It’s a new year so here are some things that give me hope right now
It’s January, which is the month traditionally reserved for regrets, new starts and staring into the political abyss while whispering, was it always this stupid? I’ve been doing a little start-of-the-year reckoning, and frankly the vibes for the left have not been immaculate.
Last year we had Donald Trump’s inauguration surrounded by billionaires, Nigel Farage popping up in the polls like mould in a student bathroom, Keir Starmer purging socialists from Labour with the quiet efficiency of a middle manager deleting an incriminating email chain, and the planet continuing to warm like it’s trying to prove a point. The rich, meanwhile, are richer than ever, floating gently above the rest of us in a cloud of asset growth and moral vacancy.
So yes: it’s been a rough year if you believe society should be fair, habitable, and not run exclusively for hedge funds. Which is exactly why I’ve decided, against all instincts and medical advice, to talk about hope, because, annoyingly, it keeps popping up.
Zohran Mamdani standing up for socialism in New York
Take New York. Capital of global finance, spiritual home of the banker bonus, city so allergic to socialism it is trying as hard as possible to make renting completely unaffordable.
Yet: Zohran Mamdani, an actual socialist, is now mayor. Not a “we must be realistic” centrist who flinches every time Trump clears his throat, but someone who calls Trump what he is instead of nervously asking focus groups how loudly they’re allowed to disagree with fascism.
Mamdani didn’t win by pretending he could only manage decline more politely. He won by offering things, housing, dignity, public services, and saying them out loud without apologising. Which turns out not to be electoral cyanide after all. Who knew? Certainly not the Democratic establishment, currently hiding behind the sofa muttering about electability.
Your Party pushing back against Reform
Over here, Britain has given us Your Party, Jeremy Corbyn’s latest attempt to prove that socialism is harder to kill than Labour HQ thinks. Thousands of people joined. Thousands. That’s not nothing. It suggests that despite years of being told socialism is over, finished, dead, buried, and frankly a bit embarrassing, there is still a large chunk of the country quietly thinking: no actually, this system is broken.
Yes, the party itself is currently descending into a sort of endearing chaos: infighting, arguments, too much social media discourse, but there is something heartening about grassroots members having an actual say. Democracy: messy, loud, occasionally farcical, but still preferable to being managed into silence.
Crucially, there are people pushing back, properly, against Reform’s migration panic and the ongoing attempt to turn net zero into a culture-war swear word. Making the case that stopping climate catastrophe is, in fact, good, and that migrants are not the final boss of British decline.
First Past the Post woes
Of course, the electoral maths remains cursed. We learned this in 2017: you can rack up votes in London like loyalty points and still end up under-represented, because First Past the Post kicks insurgent movements in the head. Starmer’s vote may be uninspiring, but it’s devastatingly efficient. New parties? Not so much.
It’s a rubbish system, everyone agrees, but it is the system we’re stuck with for now. Which is why maybe the best outcome isn’t immediate victory, but pressure. Noise. A constant thorn in Labour’s side from the left. After all, this tactic worked beautifully for Farage, who has spent a decade shouting from the sidelines until the Conservatives accidentally absorbed his entire vibe.
Zack Polanski says that things could actually be better
Then there’s Zack Polanski and the Greens. Honestly? This is where my hope spikes. A Green leader who understands that politics now lives on social media, who actually talks to people online instead of treating video as a something only for TikTok brain mush addled Zoomers. Sign-ups are up. The message is clear. Eco-socialism. Not just everything is doomed, but things could actually be better.
Targeting London’s local elections next year feels smart. Tangible. Achievable. Hope with a postcode.
I’ve had hope before. I’ve watched it get dashed against the rocks of reality like a reusable coffee cup thrown at an armoured riot cop, but it still matters that hope exists at all. Especially now.
Hope against the odds
All of these movements, Mamdani, Corbyn, Polanski, are growing for the same reason. They challenge the status quo. They reject the dead-eyed politics of “this is just how things are.” Labour and the Democrats keep offering managed stagnation. The far right offers change, just violently worse.
If people are desperate for change, and they are, then offering change that actually improves lives might be a decent strategy. Radical thought, I know.
That’s why, against all odds, I have hope. Not because things are good, but because enough people are finally saying they don’t have to stay this bad.
