Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP)

Founded: 2019.

The Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party was launched at its founding congress in April 2019, having grown out of a resolution by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa to establish a workers' party. Its 2019 election manifesto, framed as a Marxist-Leninist programme, campaigns for a "Socialist Workers State" and sets out demands to nationalise mines, banks, land, private schools and private health services, to abolish private ownership of land, and to introduce free public education and health care. The party did not contest the 2024 national election; its manifesto commitments date from 2019.

Official website: https://www.srwp.org.za/

Not yet reviewed by a human. These positions were placed by reading the sources below; each one links to the document it came from.

12 of 15 axes have a cited position. Axes without a published position are marked as such and are never scored.

Positions

Economy: state or market — -2.00

State-led: the state owns or directs key industries, sets prices and plans investment.Market-led: private ownership, deregulation, lower taxes and a smaller state.

State-led: the state owns or directs key industries, sets prices and plans investment.

The SRWP shall nationalise all strategic industries, particularly the mines, the land and commercial farms, the banks, the big factories and the big businesses.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Two: Uprooting Capitalist Exploitation (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Land reform and expropriation — -2.00

Expropriation without compensation and state custodianship of land.Strong property rights; redistribution only through willing-buyer/willing-seller and the courts.

Expropriation without compensation and state custodianship of land.

We will nationalize and collectivise the land under the control of a workers state

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Three: Land for Common Good (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

BEE and race-based redress — No published position found

No published position found. This axis does not count towards the match.

Labour market — -2.00

Strong worker protection: higher minimum wages, collective bargaining, limits on labour broking and dismissal.Flexible labour market: easier hiring and dismissal, fewer statutory protections, incentives for employers.

Strong worker protection: higher minimum wages, collective bargaining, limits on labour broking and dismissal.

The SRWP shall abolish the current National Minimum Wage and replace it with NMW linked to the actual cost of production of the life of a worker and their family.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Two: Uprooting Capitalist Exploitation (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Healthcare and NHI — -2.00

Universal public health care: a publicly funded and publicly provided National Health Insurance with a smaller private sector.Private provision: medical schemes and market competition carry most of the system, with a smaller public role.

Universal public health care: a publicly funded and publicly provided National Health Insurance with a smaller private sector.

We shall nationalize the private health services, big pharmaceutical companies and private health resorts, and incorporate them into a single, high quality public national health service.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Six: Free & Decent Health Care for All (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Education — -2.00

State-directed schooling: a central curriculum, expanded free public education and tighter regulation of independent schools.Parental choice: independent schools, charter-type models and market mechanisms in education.

State-directed schooling: a central curriculum, expanded free public education and tighter regulation of independent schools.

We will immediately nationalize all private schools, colleges and universities to end class apartheid in education.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Five: Socialist Education for Emancipation (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Crime and policing — +1.00

Enforcement-first: more police and soldiers on the streets, harsher sentences, fewer procedural limits on the state.Prevention-first: community policing, restorative justice, and civil-liberties safeguards.

Leaning towards: prevention-first: community policing, restorative justice, and civil-liberties safeguards.

Your duty is to your community, FIRST. Serve your community.

SRWP Gauteng condemns the brutal capitalist ANC government for attacking the working class of Boipatong (party_document, 2019-03-27; accessed 2026-10-18)

Immigration — +1.00

Restrictive: tighter borders, limits on foreign nationals, deportation of undocumented migrants.Open: freer movement, rights for migrants, and regional integration.

Leaning towards: open: freer movement, rights for migrants, and regional integration.

We shall ensure that full citizenship rights are granted to all the working class, especially to all immigrants!

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter One: Equality & a Full Life for All (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Energy and climate — -1.50

Rapid decarbonisation: coal phase-out, renewable generation and climate commitments prioritised.Energy security first: continued coal, gas or nuclear generation and a slower transition.

Rapid decarbonisation: coal phase-out, renewable generation and climate commitments prioritised.

The SRWP will have an energy policy which will guarantee that renewable and clean energy replace fossil fuels without destroying the livelihoods of those employed in the fossil fuels sectors.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Two: Uprooting Capitalist Exploitation (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Federalism and devolution — No published position found

No published position found. This axis does not count towards the match.

Traditional leadership — +1.00

Expanded role: traditional leaders hold formal powers over governance, land and customary law.Limited role: elected structures and individual constitutional rights take precedence over customary authority.

Leaning towards: limited role: elected structures and individual constitutional rights take precedence over customary authority.

As a result, this will abolish the buying and selling of land as a commodity, the private rental system and traditional leaders’ monopoly ownership.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Three: Land for Common Good (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Social values — +1.50

Conservative: law reflects religious or traditional morality, with narrower reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.Liberal: secular law, with expanded gender, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.

Leaning towards: liberal: secular law, with expanded gender, reproductive and lgbtq+ rights.

We shall defend the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and protect the right for equal treatment of all people, as their sexual orientation is a private affair!

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter One: Equality & a Full Life for All (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Foreign policy — -1.50

Non-aligned and Global South: closer ties with BRICS, Russia, China and Palestine, with distance from Western powers.Western-aligned: closer ties with the United States, the European Union and other liberal democracies.

Non-aligned and Global South: closer ties with BRICS, Russia, China and Palestine, with distance from Western powers.

We are determined to fight US imperialist aggression against Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and against all Socialist countries of the world.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Seven: International Solidarity & Peace (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Anti-corruption and governance — -1.50

Expanded oversight: independent anti-corruption bodies with stronger investigative powers, asset forfeiture and procurement transparency.Smaller state machinery: fewer new bodies and regulations, with corruption handled through existing criminal law and the courts.

Expanded oversight: independent anti-corruption bodies with stronger investigative powers, asset forfeiture and procurement transparency.

We shall confiscate the assets of the rich and corrupt ‘Tenderpreneurs’, and ensure worker and community oversight over the arrest and prosecution of these thieves.

2019 Elections Manifesto , Chapter Eight: Fight for Genuine Democracy (manifesto, 2019-04-01; accessed 2026-10-18)

Local service delivery — No published position found

No published position found. This axis does not count towards the match.