Mike Davis

Mick Antoniw Welsh counsel general, Mark Catterall, Calder Valley CLP delegate and Martin Timson UNISON Steward in Merseytravel & LCR CA Branch

Solidarity with Ukraine featured prominently on the fringe and in the main conference venue at Labour’s recent Party conference in Liverpool.

Open Labour organised a well attended event featuring not one, but five Ukrainian speakers. Alex Sobel MP underlined the need to mobilise solidarity in his opening speech. Several speakers were from the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and Servants of the People ruling party of President Zelensky including the first deputy chair Oleksandr Korniyenko and the Economy minister. However, a more leftist solidarity view came from Bohdan Ferens of the growing Social Platform group. He spoke of the dire need of Ukrainian workers, many conscripted or volunteered to fight the Russian invasion, the families and children under siege and the need to strengthen not weaken trade union rights. He also spoke of the need for a just reconstruction after the war, one that puts people first not the demands of big business.

Ferens also went on the following day to introduce Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy on the conference floor and to make a short speech himself calling for active solidarity from the Labour party and trade unions. He stressed this should include humanitarian, financial, medical and military aid to hasten the end of the war.

Bohdan Ferens, founder of the SD Platform of Ukraine, addresses delegates

Labour friends of Ukraine also organised a successful meeting attended by over 100 delegates and visitors. Hosted by Siobhain McDonagh MP the meeting heard speeches from shadow defence secretary John Healy, David Lammy, Edward Fesko, charge d’Affaires, Anthony Smith from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and Lesla Zaburania and Oleksandr Kornyenko both of Verkovna Rada with prominent USC member Mick Antoniw, Welsh Senedd member and counsel general, providing a stirring rallying call for greater support to turn the tide against Russian aggression.

On the floor of the conference two composite motions were agreed on a show of hands. Composite 2 pledged “long term commitment to Ukraine in its struggle to defend its territorial sovereignty in face of Russian aggression” and “to work with allies to provide the assistance it needs to defend itself”  and “to hold him and associates in Belarus to account”  “for a special tribunal to hold Putin to account for the crime of aggression”. It also called for an active role in strategic arms limitation and for “multilateral disarmament to reduce nuclear risk”. The Defence motion merely reiterated the key calls in this composite.

There were more contentious elements in both composites which whilst calling for new alliances including EU-UK, also pledged to support our nuclear deterrent and “to develop the new AUKUS partnership and increase defence spending to meet NATO commitments”, none of which are necessary to support Ukraine.

Much was missing from the motions  with no call for a complete Russian withdrawal, for a seizing of Russian assets, referring Putin to the ICC, solidarity with trade unions threatened with restrictive laws or an independent  commitment from Labour to Ukraine. However, activists need to pull out the positive parts of the motions to deepen our solidarity activity.

Hundreds of Ukraine Solidarity Campaign medical aid leaflets were distributed at meetings and to delegates. That work now needs to be consolidated through trade union and CLP branches.

Composite 2 – Ukraine 

Conference notes the continued suffering of the Ukrainian people following Putin’s brutal and illegal invasion last year.

The UN has condemned human rights violations in Ukraine following the invasion, in light of Russian aggression triggering ‘the most massive violations of human rights’ in the world today.

It is now clearer than ever that Putin must be defeated in Ukraine.

Conference recognises the Labour Party’s firm commitment to provide long-term support for Ukraine in its struggle to defend their territorial sovereignty in light of Russian aggression.

Conference resolves that:

  • Labour’s support for NATO, our nuclear deterrent and our armed forces will remain absolute.
  • Labour will ensure our defence spending meets our NATO commitments.
  • Labour will invest in the UK’s defence manufacturing base.
  • Labour guarantees continued long-term UK support for Ukraine and will work with allies to provide the assistance it needs to defend itself.
  • A Labour government will seek new alliances and deepen others to strengthen our resilience to new threats including a new EU-UK security pact and developing the new AUKUS partnership.
  • Under a Labour government, Britain would take an active role in international efforts to secure strategic arms limitation and multilateral disarmament and reduce nuclear risk.

Conference calls on the Labour Party to work with its allies across the international community and hold Putin and his associates to account, including the dictatorship in Belarus. This includes pushing for the creation of a special tribunal to hold Putin to account for the crime of aggression.