Arrangements Committee candidates

Political Affiliations

Secretary, Lambeth YP.

The FCAC has been set up to organise the practical and technical necessities for the hybrid conference (currently September).

I would like to nominate myself, Bronagh Walton, as I have a long experience in organising the practical technical and other aspects of both workplace and other conferences.

I have very good organisational skills. In my previous role I planned and implemented all aspects of conference organisation – theme, selection of internal and external speakers; preparation of press releases and other related information.

I have worked on online and in person events and I have also organised some large hybrid events with colleagues.

I organised the travel and accommodation needs of attendees, including sourcing of good value accommodation and transport. I also work to ensure the inclusivity and accessibility of conference venues.

I have good budgetary skills and can prepare a draft budget for updating as required and have some experience in fundraising including crowd sourcing.

I think that my experience outlined above could be helpful to the FCAC in the organisation of the upcoming hybrid conference.

Political Affiliations

Socialist Federation (admin team secretary), Harmony UK (founder, general secretary & acting party envoy), Cytgord Cymru (core convener), ACORN (member), Trans Liberation Group (member).

I'm John Urquhart. I've been doing some of the meat of this project since before it was the Socialist Federation: minuting meetings, building sheets, writing the summary of proposals you've all read, and recently, drafting standing orders amendments that meet our lofty aim of ensuring the admin team is a part of the volunteer team rather than above it. I'll bring three things to the FCAC.

Procedural experience: I've done a lot of the necessary work before, with Harmony, so you don't have to worry about first timer mistakes. I also drafted a methodology for org conferences called The Welsh Method. I have a powerful bias toward transparency: because the quickest way to lose trust is not to deserve it in the first place.

And I do not come from a sect and do not care about factions. I am nobody’s animal. While Harmony may be small enough to be mistaken for a sect, our only dog in this race is regroupment. It's why we were founded, and it's why I'm here today.

Let's keep on getting on with it.

June Tobin has been a committed activist for over 40 years. Originally from London and as a civil servant took part in supporting the miner strikes during 1985-86. Moving to Bedfordshire to raise her family.

June is a member of the Unite Community. Spent many years in the corporate world of motor cars/motorbikes for large manufacturers leading teams, June gained her skills in organising large conferences, car/motorbike shows including the NEC and IOM TT.

June spent a number of years in Southwark, running a youth facility, adventure playground/community Centre. Managing teams of people, providing legal structure. Raising hundreds of thousands of funds to deliver programmes.

June is an NVQ trainer/facilitator and an ISO accredited auditor. June was a cofounder of a charity in her hometown at the beginning of the pandemic. Providing a Foodbank, community fridge, social supermarket and community centre, supporting homeless, veterans, elderly, young people, and refugees.

June is an accomplished Doer and organiser. With boots on the ground experience leading teams of 300+ people.

June has fought against closures of public buildings, services, and industrial businesses leaving our towns, along with the decline of our high streets, during times of recession that have created rural poverty.

Lots of experience organising conferences, campaigns, and events:

I have attended many conferences including Socialist Alliance, NUS, Left Unity, Labour Left Alliance, Labour Party. I have either spoken or moved motions at all of these.

I did most of the work compositing motions and preparing the agenda for Left Unity’s 2015 Conference.

I was a CLP Officer and Chair and Secretary for Bristol Labour Local Campaign Forum.

I was one of the main organisers for the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair for several years at which time daily

attendance reached over a thousand people.

I am a sound engineer by profession.

I have long been a campaigner for electoral reform and improving democratic practice.

Very experienced chairing meetings and conferences and dealing with points of order and technical procedure to help make meetings productive.

Motivation: This nomination is for a Spartacist “seat”, occupied by Eibhlin McColgan.

As members of the Spartacist League, we are committed revolutionary Marxists. We have campaigned for the Grassroots Left and have since supported the Socialist Federation and other left initiatives. Our goal isn’t merely to promote our own group but to fight to unite the scattered left along clear socialist lines.

The way to counter the rise of the far right is to build a fighting socialist alternative centred on the working class. But for too long, the socialist left has been dominated by liberal, middle-class politics, totally disconnected from the working class. We argue that we should turn to the workers and rebuild the trade unions. We have consistently fought in Your Party for an explicit opposition to Zionism, NATO and the Green Party.

This is not our full programme. You can follow our podcast on YouTube at @WorkersHammer and read more at https://iclfi.org/gbr.

We surely have disagreements, but if elected, we pledge to bring a distinct, sharp and revolutionary voice to the committee.

I’ve been a principal organiser of the recent SocFed / Members’ Charter Conferences, and co-instigated ALDA (the All-London Delegate Assembly), now serving as its secretary. Produced technical documentation (roadmaps, standing orders, running orders, conference packs) in both contexts. Worked in software and audio, applied knowledge to provide hybrid meetings of my proto-branch (Leyton & Wanstead), ALDA and recently the Sheffield Connections Convention.

Politically I am firmly committed to grassroots democracy – which is hopefully obvious from the composited structural proposal. I will carry these principles into the Committee, ensuring a fully democratic and sovereign founding congress is delivered for the Socialist Federation.

I am a member of the YP proto branch in Lambeth and have been active in the labour movement and on the organised left since the high point of the movement against Margaret Thatcher’s poll tax in 1990.

I was subsequently involved in the emerging movement against neoliberal globalisation and was a founding member of Revolution Socialist Youth in 1997.

I took part in the mass movements against the invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and travelled to Gaza with the International Solidarity Movement in 2002-03.

I later took part in the movements against austerity after the 2008 financial crisis and was a member of Left Unity from its formation until Jeremy Corbyn’s first Labour leadership election in 2015.

As a Labour party member in Lambeth, I helped to form the coordinations of the Labour left in Lambeth that came out of Lambeth Momentum, including Dulwich & West Norwood Labour Left (in what was my CLP).

I have written extensively on war, imperialism and the national question with a particular focus on Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, the Arab Spring revolutions and the Balkans.

I am the chair of Southwark YP/Southwark Independent Socialists, a member of the Organising Committee of the All-London Delegate Assembly (ALDA) and chaired several sessions at both meetings of the ALDA.

I registered Southwark Independent Socialists as a political party with the Electoral Commission, so that we could stand in the council elections, which we did and we secured 10% of the vote.

I was one of the two co-initiators of the Members' Charter and a member of the Admin Team of the Socialist Federation.

I am a member of Unite's Legal Workers Branch. I served as legal advisor to the Grassroots Left team in the CEC election campaign.

Political Affiliations

Unite the Union, former Your Party and Labour Party member.

I am standing for election to the Federation Congress Arrangements Committee because I want to help ensure the founding congress is organised in a way that reflects the Socialist Federation’s Points of Unity in practice – democratic participation, collective decision making, accountability and accessibility for all members.

I have experience in trade union organising and local community campaigning, where I have worked within collective structures to turn shared aims into practical action. This includes involvement in a 4,000 strong Swale car park petition campaign, coordinating communication, mobilisation and public engagement on a major local issue.

I have also been actively involved in residents’ association work, including chairing meetings, managing procedural and residents disputes and maintaining focus on clear outcomes while balancing differing perspectives. Across these roles, I have developed a practical understanding of how democratic processes function in real settings and how to ensure they are both fair and workable.

I am particularly interested in the practical organisation of the congress – structure, agenda-setting, coordination and technical delivery, ensuring that democratic intent is matched by effective execution.

I believe strong organisation is essential to building a socialist federation that is genuinely participatory, transparent and rooted in collective decision-making.

My name is Lucy Campbell. I am an independent socialist, former councillor (10 years), and former member of both the Labour Party (joining under Corbyn) and Your Party, where I helped set up a proto branch in West Dorset.

​50 years of neoliberalism has delivered the rise of the far right, a Labour government betraying the working class, and the deep disappointment of Your Party. The Socialist Federation is our opportunity to unite the Left and fight back.

​Throughout my life, I’ve been involved in anti-racist campaigns, refugee solidarity, improving youth facilities, and local democracy. I am a member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stand Up to Racism, and Unite.

​This activism and public service gives me deep experience in campaigning and collective organising. Professionally, I have a strong background in events planning and management for a training company, managed a community learning centre for 5 years, and organised fundraising events for refugees, volunteering in the Calais Jungle.

​I am used to working in teams, managing logistics, and proactively filling operational gaps. I want to bring this blend of political commitment and practical administrative experience to the Founding Congress Arrangements Committee to help build a seamless foundation for our federation.