Left Unity (UK)

Last updated

Left Unity
Principal SpeakersSharon McCourt
Felicity Dowling
Nick Jones [1]
National SecretaryFelicity Dowling [1]
Founded30 November 2013 (2013-11-30)
Membership (July 2016)Decrease2.svg 1,230
Ideology Eco-socialism [2]
Anti-capitalism
Environmentalism
Feminism
Pro-Europeanism
Political position Left-wing
National affiliation People's Alliance of The Left [3]
European affiliation Party of the European Left [4]
Colours  Red   Green   Black
Website
leftunity.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

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 (which according to him failed to oppose the United Kingdom government austerity programme and had shifted towards neoliberalism). [5] [6] [7] More than 10,000 people supported Loach's appeal. [8]

Contents

In 2014, the party had 2,000 members [9] and 70 branches across Britain. [10] The organisation is affiliated at European level with the Party of the European Left.

Ideology

The party's primary aim is the following:

... unite the diverse strands of radical and socialist politics in the UK including workers' organisations and trade unions; ordinary people, grass root organisations and co-operatives rooted in our neighbourhoods and communities; individuals and communities facing poverty, discrimination and social oppression because of gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexuality, unemployment or under-employment; environmental and green campaigners; campaigners for freedom and democracy; all those who seek to authentically voice and represent the interests of ordinary working people.

— Left Unity, Party constitution [11]

Left Unity was founded by Ken Loach, who believed that there was an "absence of a strong voice on the left" and that "the Greens are alone among the political parties in not standing up for the interests of big business". Loach wanted a "UKIP of the left", "a successful party to the left of Labour as UKIP appears to be a successful party to the right of the Tories". [12]

Economics

Left Unity is an anti-capitalist party, firmly opposed to "austerity programmes which make the mass of working people, the old, the young and the sick, pay for a systemic crisis of capitalism" and believes that such measures protect bankers and not ordinary people. [13] According to Loach, "an anti-austerity alliance is good, but the problem with [the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party is that] they're mainly social democratic parties". Nick Eardley wrote for BBC News: "Parties like his are needed to peddle a more radical message". [14]

Left Unity wants to end zero-hour contracts and the privatisation of public services in education and health. The party advocates common ownership and democratic control of "the means of producing wealth" and the reversal of what it sees as 30 years of neoliberalism, aiming to "build international networks of solidarity to support any government introducing such measures within Europe and elsewhere". [15] It supports full employment "through measures such as reduced working hours for all; spending on public housing, infrastructure and services; and the public ownership of, and democratic collective control over, basic utilities, transport systems and the financial sector" and opposes "the casualization of employment conditions and laws which restrict the right of workers to organise effectively and take industrial action". [13]

The party has been criticised by far-left political organisations who say that the party has a "commitment to govern within the framework of capitalism" and its economic programme "is a left-Keynesian, reformist programme, which would leave more than half of the FTSE 100 companies still in private hands, despite phrases in it about a "strategic vision of structural change" and the principle "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs", lifted from the Communist Manifesto ". [16]

According to Left Unity's 2014 constitution, the party aims to build a society with (at least in the medium term) a private sector within the framework of a radical Left National Plan. In 2014, the organisation was committed to a mixed economic structure, stressing the need for "a democratically planned economy that is environmentally sustainable, within which all enterprises, whether privately owned, co-operatives, or under public ownership, operate in ways that promote the needs of the people and wider society". [17] The 2015 pre-general election Left Unity manifesto appears instead to pursue a more far-left line and refers to the needs for an economy "run democratically, not controlled by the few in the interests of 1% of the population. This means the principle of common ownership of all natural resources and means of producing wealth". [18]

According to Loach, the party supports a £10 minimum wage and wishes to emulate "the kind of economy that Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain are calling for". [14]

Housing

Left Unity opposes the bedroom tax, the Right to Buy and other sales of social homes. Left Unity would reintroduce rent controls and security of tenure, using compulsory purchase powers to take over empty homes and end the criminalisation of squatting. [19]

Environmentalism

Left Unity calls their party "red and green", with "red" referring to left-wing politics and "green" to environmentalism. The party believes that capitalism ignores the ecosystem:

Ecological devastation, resulting from the insatiable need to increase profits, is not an accidental feature of capitalism: it is built into the system’s DNA and cannot be reformed away. Capitalism is increasingly demonstrating its total incompatibility with the maintenance of our ecosystem through its ruthless exploitation of ever scarcer natural resources, its pollution of the environment, the growing loss of biological and agricultural diversity and increasing climate change. ...

When the politicians propose using market mechanisms to limit carbon emissions, it is clear that they cannot see a more democratic or sane way out of the climate crisis. International policies like carbon "cap and trade" that allow companies to buy the "rights" to pollute, or an ecotax that end up punishing the poor, are all measures that will not work in the long term to save the planet – instead giving the rich and powerful nations and individuals the right to continue to pollute legally.

Climate change is now inevitable, the question is how much and for how long and how much damage will it do. For us, socialism is the best way to manage the resources of the planet and ensure their democratic distribution in such a way that we are not destroying the environment to make a profit – as the corporations and energy companies are. No more "business as usual" means ending business as the driving force of the economy and instead looking to human – and environmental – need not corporate greed. If we want to save the planet we need socialism and we need it soon. [20]

Equality

Left Unity is anti-racist, pro-LGBT rights, feminist, opposes religious discrimination and ableism and supports the rights of asylum seekers and "all those in need". [13] Left Unity's position on safe spaces has been criticised by some on the left and a draft amendment was proposed by the Communist Platform of the organisation. [21] [22]

LGBT equality and feminism

The party has been defined as a "radical socialist party with strong positions on ecology and feminism" and "has a commitment to women comprising at least 50% of its leadership". Speeches deemed as supporting male privilege have been received negatively and it is claimed that "Left Unity is set to be a self-consciously feminist organisation". [23]

Immigration and xenophobia

Left Unity is opposed to xenophobia [24] and Luke Cooper of the Anticapitalist Initiative introduced socialist policies on immigration and racism. According to Cooper, there is no non-racist immigration control:

Left Unity completely rejects all anti-immigration arguments and rhetoric. We believe mass migration has had, and always will have, an overwhelmingly positive impact on society ... challenge[s] ideas in the labour movement, and even sections of the socialist movement, that openly support or implicitly endorse the idea of "British Jobs for British Workers". Immigration controls divide and weaken the working class and [are] therefore against the interests of all workers.

The party overwhelmingly voted in favour of this policy. [16]

European Union

Left Unity has rejected left-wing Eurosceptic groups such as No2EU, [16] [25] a stance criticised by some other organisations. [26] Instead, the organisation allied itself with the pro-European Another Europe Is Possible during the Brexit referendum campaign. [27]

At its conference in November 2015, the party adopted documents describing the EU as "a reactionary anti-working class unreformable institution", but recognising that the 2016 referendum "can only produce a reactionary exit that would benefit only the xenophobic right wing of the Tory party and of UKIP". [28] Thus the party described the vote to leave the EU as "a disastrous outcome", saying the following:

We deeply regret that the working people of Britain have been deceived and manipulated into believing that Brexit will bring about relief from the grinding austerity that is destroying lives and communities. We will now work tirelessly to oppose those who would divide us further. We will fight to defend the rights of working class communities and rebuild support for socialist ideas.

— Left Unity, quoted in Green Left Weekly. [29]

Middle East

The party "stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against oppression and dispossession". It supports the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, calls for the return of Palestinian refugees and "resolutely oppose[s] any expression of antisemitism, whether within the solidarity movement or elsewhere". [30]

In 2014, Left Unity was criticised by media outlets worldwide after a motion that called ISIS a "stabilising force" with "progressive potential" was proposed by two members at the party's annual conference. [31] The motion received three votes (two from its proposers) and the conference overwhelmingly passed another motion that "the people of Syria including the Kurds of Syria have the right to defend themselves against the Assad regime and against ISIS.... ISIS is a reactionary and gruesome organisation which has caused suffering and death to the civilian populations of large parts of Syria and Iraq". [32] John Tummon, one of the proponents of the motion, later joined the Hazel Grove Labour Party in March 2016. [33]

At its November 2015 conference, Left Unity agreed a motion condemning Russian attacks in Syria, calling for an end to all foreign intervention and opposing any British military intervention. [34]

Supporting organisations and split

According to the International Socialist Network's Autumn 2014 Discussion Bulletin, it was then part of Left Unity [35] with members elected to the party's national council. [36] The CPGB (PCC) Communist Platform supporters within Left Unity (Jack Conrad and Yassamine Mather) announced that platform's dissolution on 20 February 2016 following Left Unity's refusal to accept their motion. The CPGB (PCC) issued a statement condemning Left Unity's support for Labourism, Momentum and Jeremy Corbyn, emphasising the need for "a real communist party", adding that by its "refusal to rethink its perspective [...] Left Unity has condemned itself to permanent irrelevance". [37]

Left Unity is generally based on individual membership rather than organisational affiliation. [38]

On 20 January 2022, it was announced that a "memorandum of understanding" had been agreed between Left Unity, the Breakthrough Party, the Northern Independence Party and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. This alliance will work together on a future electoral strategy. [3]

Towards the end of July 2023, a left-wing political party merger between Breakthrough, Left Unity, People's Alliance of the Left and Liverpool Community Independents under the name Transform was proposed. [39] [40] It was proposed in response to "an era of crisis" which the party merger proposal claims to be "a political organisation that offers a real solution" to. The party merger proposal also has 10 "core principles". However, Left Unity has remained an independent party since the founding of Transform in November 2023 and has declared the launching of the latter "premature". [41]

Electoral activity

2014 local elections

In local elections on 22 May 2014, Left Unity stood 11 candidates in four districts: Wigan, Barnet, Exeter and Norwich. They received 1,038 votes out of 74,126 cast, or an average of 3.2%. [note 1] In Wigan West, party candidate Hazel Duffy received 8.8%. [42] Left Unity had its first council seat in Stoke-on-Trent between March and May 2015 after a councillor defected from the Labour Party. [43]

2015 general election

The party stood ten candidates in the 2015 general election on 7 May 2015, seven of which were jointly candidates of Left Unity and of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). [44] A number of party candidates (some jointly with TUSC) also stood in local elections that day.

Following Labour leadership elections

Left Unity was profoundly impacted by the Labour Party leadership election of September 2015, when Jeremy Corbyn was elected. [45] During the leadership election, Left Unity opposed what it saw as a "witch hunt" against left-wingers who were not Labour Party members, but were allowed to vote for Corbyn as leader because of election rules that were changed under former leader Ed Miliband. [46] [47] However, it has been calculated that Corbyn would have won in the first round with 51% of votes, even without "£3 registered supporters", having gained the support of 49.6% of full members and 57.6% of affiliated (trade union) supporters. [48] [49]

Accompanying Corbyn's campaign and unexpected election was a significant influx of several hundred thousand of new members and supporters, shifting the political direction and membership base of the party leftwards. [50] In the weeks following Corbyn's election as Leader of the Labour Party, approximately 300 Left Unity members, including many prominent leadership figures, resigned and joined the Labour Party. [51] The November 2015 Left Unity Party Conference was dominated by the issue of what to do now that the Labour Party was led by Corbyn, a leader with politics similar to those of Left Unity, but with a mass membership of socialists, compared to Left Unity's then 1,500 members—down from its 2014 peak of 2,000. [52] Many of the motions discussed the possible dissolution of Left Unity as a political party, with party members joining either the Labour Party itself or Momentum. [53] By July 2016, membership had fallen further to 1,230 members. [54]

In the run-up to the Labour leadership election one year later, individuals who had retweeted Left Unity were accused of supporting rival parties and therefore expelled from the party, therefore being unable to vote in the leadership election. Left Unity and others on social media saw this as hypocritical and contributed to the rise of the hashtag #LabourPurge on Twitter. [55]

2017 general election

Left Unity called for a victory for Labour in the 2017 general election. [56]

2019 general election

Left Unity again called for a victory for Labour in the 2019 general election. [57]

Protests

In 2014, the organisation protested at then Education Secretary Michael Gove following the decision by two examination boards (AQA and OCR) within the United Kingdom to remove American literature from their set texts with a short sit-in protest in the Department for Education (DfE) headquarters in central London. Left Unity accused the new curriculum of propagating "a more narrow teaching agenda in our schools". [58]

Notes

  1. ^ This total includes votes cast in the multiple-candidate ward of Oakleigh, where Left Unity only stood one candidate; the percentage calculation is not adjusted.

Related Research Articles

<i>Morning Star</i> (British newspaper) British daily tabloid format newspaper

The Morning Star is a left-wing British daily newspaper with a focus on social, political and trade union issues. Originally founded in 1930 as the Daily Worker by the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), ownership was transferred from the CPGB to an independent readers' co-operative, the People's Press Printing Society, in 1945 and later renamed the Morning Star in 1966. The paper describes its editorial stance as in line with Britain's Road to Socialism, the programme of the Communist Party of Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee)</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Communist Party of Great Britain is a political group which publishes the Weekly Worker newspaper. The CPGB (PCC) claims to have "an internationalist duty to uphold the principle, 'One state, one party'. To the extent that the European Union becomes a state then that necessitates EU-wide trade unions and a Communist Party of the EU". In addition, it is in favour of the unification of the entire working class under a new Communist International. It is not to be confused with the former Communist Party of Great Britain, the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist), or the current Communist Party of Britain.

The Weekly Worker is a newspaper published by the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB-PCC). The paper is known on the left for its polemical articles, and for its close attention to Marxist theory and the politics of other Marxist groups. It claims a weekly online readership averaging over 20,000, Weekly Worker simultaneously also distributes 500 physical copies a week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' Socialist Federation</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Workers' Socialist Federation was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom, led by Sylvia Pankhurst. Under many different names, it gradually broadened its politics from a focus on women's suffrage to eventually become a left communist grouping.

<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.

Straight Left was a left-wing newspaper published from 1979. The phrase was also the generic name given to a political faction of the Communist Party of Great Britain who disagreed with the leadership's emerging Eurocommunist politics, and were responsible for the production of the newspaper. The origins of this faction within the CPGB go back earlier, but it emerged under this name in 1977.

The British left 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.

The Convention of the Left (CL) is an annual conference of British left, socialist, progressive and green parties and organisations, first held in Manchester in September 2008. The format of the conference was that it 'shadowed' the Labour Party's 2008 Annual Conference, also being held in the city. A 'recall' event was held in the city in January 2009.

The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), known as Poale Zion (Great Britain) from 1903 to 2004, is one of the oldest socialist societies affiliated to the UK Labour Party. It is a member of the progressive coalition of Avodah/Meretz/Arzenu/Ameinu within the World Zionist Organization. Its sister parties are the Israeli Labor Party (Havodah) and Meretz.

<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.

The Revolutionary Democratic Group (RDG) was a socialist organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded in the early 1980s in a split from London and Scottish branches of the Socialist Workers Party, of which, for many years, it considered itself an "external faction".

<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">Communist Party of Great Britain</span> Communist party in the United Kingdom that existed from 1920 to 1991

The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB founded the Daily Worker. In 1936, members of the party were present at the Battle of Cable Street, helping organise resistance against the British Union of Fascists. In the Spanish Civil War, the CPGB worked with the USSR to create the British Battalion of the International Brigades, which party activist Bill Alexander commanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist), abbreviated CPGB-ML, is an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist communist party in the United Kingdom, active in England, Scotland, and Wales. The CPGB-ML was founded by Harpal Brar after a split from the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) on 3 July 2004. The CPGB-ML publishes the bimonthly newspaper Proletarian, and the Marxist–Leninist journal Lalkar is also closely allied with the party. The party chair is Ella Rule.

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">Stop the War Coalition</span> British anti-war group

The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Loach</span> English filmmaker (born 1936)

Kenneth Charles Loach is an English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.

Momentum is a British left-wing political organisation which has been described as a grassroots movement supportive of the Labour Party; since January 2017, all Momentum members must be members of the party. It was founded in 2015 by Jon Lansman, Adam Klug, Emma Rees and James Schneider after Jeremy Corbyn's successful campaign to become Labour Party leader and it was reported to have between 20,000 and 30,000 members in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far-left politics in the United Kingdom</span>

Far-left politics in the United Kingdom have existed since at least the 1840s, with the formation of various organisations following ideologies such as Marxism, revolutionary socialism, communism, anarchism and syndicalism.

References

  1. 1 2 "Internal elections results 2017". Left Unity. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "About". Left Unity. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Breakthrough Party [@BThroughParty] (20 January 2022). "ANNOUNCEMENT
    The People's Alliance of the Left #PAL is delighted to announce that a memorandum of understanding has been agreed between @BThroughParty, @FreeNorthNow, @TUSCoalition & @LeftUnityUK.
    This Alliance will work together on a future electoral strategy"     (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ "We will be part of the Party of the European Left group, which includes Syriza) in Greece and Die Linke in Germany, and calls for a radically different type of European integration." Betzien, Jody (28 April 2014). "Britain: Left Unity spokesperson on challenges in building a new party". Green Left Weekly. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Labour party has failed us. We need a new party of the left". The Guardian. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Seymour, Richard. "Left Unity: A Report From The Founding Conference". newleftproject.org. New Left Project. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ↑ "RT News reports on Left Unity's founding conference". YouTube . 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ken Loach Discusses His Hopes for Left Unity". The Huffington Post UK. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "New party Left Unity to hold first annual conference". British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Left Unity conference – some important steps forward and challenges still ahead". Socialist Resistance. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Constitution" (PDF). leftunity.org. Left Unity. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Shaheen, Salman (20 November 2013). "Ken Loach Discusses His Hopes for Left Unity". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 "Left Unity - Founding Statements". leftunity.org. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  14. 1 2 Eardley, Nick (31 March 2015). "Election 2015: Ken Loach launches 'radical' Left Unity manifesto". BBC.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Left Unity - Economics Policy". leftunity.org. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 Yorke, Andy. "Report of Left Unity Policy Conference 29 March". Workers' Power. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Left Unity 2014 Constitution, section 2) b), Aims.
  18. ↑ 2015 Left Unity Election Manifesto, Economy section.
  19. ↑ Davies, Liz (29 April 2015). "Political Parties: The Housing Crisis". The Morning Star . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  20. ↑ "Left Unity - Environment policy". leftunity.org. Left Unity. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  21. ↑ Macnair, Mike (29 May 2014). "Left unity: Safe spaces are not liberating - Weekly Worker". Weekly Worker . No. 1012. CPGB (PCC) . Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  22. ↑ Macnair, Mike (19 June 2014). "'Speaking bitterness' and Left Unity". Weekly Worker . No. 1015. CPGB (PCC) . Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Left Unity Launched". Socialist Resistance. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Demarty, Paul. "Left Unity: Playing it safe". Weekly Worker. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  25. ↑ "Exclusive: Tommy Sheridan to stand for Euro elections". Daily Record. 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  26. ↑ Hyland, Julie (14 April 2014). "Britain's Left Unity lays out its right-wing policies". World Socialist Web Site . International Committee of the Fourth International . Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  27. ↑ Marsden, Chris (9 July 2016). "Left Unity endorses pro-EU offensive to overturn Brexit referendum". World Socialist Web Site . International Committee of the Fourth International . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  28. ↑ "Motions passed at Left Unity conference". Left Unity. 27 November 2015. p. 10. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "Left Unity on 'Brexit' vote: 'A disastrous outcome'". Green Left Weekly. No. 1099. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  30. ↑ "Minutes of November 2014 Conference". Left Unity. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Islamic State's 'Progressive Potential' As 'Stabilising Force' Debated By New Left Unity Party". The Huffington Post. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "Motions and amendments: record of outcomes". Left Unity. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  33. ↑ Fisher, Lucy (23 March 2016). "Activist who defended Isis joins party" . The Times. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  34. ↑ "Motions passed at Left Unity conference". Left Unity. 27 November 2015. p. 32. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  35. ↑ "IS Network - Downloads". internationalsocialistnetwork.org. International Socialist Network. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  36. ↑ Admin (11 March 2014). "IS Network members standing in Left Unity National Council elections". internationalsocialistnetwork.org. International Socialist Network. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  37. ↑ "Why we're out of Left Unity". CPGB (PCC). 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  38. ↑ Hudson, Kate; Lewis, Ed (21 June 2013). "A New Party of the Left?". New Left Project. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  39. ↑ "Transform | Together, we call for a new party of the left". transformpolitics.uk. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  40. ↑ "Sign Up to Transform Politics | Left Unity". 25 July 2023. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  41. ↑ "National Conference Resolutions 2024 | Left Unity".
  42. ↑ "Local election results". Left Unity. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  43. ↑ Walker, Duncan. "Stoke-on-Trent councillor Duncan Walker: why I left Labour and joined Left Unity". Left Unity. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  44. ↑ "Candidates 2015 - Left Unity". leftunity.org.
  45. ↑ Left Unity website - article by Salman Shaheen, Tom Watson, Pete Green, "The impossible has happened...."
  46. ↑ "Labour leadership: Left Unity 'witch hunt' claims". BBC News. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  47. ↑ "How is Labour vetting new members?", BBC News; retrieved 20 September 2015.
  48. ↑ Stone, Jon (12 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn won a landslide with full Labour party members, not just £3 supporters". The Independent. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  49. ↑ "Labour leadership results in full". BBC News. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  50. ↑ Parker, George; Pickard, Jim (29 September 2015). "Corbyn defends shift to left as he tries to lift shattered morale". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  51. ↑ Weekly Worker online issue 1083, "Charting our Future"
  52. ↑ Tendance Coatesy Blog Nov 2015 on forthcoming Left Unity Conference
  53. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (19 November 2015). "Left Unity party to consider joining Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  54. ↑ "Left Unity National Council" (PDF). leftunity.org. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  55. ↑ Mackey, Robert (21 August 2015). "For @UKLabour, RT = Endorsement, Apparently". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  56. ↑ "General election: Left Unity calls for a Labour victory - Left Unity". leftunity.org.
  57. ↑ "Welcome to the fight of our lives! | Left Unity" . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  58. ↑ Burns, Judith (30 May 2014). "Left Unity protest reads US books at Michael Gove's department". BBC News. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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.