Left-wing group has been campaigning against friend of genocide in Holborn St Pancras constituency – and is now inviting potential candidates to apply

A Corbyn-inspired group of left-wing activists is inviting applications from would-be candidates to stand against the figure at the head of what used to be the Labour party – ‘Labour leader’ would be inappropriate – in the Holborn St Pancras seat he currently holds.

Labour’s polling lead over the Tories has slumped dramatically in the last few weeks as outrage has grown over Keir Starmer’s support for the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and for Israeli war crimes and apartheid – and as awareness sinks into the voting public’s consciousness that he represents a continuation and potentially even a worsening of Tory policies and attacks on human rights and civic freedoms. Many Labour MPs in once-secure seats now fear the consequences, among Muslim and ethnic minority voters, of their collusion in the slaughter of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

A press release from the group this morning explains:

An effort to change British politics enters its final phase. OCISA will be advertising for a democratic, progressive, and community-focused candidate to stand against Sir Keir Starmer in Holborn St Pancras at the general election.

For 9 months OCISA has been surveying the electorate in HSP. The overwhelming opinion is voters feel excluded from the political process, 50% want more face-to-face access with an MP who listens and prioritises their concerns.

The candidate selection process will be open and democratic. Several people have made it
known they are interested, but applications are sought from anybody with a commitment to representing their community, regardless of their previous political experience.

HoIborn St Pancras is one of the most diverse areas in the country. The electorate is mostly
under forty, cosmopolitan, and progressively minded. OCISA hopes to find a candidate who
can represent their ideals, aspirations, and demands.

OCISA wishes to make clear that the UK has a representative parliamentary democracy, and that a political party may win a majority in parliament without their leader in place. The UK does not have a presidential national election between leaders of the two main parties. The electorate has real political power in their hands if they use it locally to choose an individual to represent them, rather than accepting that politics only happens at the national party level where they are entirely powerless.

OCISA is not a political party and has no intention of becoming one. It solely exists to choose a candidate and provide them with campaign !funds and advice from experienced
organisers.

Advertisements will be going out to a range of publications in print and on line. Applications should be sent to ocisacampaignshsp@gmail.com with a CV and an
explanation of what you can bring to the role. Deadline for applications is December
11th, 2023.

A shortlist of potential candidates will be chosen by a selection panel elected from and by
the membership of OCJSA, with diversity requirement and a built-in bias towards
residents in the constituency. The final choice from the shortlist will be by a democratic
vote of all OCISA members. To find out more, to join OCISA and take part in the selection
process, or to donate to the campaign fund, go to ocisa.org.uk.

Members of the news media wanting further information please email ocisacampaignshsp@gmail.com or telephone Eric Jarvis on 0207 733 5997 to arrange an
interview with one of the OCISA Steering Group.

SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.

If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.