THE World Transformed (TWT) festival this year will “lay the foundations for a new left,” organisers stressed today as they announced details of next month’s celebration of progressive politics.

The annual event, now in its sixth year, will take place alongside the Labour Party conference in Brighton at the end of September. It is open to both delegates and the general public.

Organisers said the festival, the first to be held in person since Jeremy Corbyn resigned as Labour leader early last year, will act as a safe space for the left to plan its next moves. 

For the first time, the event is being formally supported by the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) of Labour MPs, the Unite union and Young Labour, along with its long-term partners Momentum and the Communications Workers Union. 

The 2020 event was forced online by the Covid-19 pandemic, but this year TWT will take place at several venues in Brighton, including a purpose-built indoor site. It will still feature online elements for those unable to travel. 

Organisers said that, as well as providing an opportunity for activists to discuss the big issues, TWT will be a skills hub for the movement, offering training, workshops and networking sessions. 

Arts exhibitions, cultural discussions, performances and club nights will also be on offer, they confirmed. 

SCG secretary and Leeds East MP Richard Burgon said: “Only bold, socialist ideas can meaningfully tackle the deepening crisis facing our communities and our world, from Covid to the climate and so much else.

“[TWT] is a space where the left in all its diversity can come together to discuss and develop these ideas and to get equipped with the knowledge and skills to organise for a more just society.”

Organiser Zara Sehr Ashraf added: “Right now, we have a Tory government intent on widening inequalities, cracking down on our rights and sowing divisions in our communities.

“Meanwhile, we have a Labour Party leadership trailing in the polls which is not providing effective opposition and seems openly intent on alienating the hundreds of thousands of activists who helped bring the party close to power in 2017 [under Mr Corbyn’s leadership].

“At [TWT], we’ll be developing radical solutions to the huge political, economic and environmental challenges we face and making plans to build grassroots power across the UK.”