British left

Last updated

The British left (or The Left in Britain) can refer to multiple concepts. It is sometimes used as shorthand for groups aligned with the Labour Party. It can also refer to other individuals, groups and political parties that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political, and cultural institutions of the United Kingdom. There are various sub-groups, split between reformist and revolutionary viewpoints. Progressives and social democrats believe that equality can be accommodated into existing capitalist structures, but they differ in their criticism of capitalism and on the extent of reform and the welfare state. Anarchists, communists, and socialists, among others on the far left, on the other hand argue for abolition of the capitalist system. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

Leftism in the United Kingdom is thought to stretch back to the aftermath of the English Civil War in the 17th century, represented by groups such as the 'True Levellers' or Diggers. Chartism was one of the first post-civil war left-wing movements. Notions of socialism in Britain have taken many different forms from the utopian socialism and philanthropism of Robert Owen through to the reformist electoral project enshrined in the birth of the Labour Party.

The Great Unrest of the pre-WW1 years and the strikes of 1919 [4] represented surges in left-wing activity. The Attlee ministry's establishment of the welfare-state is often considered a victory for the left. The New Left of 1968 represented another wave of activity. The miners' strike of 1984–85 saw the most recent large-scale working class movement; the anti-Poll Tax campaign of the late 1980s/early 1990s was also a significant left-wing social movement. The alter-globalisation and Occupy movements had a presence in Britain in the early-late 2000s, anti-austerity campaigns made up the bulk of the left's activity in the 2010s, and Black Lives Matter, pro-Palestine movements and environmental protests remain the largest movements of the 2020s.

Historical

Contemporary

Key figures

The following is a list of figures considered[ by whom? ] significant for the British Left.

Activists

Journalists

Politicians

Thinkers

Left-wing electoral organisations active in Britain

Timeline of parties in the broad socialist movement BritishLeft.png
Timeline of parties in the broad socialist movement

The largest political party associated with the British left is the centre-left Labour Party, which is also the biggest political party in the UK by membership levels, with 415,000 members as of July 2022. [45] Labour has 412 seats in the House of Commons. [46] The current Leader of the Labour Party is Keir Starmer, who was elected as the party's leader on 4 April 2020.

The second largest party on the British left, by membership, is the centre-left Scottish National Party (SNP), which had 72,186 members as of March 2023, despite only being active in Scotland; [47] the SNP have 9 MPs.

The third largest party on the British left is the Green Party of England and Wales, whose membership reached over 54,000 in 2021; [48] following the most recent general election the Greens have 4 MPs. [49]

The other three political parties on the left and with representation in parliament are the centre-left Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) of Northern Ireland; the centre-left Plaid Cymru (who are only active in Wales) and Sinn Féin, also from Northern Ireland. Plaid has 4 MPs, [50] the SDLP have 2 MPs, and Sinn Féin has 7 MPs, [51] but the latter party does not sit in Westminster as it refuses to take the parliamentary Oath of Allegiance.

Labour Party

Labour Party individual membership, excluding affiliated members and supporters Labour Party membership graph.svg
Labour Party individual membership, excluding affiliated members and supporters

The biggest party on the political left in the United Kingdom in terms of members and representation is the Labour Party, which was founded as the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) in 1900. With the party's rebranding as New Labour in the 1990s under the leadership of Tony Blair, the party accepted a number of economic policies associated with the Right, causing it to be identified as centrist (Blair himself stated that his ministry would have governed from the political centre) rather than socialist, despite adding democratic socialism to the party's constitution, and was considered by fewer critics as being a party of the left; Blair described New Labour's ideology as Third Way, like Bill Clinton's Democratic Party in the United States. The Labour Party under Blair's leadership accepted many of the neoliberal economic policies enforced by the previous Conservative Party governments in the 1980s and 1990s, and continued in successive Conservative governments in the 2010s. [52] [53]

When Ed Miliband was elected as Leader of the Labour Party in 2010, he announced the abandonment of the New Labour agenda, and promised to return to socialism, [54] clamp down on tax avoidance, introduce a wealth tax in the form of a mansion tax, raise income tax for high earners, and break up the banks. [55] The party was subsequently criticised by some, including Blair himself, as straying leftwards from the centre ground of British politics, [56] and that Miliband was a more traditional left-wing politician. [57] Others disputed this view, and put Labour's loss at the 2015 United Kingdom general election down to the party being too right-wing. [58] [59]

Labour's status as a socialist party has been disputed by those who do not see the party as being part of the left, [60] [61] [62] although the general consensus under Jeremy Corbyn was that Labour was closer to the Left on the left–right political spectrum. [63] [64] As a result of this, there has always been tension between the Left and the Labour Party. [65] [66] [67] The Corbyn Labour Party leadership campaign, which led to a landslide victory at the 2015 Labour Party leadership election held in the month of September, [68] represented a revival of the Labour left and led to a significant increase in membership; [69] in the shadow cabinet reshuffle that followed, John McDonnell (chairman of the Labour Representation Committee) and Diane Abbott (member of the Socialist Campaign Group) were both appointed to Corbyn's shadow cabinet. [70] While not winning, Labour made significant gains in terms of vote share and modest improvements in terms of seats, enough to deny a Conservative majority and led to a hung parliament, at the 2017 United Kingdom general election, [71] [72] which was taken as a vindication by some of the left turn. [73] [74] The party fell in the 2019 United Kingdom general election to its lowest share of seats since 1935, although it was not the party's worst election in terms of vote share (it did better than in 1931, 1983, 1987, 2010 and 2015); many believe this was due to a complicated Labour Party manifesto and Brexit policy, a poor approach to campaigning, and the unpopularity of Corbyn's leadership. [75] [76] [77]

Internal groups

Magazine support

Green Party of England and Wales

In 2015, the membership of the Green Party of England and Wales quadrupled, and its support in national opinion polls sextupled. [78] Several factors contributed, including the collapse of the Lib Dem vote, the influence of social media and greater awareness among younger people about the rise of other left-wing parties in Europe such as: Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece, as well as a rise in anti-austerity movements across the UK and Europe. [79] Other factors included the Scottish independence referendum, which proved to be an inspiration for a new kind of politics. Other key factors had been the contrast in conferences of the Green Party and Labour in September 2014, and the media exclusion of the Greens during and following their successes at the European elections; a petition against the media blackout of the Green Party reached 260,000 signatures. [80]

The party also received a significant spike in membership during January 2015 following David Cameron's demand that the Greens be included in the leaders' debates for the 2015 general election. The Green Party has been included in a seven-way television debate. [81] The Greens' 2015 spring conference had a record 1,300 members attend; the party became the second-largest of the European Greens in this period, as well as increasing significantly in national polls from an average 1% to 7%. It beat the Liberal Democrats to fourth place at the 2014 European Elections with 8%, under a proportional voting system, having a third MEP elected. However the Greens achieved only a 1.6% vote share at the 2017 general election, [82] following a rejection by Labour of an election pact [83] and an increase in vote share by the two major parties.

In the 2019 general election, the Green Party increased their vote share by 65% to 2.7%. [84] In the 2021 United Kingdom local elections, the party made a net gain of 91 council seats, taking its national total to a record 444. [85] As with Labour, the status of the Greens as a party of the political left has been disputed. [86]

Internal groups

Other organisations

The Workers Party of Britain was formed in December 2019. [87] It is a socialist and socially conservative party. [88] Its leader George Galloway briefly became the Member of Parliament for Rochdale in 2024, following a by-election. [89]

The now defunct Respect Party (formed in 2004), which at one point had the support of other left groups (such as the Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Resistance) and some electoral success, lost its last local councillors in 2014 [90] and its sole MP George Galloway – who was also the party leader. Respect disbanded after twelve years, on 18 August 2016. [91]

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), founded in 2010, comprises the Socialist Party, Socialist Workers Party and RMT trade union. As of 2016, TUSC had a small number of affiliated local councillors. Following the 2015 election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, TUSC floated plans for a future electoral pact with any Labour councillors standing on an anti-austerity platform; [92] subsequently TUSC stood fewer candidates in the 2016 and 2017 local elections, based on a case by case reckoning of the political stance of local Labour candidates. [93] In May 2017, TUSC confirmed that it would stand no candidates at the forthcoming general election, [93] and give full support to Labour. [94] In 2018, TUSC suspended electoral activity until further notice. [95] In September 2020, TUSC became active once again as its steering committee agreed it would stand candidates in the 2021 local elections. [96] In 2024, TUSC stood 40 candidates in the general election. [97]

Left Unity was formed in November 2013 and backed by a number of existing left-wing parties. Left Unity had an electoral pact with TUSC for the 2015 elections [98] but renounced independent electoral activity, in favour of Labour, under the Corbyn leadership. [99]

The Communist Party of Britain (CPB), is a split from (and effectively the political successor to) the historical Communist Party of Great Britain, once the largest British far-left organisation. [100] In 2017, the CPB announced that it would field no candidates at that year's general election, and give support to Labour instead. [101] In 2024, the party fielded 14 candidates in the general election. [102]

Some small left and far-left parties continue to contest elections independently, such as the Socialist Party of Great Britain (the oldest extant left-wing political party, having formed in 1904). Other parties and groups are electorally inactive, renounce participation in elections, [103] [104] [105] or work unofficially in support of, or advocate a vote for, the Labour Party.

Electorally active parties

Entryist groups within Labour Party
Parties working within Transform
Parties working within TUSC
Others

Active only in Scotland

Active only in Wales

Local parties

Media and culture

The following is a list of media organisations and other progressive British cultural outputs explicitly associated with the Left. [114]

Comics

Events

Film

Television

Theatre

Independent news sources

Journals

Online content creators

Music

Literature

Publishing Houses

Publications affiliated to political organisations

Think tanks

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Corbyn</span> British politician (born 1949)

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. An independent, Corbyn was a member of the Labour Party from 1965 until his expulsion in 2024, and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. He served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. Corbyn identifies ideologically as a socialist on the political left.

The Socialist Campaign Group, also simply known as the Campaign Group, is a UK parliamentary caucus of the Labour Party including Members of Parliament in the House of Commons. The group also includes some MPs who formerly represented Labour in Parliament but have had the whip withdrawn or been expelled from the party.

Clause IV is part of the Labour Party Rule Book which sets out the aims and values of the British Labour Party. The original clause, adopted in 1918, called for common ownership of industry, and proved controversial in later years; Hugh Gaitskell attempted to remove the clause following Labour's loss in the 1959 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RMT (trade union)</span> British trade union

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsey German</span> British activist

Lindsey Ann German is a British left-wing political activist. A founding member and convenor of the British anti-war organisation Stop the War Coalition, she was formerly a member of the Socialist Workers Party, sitting on its central committee and being editor of its magazine, Socialist Review.

The soft left, also known as the open left, inside left and historically as the Tribunite left, is a faction within the British Labour Party. The term "soft left" was coined to distinguish the mainstream left, represented by former leader Michael Foot, from the hard left, represented by Tony Benn. People belonging to the soft left may be called soft leftists or Tribunites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katy Clark</span> Scottish politician and life peer (born 1967)

Kathryn Sloan Clark, Baroness Clark of Kilwinning, is a British politician and life peer who has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for North Ayrshire and Arran from 2005 to 2015.

David John Nellist is a British Trotskyist activist who was the MP for the constituency of Coventry South East from 1983 to 1992. Elected as a Labour MP, his support for the Militant tendency led to his eventual expulsion from the party in late 1991. He is the National Chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), a member of the Socialist Party, and was a city councillor in Coventry from 1998 to 2012.

<i>Tankie</i> Pejorative term for authoritarian communists

Tankie is a pejorative label generally applied to authoritarian communists, especially those who support acts of repression by such regimes, their allies, or deny the occurrence of the events thereof. More specifically, the term has been applied to those who express support for one-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republics, whether contemporary or historical. It is commonly used by anti-authoritarian leftists, including anarchists, libertarian socialists, left communists, democratic socialists and reformists to criticise Leninism, although the term has seen increasing use by liberal and right‐wing factions as well.

The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. It is one of two dominant political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party. The party has been led by Keir Starmer since 2020, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in July 2024. Since the 2024 general election, the Labour Party has been the governing party of the United Kingdom and the largest political party in the House of Commons, followed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. As of 2024, there have been seven Labour prime ministers and fourteen Labour ministries. The party traditionally holds the annual Labour Party Conference during party conference season, at which debates and voting take place, and senior Labour figures promote party policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is a socialist electoral alliance in Britain. It was originally launched for the 2010 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communist Party of Britain</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) is a communist party in Great Britain which emerged from a dispute between Eurocommunists and Marxist-Leninists in the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1988. It follows Marxist-Leninist theory and supports what it regards as existing socialist states. The party has fraternal relationships with the ruling parties in Cuba, China, Laos, and Vietnam. It is affiliated nationally to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign. It is a member of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, together with 117 other political parties. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the party was one of two original British signatories to the Pyongyang Declaration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom</span>

Socialism in the United Kingdom is thought to stretch back to the 19th century from roots arising in the English Civil War. Notions of socialism in Great Britain have taken many different forms from the utopian philanthropism of Robert Owen through to the reformist electoral project enshrined in the Labour Party that was founded in 1900 and nationalised a fifth of the British economy in the late 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialist Party (England and Wales)</span> Political party in The United Kingdom England & Wales

The Socialist Party 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Left Unity (UK)</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

Left Unity is a left-wing political party in the United Kingdom founded in 2013 when film director and social campaigner Ken Loach appealed for a new party to replace the Labour Party. More than 10,000 people supported Loach's appeal.

The Alliance for Workers' Liberty (AWL), also known as Workers' Liberty, is a Trotskyist group in Britain and Australia, which has been identified with the theorist Sean Matgamna throughout its history. It publishes the newspaper Solidarity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The World Transformed</span> UK left-wing political festival

The World Transformed is a political festival, which until 2023 was held as an unaffiliated fringe event running at the same time as Labour Party conference. Beginning in 2016, organisers describe its purpose as "to create a space in which ideas can be freely exchanged and collectively developed".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novara Media</span> British media organisation

Novara Media is an independent, non-profit, left-wing media organisation based in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Raymond (April 1965). "The British Left". The New Left Review (I/30): 18–26.
  2. ↑ "The Left in Britain | CRL". crl.edu. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Murray, Andrew (October 2019). The Fall and Rise of the British Left. Verso Books. ISBN   978-1-78873-513-1.
  4. ↑ "Unrest in Britain in 1919 | libcom.org". libcom.org. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Rosenberg, David (4 October 2020). "Remembering the Battle of Cable Street". Tribune. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  6. ↑ "British Library". bl.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Wills, Matthew (10 November 2020). "What Did the Diggers Really Believe?". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  8. ↑ Crossley, James (30 May 2023). "Remembering the Peasants' Revolt". Tribune.
  9. ↑ Pidd, Helen (16 August 2019). "The Peterloo massacre: what was it and what did it mean?". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ Francis, Patricia (7 June 2021). "Black Lives Matter: how the UK movement struggled to be heard in the 2010s". The Conversation. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "The History of CND". CND UK. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  12. ↑ Booth, Robert (24 August 2022). "Enough is Enough movement gathers pace with Andy Burnham latest backer". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Seaton, Lola (11 September 2020). "The two faces of Extinction Rebellion". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Is Extinction Rebellion Still 'Beyond Politics'?". Novara Media. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Townsend, Mark (29 October 2022). "Roadblocks, soup hurling, superglue ... Just Stop Oil protests divide activists on direct action". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  16. ↑ McSmith, Andy (2 December 2015). "Stop the War Coalition: This group of left-wing enemies has survived many rifts". The Independent. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  17. ↑ Partington, Richard (14 February 2023). "Number of days lost to strikes is highest since the Thatcher era". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "The remarkable story of Mark Ashton, the campaigner who brought communities together". Metro. 17 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Bob Crow obituary: A working class hero who never shirked from industrial action". The Independent. 11 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "JONES, CLAUDIA (1915–1964)". English Heritage. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  21. ↑ Gilbert, Jeremy (23 June 2022). "Union boss Mick Lynch is a media star – and Labour has much to learn about why". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "Never Walk Alone". High Profiles. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  23. ↑ SubZorro (7 May 2021). "Remembering Albert Meltzer 25 years on". Freedom News. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Harris, John (28 February 2014). "In search of Arthur Scargill: 30 years after the miners' strike". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  25. ↑ Bastani, Aaron (4 May 2018). "Karl Marx at 200: Aaron Bastani picks five books to understand Marxism". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  26. ↑ Sawer, Patrick (13 April 2012). "Paul Foot dies at 66". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  27. ↑ O'Hagan, Sean (19 September 2020). "Owen Jones: 'A lot of people in the parliamentary Labour party are horrible'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  28. ↑ "Tony Banks, minister and maverick, dies aged 62 after massive stroke". The Independent. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  29. ↑ "Tony Benn's Lessons for the Left". tribunemag.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  30. ↑ "Tony Benn". penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  31. ↑ "Andy Burnham burnishes his brand on Labour's left". The New Statesman. 30 November 2022.
  32. ↑ "The Resilient Radicalism of Barbara Castle". Tribune. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  33. ↑ "The New Statesman's left power list". New Statesman. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  34. ↑ "Never a Yes Man". Tribune. 27 January 2017.
  35. ↑ "'Red' Ken Livingstone has been a divisive figure during his 40-year career". The Independent. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  36. ↑ "Brighton's Caroline Lucas ranked UK's most left-wing MP". The Argus. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  37. ↑ "John McDonnell's last stand". The New Statesman. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  38. ↑ "Profile: Dennis Skinner". The Guardian. 20 March 2001. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  39. ↑ "ELLEN WILKINSON". Time and Tide.
  40. ↑ "Is This the Most Important Book So Far This Century?". Novara Media. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  41. ↑ Loudis, Jessica (27 September 2017). "Why We Need Stuart Hall's Imaginative Left". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  42. ↑ Kettle, Martin (26 February 2003). "Christopher Hill". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  43. ↑ Jones, Jonathan (24 March 2016). "William Morris: a Victorian socialist dreaming of a life in symmetry". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  44. ↑ "A Century of Raymond Williams". tribunemag.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  45. ↑ Fisher, Andrew [@FisherAndrew79] (21 July 2022). "It was reported to the Labour NEC on Tuesday that membership had fallen to 415,000, including 33,000 members in arrears (e.g. ineligible to vote but may renew), so 382k paid-up members
    Membership was reported to be 570,000 in July 2020. That's a huge loss of members and revenue"     (Tweet). Retrieved 10 August 2022– via Twitter.
  46. ↑ "UK general election results in full: Labour wins in landslide". TheGuardian.com . 26 July 2024.
  47. ↑ "SNP says its membership has fallen to 72,000". BBC News. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  48. ↑ https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/24347 [ bare URL ]
  49. ↑ Grierson, Jamie; Walker, Peter (5 July 2024). "Green party quadruples its number of Commons seats to four". The Guardian.
  50. ↑ "Wales' 13 new MPS after General Election 2024". 5 July 2024.
  51. ↑ "Sinn Féin becomes NI's largest Westminster party". 4 July 2024.
  52. ↑ Shafi, Jonathan (6 July 2013). "Labour, Neoliberalism and the Future". International Socialist. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021.
  53. ↑ Hain, Peter (5 January 2015). "A smaller state? It's what got us into trouble to begin with". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  54. ↑ "Ed Miliband: I'm bringing socialism back to Britain", The Daily Telegraph, September 2013.
  55. ↑ "Labour will restore 50p top rate of income tax, says Ed Balls", The Guardian, January 2014
  56. ↑ "Tony Blair says Labour 'left-wing' warning 'misinterpreted'". BBC News. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  57. ↑ "Blair claims 'left-wing' comments about Miliband were 'misinterpreted'". ITV News. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  58. ↑ Stanley, Tim (15 May 2015). "Labour didn't lose because it was too Left-wing. But it will lose again if it becomes too Right-wing". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  59. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (13 May 2015). "Labour did not lose election because it was too leftwing, says Unite chief". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  60. ↑ Singh, Amit (8 May 2015). "The most embarrassing part of the election? Seeing people mistake Labour for a left-wing party". The Independent. London.
  61. ↑ "Socialist Party :: Labour conference – no socialist policies". socialistparty.org.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  62. ↑ "The Labour Party and socialism". Socialist Worker (Britain). 21 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  63. ↑ "The uphill battle for left wing Labour". Opinium. 15 September 2015.
  64. ↑ "9 charts that show the 'left-wing' policies of Jeremy Corbyn the public actually agrees with". The Independent. 23 July 2015.
  65. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn: 'We Didn't Go Far Enough'". tribunemag.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  66. ↑ "Left-wing pressure groups in the Labour Party". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  67. ↑ "A Party with Socialists in It". Pluto Press. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  68. ↑ ToHelm (13 September 2015). "Corbyn hails huge mandate as he sets out leftwing agenda". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  69. ↑ "Labour claim membership surge after Corbyn election". Channel 4 News. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  70. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn unveils 'unifying' shadow cabinet team". BBC News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  71. ↑ Agerholm, Harriet; Dore, Louis (9 June 2017). "Jeremy Corbyn increased Labour's vote share more than any leader since 1945". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017.
  72. ↑ Pickard, Jim (8 June 2017). "Jeremy Corbyn confounds critics with 'gobsmacking' gain". Financial Times. London.
  73. ↑ Younge, Gary (10 June 2017). "Despite all the smears and distortions, this was a victory for hope – Gary Younge". The Guardian.
  74. ↑ Weigel, David (9 June 2017). "American left sees hope in Britain's socialist surge". The Washington Post.
  75. ↑ Helm, Toby (14 December 2019). "I take my share of responsibility for this defeat, says Jeremy Corbyn". The Observer.
  76. ↑ Proctor, Kate (13 December 2019). "Five reasons why Labour lost the election". The Guardian.
  77. ↑ Proctor, Kate; Murray, Jessica (27 January 2020). "Labour defeat due to gimmicks and division, say members". The Guardian.
  78. ↑ Ramsay, Adam (6 March 2015). "Today, Natalie Bennett must deliver the speech of her life". New Statesman . Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  79. ↑ See: list of political parties in the United Kingdom opposed to austerity.
  80. ↑ ""Invite the Greens" petition handed in to the BBC". Green Party of England and Wales. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  81. ↑ "Election 2015: Seven-party TV debate plan announced". BBC News. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  82. ↑ "Results of the 2017 General Election". BBC News. 9 June 2017.
  83. ↑ Walker, Peter; Elgot, Jessica (19 April 2017). "Labour and Lib Dems reject Greens' call for electoral pact against Tories". The Guardian.
  84. ↑ Benson, Imogen (13 December 2019). "2019 general election: Greens increase vote share by 60 per cent". Green World.
  85. ↑ Harvey, Fiona (16 May 2021). "Green party co-leader tells Keir Starmer: My door is open for talks". The Guardian.
  86. ↑ Moore, Suzanne (28 January 2015). "Forget the Greens – if the UK wants a truly leftwing party, it might have to grow its own". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  87. ↑ Norfolk, Andrew (22 June 2021). "George Galloway is pulling no punches in Batley & Spen". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  88. ↑ "Rochdale by-election 2024: Who are the Workers' Party of Britain?". Mancunian Matters. March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  89. ↑ McKiernan, Jennifer (1 March 2024). "Rochdale by-election: Landslide win for George Galloway". BBC News. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  90. ↑ Pidd, Helen (23 May 2014). "Labour gains control of Bradford as Respect fail". The Guardian.
  91. ↑ Pidd, Helen (28 October 2013). "Who is the leader of the Respect party these days?". The Guardian.
  92. ↑ Ian Silvera (14 September 2015). "Far-left TUSC seeks anti-austerity electoral pact with Jeremy Corbyn's Labour". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  93. 1 2 "Local elections 2017: The TUSC results" (PDF). tusc.org.uk. 7 May 2017.
  94. ↑ "TUSC CONFIRMS NO CANDIDATES IN JUNE AND FULL SUPPORT FOR A CORBYN LED GOVERNMENT WITH SOCIALIST POLICIES". tusc.org.uk. 11 May 2017.
  95. ↑ "TUSC SUSPENDS ELECTORAL ACTIVITY NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE STATEMENT". tusc.org.uk. 8 November 2018.
  96. ↑ "Back at work! TUSC to stand in elections again against pro-austerity politicians". tusc.org.uk. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  97. ↑ "The TUSC candidates on July 4th". 7 June 2024.
  98. ↑ Hill, Dave. "On relations between Left Unity and TUSC". Left Unity. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  99. ↑ "General election: Left Unity calls for a Labour victory – Left Unity". leftunity.org.
  100. ↑ Wheeler, Brian (13 June 2012). "What happened to the Communist Party of Great Britain's millions?". BBC News.
  101. ↑ Smith, Mikey (24 April 2017). "Communist Party backs Corbyn and won't stand any candidates in the election". Daily Mirror .
  102. ↑ "Communist candidate accuses BBC of bias against left as party concludes its 2024 election campaign". 3 July 2024.
  103. ↑ FRFI. "General election: Don't vote – fight for socialism!".
  104. ↑ "The General Election – More Ruling Class Mystification". Leftcom. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  105. ↑ "The ballot box won't give us a voice, collective action will!" (PDF). union-communiste.org. 2017.
  106. 1 2 3 Somerville, Ewan (28 November 2019). "Every candidate standing in London constituencies this election". Evening Standard. London.
  107. ↑ Wagner, Veronika (20 November 2019). "US health corporations are already embedded in the NHS. The question is how to get them out". Bright Green. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  108. ↑ Payne, Mark (12 November 2019). "'I'll be a voice for change': The former Hartlepool councillor now standing to be the town's MP". Hartlepool Mail.
  109. ↑ "Editorial: Towards a general election". Socialist Party of Great Britain. November 2019.
  110. ↑ "VOTE WRP ON DECEMBER 12! BREAK WITH THE EU! FORWARD TO A WORKERS GOVERNMENT AND SOCIALISM! WRP 2019 Election Manifesto". 5 November 2019.
  111. ↑ Barberis, P. et al. Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. A&C Black, 2000, p161
  112. ↑ "TUSC STEERING COMMITTEE AGREES CANDIDATES FOR MAYS COUNCIL ELECTIONS". tusc.org.uk. 27 March 2017.
  113. ↑ "Why we are relaunching Workers Power". workerspower.uk.
  114. ↑ Dean, Jonathan (2023). "Left politics and popular culture in Britain: From left-wing populism to 'popular leftism'". Politics. 43 (1): 3–17. doi:10.1177/0263395720960661 – via SAGE.
  115. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/dec/18/bill-bailey-stuart-jeffries-saturday-interview
  116. ↑ Burrows, Marc (30 March 2023). "Frankie Boyle's "shock" comedy was vile – no wonder he's given himself a makeover". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  117. ↑ Gammie, Joe (8 December 2019). "Comedian Steve Coogan calls on people to vote tactically to boot out the Tories". mirror. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  118. ↑ Ibekwe, Desiree (1 April 2021). "His BBC Comedy Show Is Canceled. His Political Fight Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  119. ↑ Lee, Stewart (6 September 2020). "The divided land of 'woke' and Tory". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  120. ↑ Banerjee, Rohan (17 October 2017). ""I have nothing against privileged people": Josie Long on class, Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn". The New Statesman. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  121. ↑ "Alexei Sayle: Stand-up Communist – 3:AM Magazine" . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  122. ↑ Stack, Pat (11 April 2006). "Linda Smith 1957–2006". Socialist Worker. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  123. ↑ "Comedian Mark Steel on politics and personal relationships". The Argus. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  124. ↑ "The Defiance of Durham". New Socialist. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  125. ↑ Digital, Pretty Good. "Glastonbury Festival – Left Field". Glastonbury Festival – 22–26 June 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  126. ↑ "The World Transformed". Progressive International. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  127. ↑ Kellaway, Kate (31 August 2014). "When miners and gay activists united: the real story of the film Pride". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  128. ↑ https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1008225/Danny-Boyle-too-Left-wing-James-Bond-movie-Jonathan-Pryce
  129. ↑ Williams, Hannah (11 August 2021). "Why Millennial Leftists Have Made a BBC Filmmaker a Cult Hero". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  130. ↑ devadmin (9 February 2023). "Ken Loach: "I don't agree you need a political cause to make a movie."". A Rabbit's Foot. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  131. ↑ Parry, William (27 March 2019). "Always political: director Mike Leigh weighs in on Peterloo, Palestine and beyond". The National News. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  132. ↑ Cookie, Lez. "Bleasdale, Alan (1946–)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  133. ↑ "About the New Statesman". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  134. ↑ Chakelian, Anoosh (25 September 2017). ""Luxury communism now!" The rise of the pro-Corbyn media". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  135. ↑ "How left or right-wing are the UK's newspapers? | YouGov". yougov.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  136. ↑ Waterson, Jim (27 September 2018). "New owners of Tribune shrug off criticism from former staffers". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  137. ↑ "Historical Materialism". Brill. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  138. ↑ "A Brief History of the New Left Review". The New Left Review.
  139. ↑ "Race & Class". Institute of Race Relations. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  140. ↑ "About the Journal | Socialist Register". socialistregister.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  141. 1 2 3 Burman, Nicholas. "Is There a Future for Left-Wing YouTube?". Tribune. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  142. ↑ "Attila The Stockbroker – 35 years a punk poet – documentary and tour". Repeatfanzine.wordpress.com. 23 February 2017.
  143. ↑ Obituaries, Telegraph (23 November 2018). "Roy Bailey, folk singer who toured with Tony Benn – obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  144. ↑ "The political importance of Billy Bragg". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  145. ↑ Lake Smith, Aaron. "Chumbawamba's Long Voyage". Jacobin. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  146. ↑ Gilmore, Mike. "The Clash: Anger on the Left". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  147. ↑ Berger, George (2006). The Story of Crass. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-012-0.
  148. ↑ "EASTERHOUSE: PASSIONATELY POLITICAL". Los Angeles Times. 7 December 1986. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  149. ↑ Hattenstone, Simon (23 January 2017). "Brian Eno: 'We've been in decline for 40 years – Trump is a chance to rethink'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  150. ↑ "Album review: Thee Faction, Good Politics (Soviet Beret)". The Independent. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  151. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; @ben_bt (25 August 2021). "Sam Fender: 'Leftie is now a slur in working-class towns'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  152. ↑ "Gang of Four on their political roots, new box set "'77–'81" and more". Alternative Press .
  153. ↑ London 0 Hull 4 – The Housemartins | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 10 May 2024
  154. ↑ Austin, David (14 November 2018). "The Radical Politics and Poetics of Linton Kwesi Johnson". Pluto Press. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  155. ↑ Denselow, Robin (21 July 2011). "Robb Johnson: Some Recent Protest Songs – review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  156. ↑ "John Lennon and the Politics of the New Left". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  157. ↑ Spencer, Neil (25 January 2015). "Ewan MacColl: the godfather of folk who was adored – and feared". The Observer. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  158. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/dec/15/paulmccartney-thebeatles
  159. ↑ "Massive Attack's 'Eutopia' Isn't Subtle With Its Politics, and That's the Point". Study Breaks. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  160. ↑ "McCarthy Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | ..." AllMusic. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  161. ↑ "How Radiohead Became, for a Time, the World's Biggest Political Band". Pitchfork . 11 May 2016.
  162. ↑ "Like The Fall meets The Four Tops". The Redskins. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  163. ↑ Black, Johnny (March 1996). "Red Wedge: bringing Labour party politics to young music fans". Q . Retrieved 4 September 2017– via The Guardian , 22 April 2015. A Red Wedge retrospective.
  164. ↑ Jonze, Tim (23 August 2022). "'If there are death threats, don't tell me' – how Rock Against Racism fought fascism". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  165. ↑ "Classic Album Revisited: THE STYLE COUNCIL – Our Favourite Shop". xsnoize.com. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  166. ↑ Lucas, John (2005). "Auden's politics: Power, authority and the individual". The Cambridge Companion to W.H. Auden. Cambridge Companions to Literature. pp. 152–164. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521829623.012. ISBN   978-0-521-82962-5.
  167. ↑ "Edward Carpenter". The Open University. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  168. ↑ Winter, Jessica (28 September 2022). "The British Socialist Who Rewrote the World for Children". The New Statesman. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  169. ↑ Schacht, Benjamin. "Keeping George Orwell on the Left". Jacobin. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  170. ↑ Rosen, Michael (23 May 2012). "Michael Rosen: Confessions of an accidental communist". The New Statesman. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  171. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/01/will-self-oscar-wilde-champagne-socialist-voting-labour
  172. ↑ Rosen, Michael. "The Scientific Socialism of H. G. Wells". Jacobin. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  173. ↑ Fallon, Donal (18 February 2021). "The Radical Politics of Oscar Wilde". Tribune . Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  174. ↑ "Workers Revolutionary Party". wrp.org.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  175. ↑ scottishsocialistvoice.wordpress.com
  176. ↑ "Socialist Resistance". Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  177. ↑ "Socialist Standard". worldsocialism.org. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  178. ↑ "Socialist Studies". socialiststudies.org.uk.
  179. ↑ "Socialist Worker (Britain)" . Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  180. ↑ "Workers' Liberty" . Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  181. ↑ "Sanctions will not solve conflict in Ukraine" (PDF). newworker.org.
  182. ↑ "Tories split – strike now! – The Socialist 23 March 2016". socialistparty.org.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  183. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  184. ↑ "World Socialist Web Site". wsws.org. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  185. ↑ "Values". Compass. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  186. ↑ Emily.Redding. "IPPR". Smart Thinking. Retrieved 2 April 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.