The party is at a crossroads. Which road we take matters.

It matters not just for ourselves, but will have an impact on the course of struggles in Britain - and elsewhere. It is two minutes to midnight. When the clock strikes the hour at the party conference in not so many days time - we will all have to make a choice. The choice should not only be based on internal arguments, important as they are. We face a world in crisis, and a global assault on our class. In Britain the scale of that assault deepens daily. The level of resistance to those attacks is low. In Britain official leaders of workers organisations retreat from, or at best vacillate over, fighting back. Those at the top of society whip up racism and scapegoat immigrants to divide us and divert our anger against one another instead of at those responsible for the situation. All of this underlines the need for maintaining and building a party like ours. Our party is small, and its influence in Britain and internationally is limited, but it does have an impact. It would be a great loss if it were badly damaged or destroyed; whatever weaknesses we may need to address, it has taken decades to build the party and our comrades have won influence and authority in a whole range of areas. Yet the deep crisis we face threatens to inflict precisely such injury. Comrades need to take a deep breath, pause, and think about where we are and what is to be done. We, like many other comrades, may disagree on many questions which are the subject of robust and legitimate debate within the party. And we have no doubt that we will continue to have sharp, but comradely, disagreements and debates over many questions. This is essential in any healthy party. Like many other comrades, we also have different views on the issues around the disputes cases which have played a central role in the crisis in the party. But we, and we hope many other comrades, do agree on some important matters. We are committed to the idea that we should argue and decide what we should do as party, and then test that by putting it into practice together. We do think that the review of the disputes committee recognises that we did not get things right in how we have handled the cases at the heart of the arguments in the party, and that we need to change and improve our procedures. We think that ensuring that the second case of alleged sexual misconduct was properly dealt with was important. We think it is evident that the party should apologise for the distress caused to the two women complainants by the deficiencies in our disputes processes. It is a matter of regret that this question has become enmeshed in wider disputes. We believe any charge that the party is morally corrupt, is a sexist organisation, or has abandoned its tradition of fighting womens oppression has no basis. We look forward to more discussion and debate on question of oppression. We also agree that the Democracy Commission, whose report and conclusions the party as a whole voted to accept, should be a guide to how we conduct our internal life and debates from now on. Democratic centralism means ensuring a healthy internal democratic culture while also maintaining our focus as an interventionist party based on testing our decisions in practice. That will mean moving beyond factional positions and seeking collectively to face the enormous challenges and responsibilities swirling around us. We have built so much together, and so much that is precious, that surely, even at this late hour, we can face the world in comradeship, with a shared commitment to continuing to build the party the times so clearly demand. Signed by: Megan T, Paul Mc, Mike G, Jess E, Debs G, Dave H, Bunny L, Keir Mc, Geoff B, Rob F, Andy S, Roddy S, Jane H, Andy W, Huw W, Helen Mc, Iain F, Michael L, Dave D, Sheila M, John P, Ian C, Jon F, Andrew N, David H, Catherine P, Paul B, Arthur G, Nigel D, Eileen S, Jane B, Steve W, Jon W, Camilo A, Drew M, Kambiz B, Mark C, Tom H, Adrian B, Ken M, Anne A, Candy U, Sean W, Richard M, John R, Sean V, Phil M, Ian M, Maggie F, Martin U, Ian T, Jon W, Angela M, Frank S, Tony S, Raph P, Matt G