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Socialist Party (England and Wales)

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Not to be confused with Socialist Party of Great Britain.

Socialist Party
Welsh: Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru
LeaderHannah Sell
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
Preceded by
HeadquartersEnfield, London, England
NewspaperThe Socialist
Student wingSocialist Students
Youth wingYoung Socialists
IdeologyTrotskyism
Marxism
Socialism
Revolutionary socialism
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationSocialist Green Unity Coalition (2005–2010)
European affiliationEuropean Anti-Capitalist Left
International affiliationCommittee for a Workers' International
Electoral allianceTUSC
Colours  Red
Website
socialistparty.org.uk
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The Socialist Party (Welsh: Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru) is a Trotskyist political party in England and Wales. Founded in 1997, it had formerly been Militant, an entryist group in the Labour Party from 1964 to 1991, which became Militant Labour from 1991 until 1997. It is a member of the refounded Committee for a Workers' International, and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.

History

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Socialist Party booth at a protest against the 2006 Lebanon War.
Main article: Militant tendency

The Socialist Party was formerly the Militant group, which practised entryism in the Labour Party. In the 1980s, Militant supporters Dave Nellist, Pat Wall and Terry Fields were elected to the House of Commons as Labour MPs. In 1982, Liverpool District Labour Party adopted Militant's policies for Liverpool City Council in its battle against cuts in the rate support grant from government, and came into conflict with the Conservative government.[4]

In 1991, there was a debate within Militant as to whether to continue working within the Labour Party, centred around whether they could still effectively operate in the party following the expulsions. The group became Militant Labour in 1991, after leaving the Labour Party. In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party,[5] and the Militant newspaper was renamed The Socialist.

In March 2009, the Socialist Party was invited to participate in No to EU – Yes to Democracy (No2EU), a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition by the RMT union leader Bob Crow, for the 2009 European Parliament elections.[6] This alliance later developed into the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), of which the party is a member.[7]

During Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party, members of the Socialist Party attempted to join the former, with then leader of the Socialist Party, Peter Taaffe, stating they hoped to be able to affiliate to the Labour Party and stand joint candidates at future general elections. Labour Party sources however distanced themselves from such attempts, highlighting that the rules preventing active members of other parties joining the Labour Party.[8]

In 2018 and 2019, the party was involved in a dispute within the predecessor Committee for a Workers' International (1974) around the questions of socialism and identity politics.[9] The Socialist Party, as part of the “In Defence of a Working Class and Trotskyist CWI” (IDWCTCWI) faction, would go on to re-establish a revived Committee for a Workers' International in 2019 that considers itself a continuance of the original CWI (though this is disputed).[10]

Allegations of violence against women and sexual assault

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In March 2013, Socialist Party member and National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Assistant General Secretary Steve Hedley was accused of domestic violence by a former partner, Caroline Leneghan.[11] Hedley, who had joined the Socialist Party a year after the alleged event took place, resigned immediately from the Socialist Party when the allegations were made.[12]

A former Socialist Party member alleged in 2013 that the Socialist Party's Executive Committee unfairly dealt with her complaint against a fellow member who put his hand on her knee.[13] The Socialist Party did not publicly comment on her case, but Hannah Sell, who was Deputy General Secretary at the time, published a statement on behalf of the Executive Committee: "Combating violence against women: A socialist perspective on fighting women's oppression".[14]

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ Keith Edkins (30 November 2009). "Local Council Political Compositions". Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  2. ^ Nicholas Whyte (10 May 2005). "The 2005 Local Government Elections in Northern Ireland". Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Labour win but come under fire from axed Nellist".
  4. ^ Mgadzah, Ray (28 March 1995). "Legacy of Mersey's Militants". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. ^ "The Socialist Party (formerly the Revolutionary Socialist League, Militant Tendency and Militant Labour)". mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Election campaigns". socialistparty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  7. ^ "About". TUSC. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  8. ^ Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (11 November 2016). "Socialist party leader submits application to rejoin Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  9. ^ Kelly, Fiach (6 March 2019). "Socialist Party documents illustrate criticism from international comrades". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023.
  10. ^ Flakin, Nathaniel (9 August 2019). "The Split in the CWI: Lessons for Trotskyists". Left Voice. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  11. ^ "RMT accused of dismissing attack claim by activist". The Independent. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  12. ^ "RMT investigation concludes: Steve Hedley has no case to answer". www.socialistparty.org.uk. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Workers' movement: Bureaucratic 'justice' and dealing with sex assault cases". Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Combating violence against women: A socialist perspective on fighting women's oppression". Socialist Party. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
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