Maxine Bowler launches election campaign in Sheffield

2024 general election

Maxine Bowler is an Independent Socialist for Palestine in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough

Maxine Bowler, an independent socialist for Palestine

“I will make it a vote on Palestine.” That was the rallying cry of Maxine Bowler, who launched her campaign to become the Socialist MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough on Friday.

Maxine is determined that the mass movement for Palestine that has rocked the British establishment will rise in the general election. Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer want a general election based on normal politics, where the Conservatives and Labor compete with right-wing programmes.

She is one of a number of independent socialist candidates who challenge both parties – because of support for the genocide of Israel, racism against migrants, attacks on working class people and all their rotten policies.

Maxine told Socialist Worker: “The main reason I’m sitting is to raise my voice for Palestine. Labor MP Gill Furniss, who currently holds the seat, has failed to come out and call for a ceasefire.

“This is such a misrepresentation of people’s opinion – which I will correct if elected.”

She added: “This is Israel’s attempt to destroy the entire Palestinian people. But our government is arming Israel and the leader of the “opposition”, Keir Starmer, is more than happy to accept it.

“We must stop the gun action, stop the support it receives, bring sanctions to Israel and fight to dismantle the apartheid state of Israel.”

Maxine has a long history of campaigning against Western imperialism. “I was involved in the campaigns against the Gulf War in 1990,” she said. “I worked closely with the Yemeni community in Sheffield, who were the backbone of the opposition to that war.

“I was involved in opposing the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 as part of the anti-war movement.”

Her endorsements include Dr. Abdul Shaif, a prominent Yemeni community activist in the city. “She’s pro-Palestine in every bone in her body,” he says.

“Her courage and dedication to defending the rights of all makes me confident that she will be an excellent MP, representing the voice of the people and fighting for a better future for us all.”

Maxine is a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and is standing up to ensure there is an alternative to Labour’s pro-boss, anti-worker agenda.

She was a community worker for many years until her retirement a few months ago. She worked in a GP practice helping people access benefits and housing, among other issues.

She knows that the housing crisis is another fundamental problem, not just in Sheffield but across the UK.

“The renationalisation of public services is another important issue that I would fight for if elected,” she added.

Maxine has always supported strikes and if elected will use her position to raise solidarity for workers taking action.

One of her supporters is Sahar, a Palestinian doctor. “It’s great to know that junior doctors will be hitting the ground running in the final week of the election,” she said. “And I’ll be on the picket lines in Sheffield to support the junior doctors’ strike.”

Maxine is a member of the executive of Sheffield Trades Council and secretary of the non-profit union Unite. “We represent workers in the voluntary sector,” she said. “It includes charity workers who won a pay rise after going on strike last year.

Among the trade unionists supporting Maxine is James Oliver, joint secretary of the Sheffield NEU trade union for education. “I teach in this community and I think we deserve more than the Tories or Starmer,” he said in his personal endorsement.

“Maxine is the hardest campaigner I know, for Palestine, for anti-racism, for workers’ rights and against cuts. She would never betray these causes, Starmer already did.”

As co-convener of Stand Up To Racism in Sheffield, Maxine was part of the campaign against the Rwandan plan. “We have also taken aid to refugees in Calais many times,” she said. “We organized trips for refugees in the summer with other groups like Care4Calais.”

She was involved in the Lift The Ban campaign to allow refugees to work. “Refugees left in hotels and not allowed to work are maligned by the government and the right-wing media.

“But Starmer’s Labor is not resisting the scapegoating of refugees and migrants, it is encouraging it.

“I am always against racism, transphobia and all attempts to divide working class people.”