Founded in 2019, the London office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation was set up to broaden and deepen the foundation’s work in Western Europe and English-speaking countries. Since Brexit, political volatility has become the norm in Britain, and against the backdrop of deepening neoliberalism, successive exciting new left-wing projects have emerged to try and resist these trends. The London office is perfectly placed to support and amplify these projects across Europe, connecting political, social, and labour movement actors with the broader European Left, and ensuring a productive dialogue in both directions to strengthen and grow the Left.
At the party-political level, and in the midst of growing polarization and dysfunction, the two-party electoral system in Britain is beginning to buckle. In this context, new parties — of both the Left and the hard right — are emerging. As such, the role of the London office is to monitor, support, and internationalize new left wing endeavours in a period of great political change in Britain. In addition, in the context of the UK’s departure from the EU, our team pays particular attention to ensuring that cooperation and exchange between the British Left and its German, European, and global counterparts do not diminish in the post-Brexit era, but rather expand.
Alongside the above, a key motivation for establishing the office was our desire to have deeper and closer connections to Ireland, where the prospects of left-centre governments across the island of Ireland grow, and as such the office is currently establishing a strong programme of work with the Irish Left.
Activities
The work of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s London Office work centres around four focal points:
- Supporting Socialist Internationalism and Cooperation
Much of the work of the office focuses on forging links between the British and Irish left and the Lefts in other places in Europe and the world, not least Germany. This work is done at every level, from organizing delegations of socialist politicians to visit their counterparts in other European countries, to bringing together tenant or climate activists for international meetings and cooperation. The British Left has often had a tendency to be inwards looking, and the foundation’s London outpost works to bring an internationalist and Europe-wide focus to local left wing developments. This work is especially crucial as new left-wing parties and formations emerge, and the office is on hand to support with the internationalization of these processes and the thinking which underpins them. Political Education for a Socialist Transformation
Political education underpins much of the work of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. The successful Organizing for Power programme, founded by Jane McAlevey, was based in the London office for some time, and our work with partners in the renters’ and informal workers’ movements is focused on grassroots political education.In addition, the office has developed a flagship in-person training course for trade unionists, “Workers Power: Organising to Win”. The course, which combines political economy with organizing skills training, takes place over 2–3 days and has been delivered many times with unions including Unison, the National Education Union, and the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB).
- Supporting the Grassroots Socialist Left
The left leadership of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn saw a groundswell of left-wing activity in Britain at the grassroots. The London office has played a crucial role in sustaining these initiatives in the post-Corbynite period, in order to support a the resilience of the Left between the rise and fall of different electoral projects. This work has focused on renters’ unions and grassroots trade unions in particular, as well other individual initiatives, focusing on climate, feminism, and trans rights, for example. Our work with these partners involves directly financially supporting their work, especially around political education and our policy priorities, alongside connecting them with international networks and similar initiatives in Europe to strengthen their international perspective, and inform their local efforts. - Policies and Ideas for a Socialist Future
The Corbynite period in Britain saw impressive advances in the development of modern, credible policies to begin to dismantle neoliberalism and financialization. To continue this important work, the office supports the development of alternative left-wing economic policies and strategies aimed at economic democracy, designed to be an important basis for future left governments. This is done by supporting left and grassroots think tanks and policy initiatives, as well, where needed, developing its own policy work. This has in recent years focused on rent controls, an emerging key demand of the English Left, already won in Scotland. In addition, our policy and ideas generation work is now supporting the various processes of new party formation/party development which are current, with the office providing relevant insight and support from Europe and beyond.
London Regional Office
Director: Johanna Bussemer
Pelican House
144 Cambridge Heath Road
London E1 5QJ
Staff Members
Joe Beswick (Project Manager), joe.beswick@rosalux.org
Deborah Hermanns (Project Manager), deborah.hermanns@rosalux.org
Emma Williams (Finance and Operations Manager), emma.williams@rosalux.org
london.office@rosalux.org
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