside over the growth of good sectors – renewable energy, public transport, socialised housing and healthcare while aiming to shrink bad sectors such as private rent, fossil fuel extraction and anything involving destruction of the environment.

3. Yes!

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Any democratic socialist government should expect hostility. We should not be naïve about that. We would need public banking, capital controls where necessary, strategic nationalisation, and international cooperation with governments pursuing progressive economic paths.

2. I am sceptical of growth for growth’s sake. Economic policy should prioritise wellbeing, sustainability, redistribution, and democratic control rather than headline GDP figures. Key policies should include nationalisation of utilities, wealth redistribution, industrial strategy, and universal public services. .

3. Yes. A Wealth Tax is essential to breaking the concentration of economic power and funding social transformation. It should be progressive, enforceable, and applied to assets as well as income.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I think it is a fallacy to suggest that policies that benefit the people, are naturally in opposition to economic growth and success. There would be a backlash from individuals that currently line their pockets due to the legislated disparities affecting people in Britain, but the wallets of the few do not take priority over the needs of the many. Countries like Finland and Japan are praised for their burgeoning economies, technologies and innovation, and are powerful competitors in the international market. It is my aim that Britain joins them, as a self-sustaining, economically robust power-house that understands the need for, and benefits from continued investment in its people, who drive, support, and sustain the workforce.

2. Key economic policies for Your Party must prioritise and reward innovation, sustainability, and investment into the future workforce. Whilst Brexit was a shambles, it showed the strength of feeling across the nation, for us to be able to stand on our own two feet, and to make decisions about Britain, for Britain. I believe that this strength of feeling is vital to develop and draw from, to ensure that British policies, British businesses, and British innovations, prioritise and benefit the people of Britain.

3. As a general principle? Yes, absolutely. In terms of its specific application, again my recommendation is to collaborate with experts to develop the particulars.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Managing both the media and the markets is likely to be a big issue for YP. Economic policy isn’t my area of expertise but we need to be robust in both implementing policies and defending them. Proving to the public that our policies work and are benefiting them is essential.

2. I’m quite interested (but not knowledgeable) about the principles of economic de-growth and this is something we should probably be discussing as a Party. Many people are no longer buying into the “more is better” narrative and this is something we could build on.

3. Yes, absolutely, although I’m not yet decided on what form this should take.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. We need a dedicated PR Team and a dedicated economist team, to respond to scaremongering of the capitalist markets and countries.  Regular live TV news broadcasts, maybe from our own TV/Radio Channels. I would like to see the likes of Prem Sikka and Gary Stevenson on board.

2. I will answer question No 2 honestly, although I have managed million pound budgets in my various jobs  and fundraised hundreds of thousands over my working life, I cannot answer this question.  I would take advice from the likes of Prem Sikka and Gary Stevenson.

3. I absolutely support a wealth tax.  I support an asset wealth tax too.  It only needs to be 1 or 2% to raise millions, the duke of Westminster cannot pick up his properties and move them somewhere else.  It is a myth that wealth money trickles down.  It does not.  Wealth is hidden in trust funds, offshore accounts, and non domicile residency evading tax.  The rich will not leave the country and take their money elsewhere, it’s already not here.  It is the ordinary workers of this country that keep this economy going, not the Tax Evading Wealthy or non UK business like Amazon.

 

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Foreign and Defence policy

1. Do you commit to a complete arms embargo on Israel and ending all military cooperation, and what do you think about the global militarisation of foreign policy generally, including the planned defence of Ukraine.
2. Do you believe the UK government is complicit in the Palestinian Genocide (named as such by the UN 9/25).
3. If it were in your remit, would you reverse the proscription of Palestine Action?
4. What are your thoughts on defence expenditure in general, but also in light of the fact that we’re going through a cost of living crisis in this country and our taxes could instead be used to ease the financial burden on households and support our public services?
5. What does a ‘free Palestine’ look like to you?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. Yes! Arms embargo now. I think that militarisation is just a promise of violence which I am against.

2. Yes.

3. Yes.

4. It is a waste of money and we could spend more elsewhere.

5. One state, 1948 borders.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Yes to a complete arms embargo on Israel and any other country which oppresses or commits genocide against it own people or people living in illegally occupied territories.

2. Yes, 100%.

3. Yes and I have attended demonstrations and carried signs in support of ending the proscription of Palestine Action.

4. I believe that spending on defence should be reduced especially the so-called nuclear deterrent which should be scrapped and £billions saved spent on common good.

5. A nation which is not occupied or threatened by a another nation, which is governed by a progressive democratically elected party and which is recognised by the UN and other international organisations and an independent nation state.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I support cutting all relations with the Zionist state. Only an organised working class (with Your Party central to it) can halt the march to war. No support to Putin’s Ukraine adventure but, equally no support for the utterly corrupt and fascist-tainted Ukraine regime. Ukraine’s people have to rise up and take the economy into their hands.

2. No question. I live for the day when Starmer, Blair, Netanyahu and Trump are able to swap stories in their prison cell.

3. Yes!

4. Let’s, first of all, re-frame it as “war expenditure.” All war production to be converted to socially-useful production. Trade unions are central to this. Scrap Trident and the nuclear submarines. Abolish the standing army and replace with a defence militia organised something like Territorial Army lines but with no officer class and full trade union rights.

5. Free Palestine means an end to the colonial-settler genocidal state and Palestinians reclaiming the land they have been evicted from. Israelites who accept the new situation should have full rights alongside their Palestinian brothers and sisters. Palestine should be part of a federation of Middle Eastern peoples organised on a socialist basis. This means the surrounding corrupt Arab states have to be renewed and the same with the US/UK/Germany. We are talking revolutionary upheavals here. If we are not careful, it might seem all too much, far in the future and we might feel disempowered. But if we effect the necessary change here, the international situation can quickly change.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I would go further and end any diplomatic relationship with Israel. I would also put troops into Gaza and the West Bank in a peacekeeping capacity to protect Palestinians from Israeli aggression in a state that we now formally recognise.

2. Yes!

3. Yes!

4. I long for a world where we no longer manufacture weapons. Any government should aim to leave the country and the world in a better more peaceful condition than they found it. I believe in nuclear disarmament and the redistribution of those funds into public services.

5. The arrest, trial and conviction of Israeli government ministers, the Likud party and all members of the IDF that have committed war crimes. The dissolution of the IDF and Israeli security guaranteed by a coalition. The return to the 1967 borders and the removal of all apartheid infrastructure across the West Bank.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Yes — I support a complete arms embargo on Israel and an end to all UK military cooperation. More broadly, I oppose the global militarisation of foreign policy and believe diplomacy, international law, and multilateralism should replace arms escalation, including in Ukraine.

2. Yes. Through arms sales, diplomatic cover, and failure to uphold international law, the UK government is complicit in the genocide against Palestinians.

3. Yes!

4. Defence spending should be reduced and redirected toward public services, housing, healthcare, and social infrastructure. Security comes from social stability, not arms accumulation.

5. A free Palestine means an end to occupation, apartheid, and blockade; equal rights for all; and genuine self-determination. Ultimately, the political settlement must be decided by Palestinians themselves — not imposed externally.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I commit to a complete arms embargo on all regimes committed to subjugation of their own, or other people. This includes (but would not be limited to) Israel, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States of America (as long as it continues to support militia violence against its citizens). What do I think about the global militarisation of foreign policy generally? Not much, frankly. It is inequitably applied and does not seem to be invested in collaboration to achieve global peace, so much as it is running a protection racket that ensures it holds the biggest stick in the playground.

2. To say the current UK government is complicit in Palestinian Genocide (named as such by the UN in September 2025), is not a political statement, but is an acknowledgement of facts. I believe that this (and previous) governments have entered a tailspin of increasingly heavy-handed suppression of civil rights rather than address the inappropriate decision-making that led to the situation. I would campaign to have the Balfour Declaration overturned, and follow the usual (and appropriate) foreign policy of supporting a sovereign nation (Palestine) to determine its own future in the wake of Britain’s historical divisiveness. I would then campaign for similar support to be offered to Pakistan, India, and Kashmir, whose citizens are still impacted by colonial partition – as well as all former British colonies. It is a fact that every year, an average of one country per week, celebrates its independence from British rule. Unfortunately, many of those affected (and those not yet independent) have been extremely disadvantaged by the behaviour of the British Empire. It is our responsibility as a country committed to British values of decency, tolerance, and respect, that we commit to acting in line with our principles.

3. If it were in my remit, I would ensure that the proscription of organisations committing acts in breach of the Terrorism Act (2000) were applied without exception. This would mean that groups such as Nick Tenconi’s ‘Disciples of Christ’, and the Conservative Party (for their appalling handling of the Covid-19 pandemic) might need to change their tactics. Alternatively (and this would be my preference) the Act could be updated to ensure it could not be applied vexatiously by people in positions of power, whose bonuses may rely on the impediment of groups exercising their democratic right to protest.

4. Restorative action extended to nations harmed by the British Empire, should not be juxtaposed as an ‘either/or’ outcome versus the wellbeing and economic stability of the people of Britain. To posit it as such, nosedives into the current culture of scapegoating and division that blames the Empire’s victims for our current austerity, rather than laying the blame (and responsibility) where it belongs – at the feet of those who have profited most from colonial imposition. It is these individuals and corporations who should shoulder the cost of restorative action.

5. It looks like Palestine with the Balfour Declaration undone, and the means and support to self-determination. It looks like the removal of British paternalism and any entitlement to impose an outcome. What a free Palestine looks like is, CRITICALLY, for Palestinians to decide.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Yes to the embargo. Re global militarisation etc, we should be committing ourselves to peace and negotiation before we ever commit to wars on foreign soil. The world is a dangerous place and we should be trying to make it better, not worse, for the ordinary working people of any country (who are always the first to suffer). International co-operation, not conflict. Which probably sounds quite idealistic, but I’m not going to apologise for that!

2. They certainly have a case to answer. I suspect there is more going on than any of us realise.

3. From the evidence I’ve seen, yes. Further, I would want to repeal all the legislation which tries to stamp out the right of peaceful protest.

4. Defence expenditure is too high, especially in our current economic climate. Welfare, not warfare.

5. This would be whatever the Palestinians want it to be. Only they have the right to tell us what a free Palestine should look like.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. YES WE SHOULD STOP FUNDING, ARMING AND SUPPORTING ISRAEL AND WORK TOWARDS WORLD PEACE THOUGH NEGOTIIATIONS.

2. YES, THE UK GOVERNMENT CURRENT AND PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN NOT ONLY COMPLICIT BUT INSTRUMENTAL IN THE PALESTINIAN GENOCIDE.

3. I would absolutely reverse the proscription of Palestine Action, commute all legal connected legal cases, all connected arrests, and free all those currently on remand.

4. There is always money for War but not for Welfare.  I would cancel the latest budget increases for our defence budgets to do with increasing our arms and weaponry.

5. A free Palestine looks like borders from 1947, a return of all stolen land, a repatriation of refugees.  Under one sovereign government that is not the current isreali regime.

 

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General Questions on policy

1. What are the key policies that you would like to see in the Your Party manifesto for the next general election?
2. Imagine Your Party has just won a general election, what’s the first action or policy you would work to implement?
3. What do you think our taxes should be spent on?
4. What should, or should not, pension funds be invested in?
5. What are your thoughts on mass surveillance? Mandatory ID might be on ice but what about future attempts to reintroduce it, and what do you think about live facial recognition?
6. What are your thoughts on full public ownership of vital public services?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. Complete welfare reform, nationalisation, wealth tax.

2. A wealth tax and closure of tax loopholes.

3. Essential services like healthcare, education etc.

4. They shouldn’t be invested in industries that cause harm, eg, arms, fossil fuels, companies complicit in human rights abuses.

5. A stepping stone to authoritarianism, we have a right to privacy.

6. All for it!

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Renationalisation of utilities – water energy transport etc, a wealth tax, building more council housing, massive public sector – NHS education, social care etc – investment programme.

2. So much wrong in the country and internationally that there would be no first actions or policies but many.

3. The common good i.e. health education, social care, environment protection clean energy production.

4. In zero carbon and socially usefully industries.

5. I am totally opposed to mass surveillance and the roll out of live face recognition technologies and mandatory ID. I believe that their deployment is oppressive and undermines human rights, especially the right to privacy. Mission creep through such deployment could easily lead to a Big Brother state.

6. 100% support public ownership of vital public services!

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Public ownership of the economy under workers’ management and control, cutting political and economic relations with Israel, leaving NATO, repatriating the funds held in foreign tax havens under British jurisdiction, abolishing the Royal Family, House of Lords and all feudal relics, transferring all war production to socially-useful production, needs budgets in every local authority and public services renewed, all private capital out of our NHS, abolition of private education and private medicine.

2. Ensuring the tax haven funds are immediately repatriated.

3. Public services, infrastructure, civil service.

4. Should be spent on government bonds. So-called “ethical investments” are hard to find in an economy devoted to profit and once we have brought into public ownership most of the economy, we can support that. Pension funds need to be democratised. Cornwall Council swears blind its pension fund does not support the Zionist state; others state the opposite.

5. Nothing wrong with technology. The problem is that it’s in private hands. That has to change. Democratising the police and secret services (maybe getting rid of MI5 altogether) would help counter the drive towards mass surveillance.

6. As I’ve made clear above, I fully support this. In fact, it should be Your Party’s main selling point. It would be massively popular.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Nationalisation of key public infrastructure. An immediate campaign of social housing renewable energy construction accompanied by an energy price cap freeze. A wealth tax on billionaires.

2. Nationalisation

3. Public infrastructure and social care.

4. We should invest pension funds in ethical sectors such as public transport and renewable energies.

5. I reject the principles of mass surveillance and mandatory ID especially around voting. It is exclusionary and undemocratic.

6. It is essential.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Nationalisation of utilities, A Wealth Tax on UK assets, Full renationalisation of the NHS, Mass council house building of high-quality homes, Public ownership of data infrastructure and an end to outsourcing data to US tech giants, Ethical foreign policy rooted in international law, Exploration of Steve Keen’s Housing Authority model.

2. I would immediately legislate for a Wealth Tax and impose a 90% tax on utility company profits and dividends while moving utilities into full public ownership..

3. Primarily on the NHS, education, and a mass programme of high-quality public housing, alongside transport, care, and climate transition

4. Pension funds should be invested in publicly owned enterprises generating stable returns and in companies with ethical labour, environmental, and tax practices. They should not be invested in arms manufacturing, fossil fuels, exploitative industries, or speculative finance.

5. I strongly oppose them. Mass surveillance and mandatory ID systems open the door to state overreach, repression, and abuse of power. Live facial recognition should be banned.

6. I fully support public ownership of all critical infrastructure — energy, water, rail, telecoms, healthcare, and housing — run democratically in the public interest rather than for profit extraction.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. All of my policies are key policies, however the central policies I would like to see in the Your Party manifesto for the next general election are the nationalisation of public services, UBI, improved access to healthcare and education in our communities, and to reverse the current housing crisis.

2. The first policy I would work to implement has to be UBI, as ensuring that people’s basic needs are met, should be the foundation of any government.

3. The nationalisation of public services, UBI, improved access to healthcare and education in our communities, and to reverse the current housing crisis. We also need to invest in our future generations by overhauling the education system, and enabling employers to create opportunities for everyone who practicably can, to be employed.

4. I’m going to go right ahead to the TL:DR answer for this – they should be invested ethically, and for the benefit of pension-holders, not just to line the pockets of the elites at the expense of everyone else.

5. I stand in staunch opposition to the headlong rush into a surveillance society, and believe that it is driven by this, and previous governments’ efforts to track and quell a nation of people who are increasingly stretched to their limits. It is evidenced that whilst the levels of reported crime may improve with totalitarian and military regimes, people’s wellbeing does not. As stated before, it is the prime responsibility of any government to ensure people’s basic needs are met, and doing this is the best way to tackle violent crime. The provision of UBI will require a system of registration, and I firmly believe that we should be using our technological innovation and capabilities to improve our economy, not to weaponise systems against the people.

6. I hope by now, this is clear – an enthusiastic yes.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I think I’ve already answered a lot if what I’d like to see. I think the 2017 Corbyn Labour manifesto is a good starting point.

2.First actions in government? So much damage has been done we practically need to start over. But I’d say the cost of living crisis, part of which would be public ownership of utilities, then housing.

3. Pension funds to be invested ethically.

4. No to mass surveillance, mandatory ID and live facial recognition.

5. Yes to full public ownership of utilities.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Anti Austerity,Policy, a Wealth Tax, take back key services into public ownership, remove all privatisation in our NHS.

2. I would immediately suspend all diplomatic support of Israel, expel their ambassador and implement an arms and intelligence sanction.

3. Our Taxes should be spent on the UK and its Welfare Systems, then our Economy and Business, then outside relationships and support relief schemes.

4. Our pension funds should not be in high risk programmes, nor should they be invested in any country that has apartied, genocide, war, oppression activities .

5. I do not want mass surveillance or mandatory ID introduced. We already have systems in place for forces that work against our country without targeting ordinary citizens.

6. I want a full public ownership of vital public services

 

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YOUR PARTY RULES & MANAGEMENT

1. In your opinion, what would be the most effective and fair way for Your Party to decide on and write policy (i.e. proposed and written the by CEC, by branches, by individual members, or by Sortition Assembly, for example)?
2. What are your thoughts on how the CEC, and other Your Party structures, could be made to function more effectively and in the interests of its members?
3. Do you support dual membership and, if so, which other parties would you approve?
4. ⁠Will you ensure that ‘one member, one vote’ is enshrined into the party’s constitution?
5. Voters do not want to see discord in Your Party.  What processes would you want to see put in place to allow members to raise grievances, have them addressed fairly and expediently, and for lessons to be learnt?
6. Would you ensure the CEC provides members with a contact number and email so that members can contact you with suggestions and questions?
7. Taking cybersecurity concerns and obligations into consideration, at a time when there is serious concern  that member’s data could be hacked, leaving members exposed to harassment and other risks, what protections, other than those provided by cybersecurity tools, would you want to see put in place when sharing membership information with local branch executives?
8. How do you see Your Party operating in areas where people are fundamentally right wing and any kind of public street stalls can be very dangerous for those involved, and how should Your Party CEC and the party centrally support comrades in those areas?
9. Do you support the party investing, on a targeted and financially sustainable basis, in permanent and visible local spaces to enable branches to hold meetings, run public-facing events, and engage with citizens outside of election cycles? Please also explain why you support, or don’t support, this initiative.
10. Given the fact that politics is rife with self-serving careerists who priorities their own interests and the interests of their donors, over the interests of party members, and British voters, to the extent that they are prepared to lie their way into office and then break every promise they ever made, would you support a simple mechanism that allows party members to call an immediate vote of confidence in any Your Party elected official, including MPs, councillors and staff on the CEC (or other party structures)? Also, in the event that they lose that vote of confidence, that they are immediately removed from that office (ideally triggering a by-election in the case of MPs and Cllrs)

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. I’m very big on sortition, but I think in case of policy it should be down to members and branches.

2. I’m excited that it could bring about something new and fully participatory for people who may end up left behind by traditional politics.

3. Yes, I would approve all parties besides those that run candidates against us in an election, but I wouldn’t rule out an electoral alliance with the greens. I would rather see a YP/Green coalition than a Green/Labour one.

4. Yes!

5. I would want transparency in these procedures, written rationales on all decisions taken and action decided as an outcome of said grievance.

6. Yes!

7. A data officer responsible for keeping data secure, in an encrypted file, preferably passworded.

8. Deescalation training is essential. Offering support to those who are victims of the right wing. Perhaps doubling up on numbers so that the numbers of people on street stalls deters them.

9. Yes, it is vital that people see us operating in our communities.

10. Yes & Yes!

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. By the widest membership/ affiliate consultation possible.

2. There is no such thing as a perfectly structured organisation. Organisational structures must kept under constant review and where necessary changed to improve effectiveness. Such changes should however be decided on by the members.

3. I principle yes I do. I believe that dual membership should however be tried and tested in the first instance by running and reviewing a trial with Green Party members then after a year or so, deciding on whether to continue/ make permanent the situation and whether to extend dual membership to other organisations too.

4. Yes I will!

5. There must be a fair and independent grievance and disciplinary process in the party.

6. If elected yes I would but recognise in exceptional circumstances this might not be safe or possible!

7. The Data Protection Act 2018 places additional safeguards on personal information held by political parties and I believe that all YP members who have responsibility for managing member data should receive training about fulfilling their responsibilities.

8. Ensuring safety in a time of growing division is very important. To do so would involve seeking the support of neighbouring branches and other socialist organisations, trade unions and the Greens etc. This could involve developing mutual assistance agreements etc which need to be discussed by the CEC/ regions.

9. I very much like the idea of setting up in association with likeminded organisations socialist centres for public and private membership events and between such events operating as a bar/ food/ entertainment venue.

10. 100% agree!

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Members, organised in branches and electing delegates to conference, should have the power to write policy. CEC should be subservient to conference and devoted to ensuring the smooth running of the party in between conferences.

2. We don’t yet know how CEC will function but with the proper democratic safeguards in place (outlined above) it will have a positive role.

3. Dual membership is nothing to be alarmed about. It’s a spectre invoked by those who would seek dictatorial powers. I am a proud member of the Socialist Party; the emergence of Your Party is what I have been working for and calling for for over 30 years. With a system of grassroots democracy in place, different factions can co-exist peacefully, concentrating on winning debates in order to advance their perspective.

4. The CEC election seeks to elect delegates from geographical areas. The party cannot function effectively without a system of delegates being in place. OMOV is superficially attractive but in reality places power in the hands of cliques as happened with Podemos in Spain, Five Star in Italy – and those parties betrayed their early promise. As long as delegates are accountable and recallable, there should be no problems with a delegate system

5. See above re party democracy and timely, open and transparent disciplinary process.

6. Depends on the ensuing workload. Suck it and see but in principle, I would agree.

7. Data protection is crucial but shouldn’t be used as an excuse to stifle debate. We have seen, in the party’s development to date, that information has been weaponised by factions and slowed the party’s development.

8. I have lots of experience of this. Stewarding is crucial. Sharing phone numbers and ensuring journeys home are safe. There is no such thing as a place where people are “fundamentally right wing”. There should be no no-go places for Your Party.

9. I support this. Depends on finances. We have to raise our profile.

10. Already addressed. Yes to both questions.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Branch delegates and a percentage of sortitioned members should be able to raise and discuss motions with ample time before the next national conference to be voted on the conference floor. The vote should be open to all members with OMOV.

2. Simply with more transparency about who does what (including ALL volunteers) and their salaries.

3. In principle the Greens and any socialist-aligned party.

4. Yes!

5. Accessible, open communication for all members and total transparency around internal processes.

6. Yes!

7. Members would have to explicitly opt-in to having their details shared with local branch organisers, who would have to be identified to the party and sign a data protection agreement. They would only receive the details the member agreed to such as a phone number or email.

8. If campaigning in these sorts of areas then I would ensure the utilisation of private security if necessary and engage with local police for support. These sorts of campaigns are important and leafleting in these areas to point out the policies of Your Party that would lower the cost of living and improve the quality of life for people is essential.

9. In principle yes, but I would prefer to use existing spaces such as small businesses that might have conference space to support them financially and drive footfall to them, so long as political activity is something they are comfortable hosting.

10. In principle yes but it should be noted that a by-election is not triggered in circumstances such as an MP losing a party whip. There are very narrow circumstances for them so this might require some extra thought, but I absolutely support the right of recall.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Policy should be member-led, with proposals originating from branches and members, debated openly, refined by specialist working groups where needed, and ratified through One Member, One Vote ballots. The CEC’s role should be facilitative, not directive.

2. Through transparency, clear timelines, published reasoning for decisions, proper feedback loops, decentralisation of power to branches, and strong accountability mechanisms.

3. Yes — where it strengthens progressive organising and does not undermine Your Party’s independence or democratic integrity. This would include parties such as the Greens and other clearly socialist or anti-capitalist formations.

4. Yes — unequivocally.

5. I would support independent complaints processes, transparent timelines, restorative justice approaches where appropriate, clear appeal rights, and regular reporting to ensure lessons are learned and systems improve.

6. Yes. Members should be able to contact their representatives easily and directly.

7. Strict data minimisation, role-based access controls, mandatory confidentiality agreements, regular audits, member opt-outs where possible, and serious sanctions for misuse of data.

8. The party must support alternative organising models such as online organising, private meetings, workplace networks, and community alliances, alongside legal support, security training, and visible backing from national leadership for comrades operating in hostile areas.

9. Yes — on a targeted and financially sustainable basis. Permanent spaces allow branches to build long-term relationships, provide political education, support mutual aid, and engage the public outside election cycles, strengthening grassroots power

10. Yes. I strongly support a binding recall mechanism allowing members to call votes of confidence in MPs, councillors, and party officials. Those who lose such votes should be removed from office, triggering by-elections where applicable. Accountability must be real, not symbolic.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I believe the most effective and fair way for Your Party to decide on and write policy is a combination of branch and Sortition Assembly with action-specific working-group input to develop proposals. These would require involvement from people across the communities being served (whether members of Your Party or not) and the decisions would be finalised with a democratic community voting process that prioritised policies, not personalities.

2. First and foremost, the CEC and other Your Party structures need to be made accessible to ensure the inclusion and participation of, and leadership by, disabled members. As a cohort we are the most vulnerable in British society, and also the most broad. We have learned from ongoing experience with Covid-19 that anyone can become disabled at any time, and it is clear that we have continued to deny the severe impact on individuals and communities in a bid to ‘get back to normal’. Disabled people exist in all other marginalised groups in society. We exist at all levels of society. We remain fighting for survival in a society that at best, wishes we weren’t disabled, and at worst, seems actively intent on disposing of us. If Your Party is truly #ForTheMany, then disabled people deserve several seats at all levels, and this must be facilitated as a priority.

3. I support dual membership as I believe the people of Britain of all political parties (and none) have a right to participate in the democratic process of policy-making that affects them. I believe that by following a ‘policy, not personality’ approach, we can build bridges between parties, communities, and individuals by focusing on collaboration to improve what affects us, rather than stoking the divisive and personality-driven nature of politics as they are now.

4. I will enshrine ‘one member, one vote’ into the party’s constitution, on matters of national importance. I strongly believe that local matters should give more weight to local people, and would want to ensure that communities cannot be vexatiously impacted by outsider voting.

5. I hope that the formation of the CEC will eliminate any cliques, and the ‘policy, not personality’ style of voting will put the onus onto members developing effective policies, rather than trying to shine in front of a crowd. The grievance procedure must be robust, as must the ability of communities to remove Your Party members from positions of power, where it is evident that the social contract of working for the good of the many, has been broken. Where this has occurred, a solution that prioritises restorative justice must be implemented wherever possible.

6. I would ensure that the CEC provides accessible local and national opportunities for members to contact CEC representatives with suggestions and questions. I would not require that CEC representatives have their personal information available for all and sundry.

7. Initially there will need to be strict compliance with the Data Protection Act, and robust processes for dealing with data breaches. Bigger picture, there needs to be investment into, and innovation of British data security infostructure and infrastructure, to ensure that our nation is not beholden to the ‘safeguards’ offered by corporations, British or otherwise.

8. (see below).

9. The provision of community hubs would ensure permanent, visible, and financially sustainable local spaces FOR THE PURPOSE of engaging with communities and individuals outside of election cycles. These hubs would allow access to members providing education and services, as well as political clinics and community engagement. This would do away with the need for stalls and the attendant risks arising from irate people trying to get on with their busy lives, feeling the pressure of being accosted by sign-waving socialists who want to stop them for a quick speech and get them to sign something and buy a paper. If Your Party is to be the radical change necessary to demonstrate commitment to the safeguarding and wellbeing of the people in Britain, we must begin by providing the benefits we say we offer and actually acting in the interests of the many.

10. Yes!

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Policy should be decided by all who want to participate. I would see the branches as the focal point, with individuals bringing ideas and expertise, branch discussions feeding into regional assemblies, revisions and amendments being made at these levels before reaching Conference. Time at conference could then be spent finessing because broad consensus should already have been reached.

2. Nutshell answer – communication and transparency. .

3. I personally didn’t support dual membership because I think it divides both focus and loyalty. However, I can also see that we need as wide a breadth of opinion and expertise as possible – plus it is what members decided, so we need to make it work. Bottom line as to which parties would be if they were also willing to reciprocate dual membership arrangements. I wouldn’t want to allow their members in if they didn’t!

4. Yes!

5. Robust and speedy complaints procedure followed by a session dealing with lessons learned and recommendations made.

6. Yes!.

7. Not an expert on the technical side but we need members data kept safe. Due diligence undertaken on branch executives.

8. We shouldn’t be cowed by the right wing but on a personal level our members don’t deserve to be intimated. So yes to additional support.

9. The idea of investing in local spaces is an interesting one and I’d certainly like to see it happen, if that is what the members decide. There would be a few practical issues (not least finance, plus insurance, safeguarding etc) but I like the concept.

10. Regarding votes of confidence etc yes, I support the concept of recall at all official levels. There is provision in the Constitution for this so the CEC needs to ensure the system is simple, robust, fair and effective!

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. Branches first to nominate policies.  Then The assemblies worked well, even though the structure was a bit loaded.  I think assemblies and discussions with a vote on policies go forward to CEC, and then Membership vote electronically like we did at conference.

2. Please remove all of the unelected “management team and influencers” we do not want a Labour Mark 2.  Wales, Scotland and Ireland need 2 representatives not 1. then they need their own regional CEC to collectively meet to move all processes and policies forward.

3. Dual membership. This is a difficult one.  I definitely don’t want dual membership for any parliamentary party to be able to join. but we have lots of left groups out there doing great work and I dont think they should be excluded.  We all need to be a force to be reckoned with.

4. I will ensure the will of the conference and the members for OMOV will be constitutionally upheld.

5. A well plain english grievance policy with fast and fair timelines, with face to face resolutions.

6. We most definitely need to have several contact numbers and an email address with real people behind those named, with publicly documented response times for members to raise grievances or questions with the CEC. I have advocated for a monthly podcast available on all of our platforms for all members to access giving them full details of activities that month. Including publicising minutes in full where possible. Communication is key because not every member of Your Party will want to be a member of a branch. We must keep them fully engaged, unable to participate to the levels they want to.

7. Data could’ve been shared as soon as the website went live in the members area. As a member myself, I ticked a box on my profile that said “do you want your profile to be visible to other Your Party member members” and I ticked yes? It operates in the same way as Facebook does and that would’ve got us around GDPR and enabled us members to have access to other members to build our movement. But we must take this issue seriously and we really must have the strictest levels of security in place from those that are highly skilled. And the person that the date was given to at branch must be held entirely responsible for its security with enormous ramifications if that’s not followed through on.

8. This is a great question for me. I live in a Tory and Reform dominated area.  It’s been Tory since 1986. And although we have a local labour branch, it’s never made any headways. I have been attacked repeatedly since last September online on social media. When I held our first Proto branch meeting in September and issued free tickets with a donation requested somebody selected all the tickets making the event look sold out so nobody could get in. My contact details were signed up to 3 porn websites and also Reforms head office 😂  just this week when I was advertising my election campaign my house was hacked and my telephone and Wi-Fi junction box on the front of my house was sabotaged. I know what I’m facing and so long as the CEC and the party make good on their promise that branches will receive a good proportion of the membership fees, we can arrange our own security at events. The one plus I have on my side is that I am well known and 90% liked in my area for my services that I have provided to my community in a charitable capacity for the last five years.

9. I wholeheartedly support the party investing on a financially sustainable basis in permanent visible local spaces to enable branches to hold meetings. Another part of the barriers I encountered was lots of places that rent their venue wouldn’t rent to a Your Party meeting. They definitely need to invest in public facing events and they need to absolutely engage with citizens outside of election cycles. We cannot turn up on the doorstep three weeks before an election and expect people to buy into what we’re trying to offer. We need to be running local community activities and campaigns so that people see us front and centre every day of the week.

10. I absolutely endorse a system where we can recall anybody from a working group, Cllrs. CEC or MPS to explain themselves if they have acted not in the best interest of the party or if they’ve broken any promises or if they have engaged in being influenced by donors. In fact, I would go further and say that we need to cap any money that can be given by donors including benefits and kind. Irrespective of whether this triggers a by election.

 

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GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. How would you distinguish democratic socialism from social democracy, do you identify with either, and, if so, why?
2. Should there be an electoral alliance with the Green Party?
3. Please sketch how you would fight an election campaign paying particular attention to the voting base you would attempt to mobilise, the messages you would try to get across, and the means you would employ to promote such messages.
4. Do you think we should keep the Monarchy?
5. Do you think it’s important for Your Party to have strong animal rights policies? If so, can you provide examples?

SIOBHAN OVEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 24-01-2026)

1. Social democracy works within capitalism using regulation and redistribution to reduce inequality, while democratic socialism goes further and extends democracy in to the economy itself through public ownership, worker control and strong unions. I identify with democratic socialism because I think that reform of capitalism is still capitalism and the systems within it are still hostile to the working class.

2. Yes!

3. Key policies we should be pushing should be welfare reform and wealth tax, but really focusing on empowering ordinary people, there are so many people who aren’t active voters right now and it’s essential we win them over. I think an electoral pact with the Greens is the only way we end up navigating the hostile FPTP system until we can install voters reform, which focuses on proportional representation instead of strategy. I would also like to see us collaborating with local activists on the ground, so along with our national messaging, we have local messaging for local people.

4. No.

5. Yes, I think that we should move away from systems that rely on cruelty, exploitation and environmental harm, including factory farming and practices that prioritise profit over welfare. We should also be protecting wildlife, habitats and biodiversity.

IAN DRIVER: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. Unlike liberal democracy, democratic socialism requires a fundamental shift in wealth power from the have’s to the have not’s.

2. Not wanting to be controversial I believe that there should eventually be a merger between the GP and YP.

3. YPs voter base is the working class many of whom have been badly hit by the growing cost of living, are low waged or unemployed, dependent upon poverty level benefits, in receipt of second rate underfunded public services, and who have lost faith in the political establishment and moved towards far right populism. YPs election campaign must therefore be radical including a national minimum income a wealth tax, increased corporation tax, nationalisation of energy water transport and massive investment in education, health, council house building, social care. YP must also campaign for political change especially the introduction of a PR voting system for all elections and the ban on all gifts and hospitality and second jobs for MPs. We should also campaign for the devolution of power to local communities to politically engage and empower people

4. 100% agree!

5. As a campaigner for animal rights/ welfare we must have strong animal rights policies in YP.

ROB ROONEY: Candidate for South West England (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I am a Marxist. Democratic socialism fits with the concept of Marxism. Social democracy is reformism – a retreat from a revolutionary perspective to accommodate careerists, the first fruit of which was capitulation by the Labour Party, SDP etc at the start of World War 1, followed by the TUC betrayal of the 1926 General Strike and culminating in what we see today – a Labour government cheering on a genocide. The history of the twentieth century is the history of the failure of social democracy.

2. No! Greens are cuts merchants. Their current leader has confirmed that. The talk about coalition with sell-outs demonstrates a lack of confidence in our ideas and should be resisted. Think about it. Your Party’s formation is a function of the distrust in the political class. Why would we get into bed with the very people whose betrayals have brought about that distrust?

3. Already answered. We need to mobilise our class, particularly young people.

4. Abolish. Take back their nine palaces and turn them into something useful. Jail the former Duke of York

5. I struggle with this. I hate the industrial methods used to kill animals but continue to eat meat. I would ban testing on animals for cosmetic production. I understand testing on animals for medical research is being phased out. This must continue to its conclusion. Nationalising the drug companies will help.

ALEX FOX: Candidate for West Midlands, UK (Answer submitted: 26-01-2026)

1. I am a Democratic Socialist because I believe capitalism is a blight. I want social ownership of our key industries and strong workers’ rights. Social Democrats wish to reform capitalism and I don’t support this approach as I believe capitalism cannot be reformed.

2. In principle yes so long as the Greens stand down in areas Your Party can win if Your Party reciprocates in kind.

3. The right wing have strong working class backing because our press system easily manipulates people and weaponises them against minorities. Appealing to these voters on common ground issues such as the cost of living is key to any election battle. Once there is a message that works to break down these initial walls, it might be possible to open up discussions around immigration and trans rights, but this is not guaranteed. We should be honest about the state of UK politics and be ready for a very long fight to gain seats in parliament.

4. No!

5. Yes. We should ban all blood sports such as “trail hunting” which is a weak mask for actual fox hunting. Additionally we should ban greyhound and horse racing as these are barbaric sports. The key is to ensure they aren’t forced underground. Giving more powers and funding to bodies such as the RSPCA would be key to making this happen.

ARIF KHANSAHEB: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 27-01-2026)

1. Social democracy seeks to regulate capitalism and redistribute its outcomes. Democratic socialism seeks to replace capitalist ownership structures with democratic control over the economy itself. I identify with democratic socialism because I believe lasting justice requires transforming ownership, power, and production — not merely managing inequality.

2. Yes — where it advances socialist politics, avoids splitting progressive votes, and is based on clear programme alignment and democratic accountability rather than electoral opportunism.

3. I would focus on mobilising working-class non-voters, renters, young people, trade union members, and those alienated from mainstream politics. Messaging would centre on housing, bills, wages, public ownership, and dignity rather than abstract policy language. Campaign methods would prioritise door-to-door organising, workplace networks, digital outreach, political education events, and visible community presence — building long-term relationships rather than short-term electoral transactions.

4. No. I support a democratic republic. Hereditary political power is incompatible with modern democracy.

5. Yes. This should include ending factory farming, phasing out animal testing where alternatives exist, protecting wildlife habitats, strengthening animal welfare laws, and supporting sustainable food systems that reduce environmental harm and exploitation.

IQRA IBRAHIM LEWIS: Candidate for South East England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. As a Black, Queer, Muslim anarcho-communist, my take on democratic socialism vs social democracy is likely to ruffle feathers on both sides, as it is not particularly complimentary. I can quite safely say I don’t identify with either. Whoever I put on my pedestal, it is not going to be ‘old, dead, white dudes’. As a member of the United Panther Party, my central values of intercommunalism and the Principles of Disability Justice place me rather further left than that.

2. Only if the Green Party are willing to work in concordance and true collaboration with Your Party.

3. As a disabled person, I am in a great position to offer more time and availability when others are at work, and plan to mobilise my messages online and over video calls, with media and social media campaigns that aim to provide access to everyone. The messages I would try to get across are my hopes for the future of Britain under Your Party, and to hear the legitimate concerns held by so many, about the way Britain is now. I will also use my ability to network, and my presence in various local and national groups, to drive engagement and inform my policy proposals. In particular, I am reaching out to groups that constitute vital voting bases but that are currently sneered at by many Your Party members, including Reform supporters and Patriots groups – many of these people, aside from their proclivities for bigotry, are facing challenges from the same systems and processes that harm marginalised people, and there is more common ground than it seems most ‘leftists’ will admit. If Your Party is to be a success, our remit must be collaboration and bridge-building, not alienation and division.

4. No!

5. Yes, and I think the Animal Welfare Act (2006) is a good start, however it should be updated and expanded to include animals in agriculture. Again, I believe the involvement of biologists is vital – we know from scientific research that spiders dream, dolphins speak in accents, and it is becoming more usual for farmers to offer enrichment to improve the wellbeing of the animals they’re responsible for. It is important to cut through the cognitive dissonance we hold around ‘livestock’ and open our minds to innovation, improvement, and climate justice.

JENNY CURTIS: Candidate for North West England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. For me, Democratic Socialism is a socialist economy which is agreed in a democratic way (ie not imposed), social democracy is capitalism agreed in a democratic way. I identify as a democratic socialist.

2. Too early to say! This is also not entirely up to us. I don’t see why we can’t work together on many issues, whether formally or informally. But we also need to forge our own unique identity.

3. The voting base I’d most like to engage are the disillusioned and the never engaged. A government holding 100% power on a 30% share of a 20% turnout is scarcely democracy in action.

4. We probably need a Head of State, but whether this is a monarchy or not is open to discussion. I don’t think there is yet a public appetite for this, so for the moment I’d rather concentrate on issues the public do seem to be asking for such as the abolition of the House of Lords and replacing it with a smaller, elected, second chamber.

5. If we chose to keep or to farm animals, we have a responsibility to care for them properly and ethically. Our laws on animal rights and protections are better than many, but certainly not perfect.

JUNE TOBIN: Candidate for East of England (Answer submitted: 28-01-2026)

1. I identify with Social democracy. I do not believe we should enforce things without the will of the people. But social democracy gives us other guarantees like a welfare state. It supports a balanced approach to the economy. That change comes by agreement and buying and not forced on us.

2. If our values and beliefs for the good of the country aligned with the Green Party, then we should absolutely consider an electoral alliance.

3. We should be fine an election campaign every day, not just in the months leading up to it. I like to call it community activism because if you’re doing this every day, it’s no longer a fight because the people see you and they see your actions and actions speak louder than words. We must use every means available to us to promote such messages TV radio press social media. But the biggest thing is being visible in your community and making small changes every day making peoples lives better or at least supporting them through the hard times that way when we come to knock on their doors they’re gonna remember you. ” you’re the lady that brought me a food parcel” “you’re the group that fought to get our buses reinstated” electoral campaigning is much easier when you do it every day.

4. We should definitely keep our monarchy. I don’t think we need to be like the French and guillotine them. But I do think they should pay for themselves. We don’t need to be supporting them to the financial level that we do. And all of their buildings and residences should have a place and  a time where they’re open to the public with funds going back into the government budget. I also think the Dutchie of Cornwall should stop earning millions out of that community. So yes, we should keep our monarchy, but they should pay for themselves.

5. We definitely need to have a stronger animal rights policy. To the way we farm animals slaughter animals feed animals treat animals and import them. E.g. Fox hunting that was banned should absolutely be enforced. Hair coursing should have far higher financial and legal ramifications. Mistreatment of pets should have far higher ramifications. The pesticides medication and food stuffs for animals should have a complete overhaul. Not only are we poisoning our animals but we are also poisoning our population through the food that they buy. We should respect our farmers more and have a Nationwide policy for homegrown food in the first instance. But obviously with imports for all of the wonderful foods from around the world that we like to enjoy. We need to be more responsible in how we treat other living beings on this planet. Including our wildlife forests open meadows, plants, rivers, and seas.

 

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