Socialist Labour Party | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | SLP |
Leader | Jim McDaid |
President | John Tyrrell |
Vice-President | Kathrine Jones |
General Secretary | Nicholas Wroughton |
Treasurer | Robert J Hawkins |
Founded | 24 June 1996 |
Split from | Labour Party |
Membership (2022) | 325 |
Ideology | |
Political position | Left-wing |
Colours | Red |
Website | |
socialistlabourparty.org | |
Part of a series on |
Socialism in the United Kingdom |
---|
The Socialist Labour Party (SLP) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. The party was established in 1996 and was led by Arthur Scargill, a former Labour Party member and the former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. The party's name highlights its commitment to socialism and acknowledges Clause IV of the Labour Party's former constitution, as fundamental to the party's identity. As of 2024, it is led by Jim McDaid. [1]
The SLP advocates economic localism, supported Britain's exit from the European Union and is in favour of reopening the mines. [2]
According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission for 2022, the Socialist Labour Party had 325 members. [3]
Arthur Scargill founded the Socialist Labour Party in 1996 as a reaction to Tony Blair's rewrite of Clause IV in the Labour Party's constitution a year earlier, seen as a final rejection of a commitment to socialism. The SLP advocates the public ownership of leading industries privatised under Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s, with the policy being maintained by her successor John Major.
In 2004, a purge of a Marxist-Leninist faction, the previously external Association of Communist Workers, over the issue of lack of support for relations with North Korea, led to the formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist). [4]
The party attracted trade union figures such as Mick Rix and Bob Crow.[ citation needed ]
So far, the party's only councillors have been defectors from Labour. In early 2014, three Labour councillors in Barking and Dagenham joined the SLP [5] though subsequently all lost their seats in the 2014 United Kingdom local elections to Labour. [6]
On 2 April 2019, two Labour Party councillors sitting on Hartlepool Borough Council, one of them the ceremonial mayor, defected to the SLP complaining of racism and homophobia in Hartlepool Labour. [7] [8] [9] [10] Another councillor resigned and joined the party after being suspended by Hartlepool Labour amidst claims he helped one of the defectors in his election campaign. [11] The defections gave the Socialist Labour Party its first councillors since 2014. While in the 2019 United Kingdom local elections both Hartlepool councillors lost their seats, a week later, with Labour having lost overall control of the council, the SLP gained a further three councillors, including the leader of the council. [12] However, the party contested only one Hartlepool seat in the 2021 local elections, coming last, and no longer has any elected representation. [13]
The Socialist Labour Party campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. The party also advocated a unilateral withdrawal without invoking Article 50. [14]
Election year | Total votes | % of overall vote | Seats contested | Seats won |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 [15] | 52,109 | 0.2% | 63 | 0 |
2001 [16] | 57,288 | 0.2% | 112 | 0 |
2005 [17] | 20,167 | 0.1% | 50 | 0 |
2010 [18] | 7,196 | 0.0% | 23 | 0 |
2015 [19] | 3,481 | 0.0% | 6 | 0 |
2017 [19] | 1,154 | 0.0% | 3 | 0 |
2019 | 494 | 0.0% | 1 | 0 |
2024 | 3,609 | 0.0% | 12 | 0 |
At the 2001 general election, the party took about 3% of the vote in seats where it stood candidates.
The party received its highest share of the vote in an individual constituency at the 2005 general election, when it gained 14.2% of the votes cast in Glasgow North East.
The Socialist Labour Party did not contest the 2004 European Parliament election, but fielded a full list of candidates for England, Scotland and Wales in the 2009 European Parliament election, where it took 173,115 votes, or 1.1% of the national vote. [20]
The Socialist Labour Party ran 23 candidates in the 2010 general election, who received a total of 7,196 votes, less than 0.1% of the UK national vote. All lost their deposits. The best results were those of Kai Andersen in Liverpool West Derby (614 votes - 1.7%) and Ken Capstick in Barnsley East (601 votes - 1.6%). In the local elections held on the same day, Andersen also received 244 votes (4.2%) in the Croxteth ward of Liverpool and in 2012 received 410 votes (14.76%) coming second in the same ward. [21]
The Socialist Labour Party contested all electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament in 2011, increasing its share of the vote from 0.7% in 2007 to 0.9%. Most other political parties saw a decrease in their vote share due to the landslide victory by the Scottish National Party (SNP). The SLP beat all other left-wing opposition for the first time, as well as parties like the British National Party (BNP).
The Socialist Labour Party increased its share of the vote from 1.2% in 2007 to 2.4%, giving the SLP the second biggest percentage gain of the total votes cast in the election. It outperformed other small left-wing parties as well as the BNP. The SLP also received more votes than the Wales Green Party in two of the five regions of Wales. [22] At the local elections on the same day the SLP's Kenny Spain received 251 votes (27%) coming second in the Rossmore ward of Cheshire West and Chester. [23]
Although the SLP's three councillors, defectors from Labour in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham, lost their seats, the party's vote in the local elections of 22 May showed an upward trend. Its highest votes were polled in Barnsley where Terry Robinson received 105 votes (8.5%) in Worsborough ward while Frank Watson received 178 (9%) in Stairfoot. Elsewhere, John Tyrrell received 392 votes (6.6%) in Birmingham's Handsworth Wood ward while Barbara Bryan received 129 (6.3%) in the Linacre ward of Sefton. [24]
In the General Election of 2015 the SLP stood seven candidates all in Wales. Its best result, with 697 votes (1.8%), was achieved in Torfaen by John Cox. In 2017 the best result from its three contests was won in Birmingham Perry Barr where Shangara Bhatoe received 592 votes (1.3%).
The party fielded only three candidates, all in the North West of England. Its share of the vote ranged between 4% and 9%. Its best result was registered in the Appleton ward of Halton, where a former Independent, Vic Turton, obtained 9.3% of the vote (97 votes). [25] [26]
The SLP only stood one candidate, Kevin Cranney in Hartlepool. [27] Cranney gained 494 votes (1.2%)
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)The Scottish Labour Party (SLP) was a socialist party in Scotland that was active between 1976 and 1981. It formed as a breakaway from the UK Labour Party. It won three council seats in 1977 but lost its MPs at the 1979 election and was dissolved two years later.
HartlepoolHART-lih-pool is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Jonathan Brash of the Labour Party from 2024. The constituency covers the town of Hartlepool plus nearby settlements.
Barking is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Dagenham was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament that elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was replaced at the 2010 general election largely by Dagenham and Rainham.
Dagenham and Rainham is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Margaret Mullane and was previously represented from 2010 by Jon Cruddas, both members of the Labour Party.
Local government elections took place in London, and some other parts of the United Kingdom on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm.
Elections for Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council were held on Thursday 4 May 2006. The whole council was up for election. Barking and Dagenham is split up into 17 wards, each electing 3 councillors, so a total of 51 seats were up for election.
The 2010 Barking and Dagenham Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council in London, England.
This article lists the British National Party's election results in the UK parliamentary, Scottish parliamentary and Welsh Assembly elections, as well as in the European Parliament elections and at a local level.
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 Yorkshire Party is a regionalist political party in Yorkshire, a historic county of England. The party, which was founded in 2014, campaigns for the establishment of a devolved Yorkshire Parliament within the United Kingdom, with powers over education, environment, transportation and housing.
The 1964 Barking Borough Council election took place on 7 May 1964 to elect members of Barking London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party gained control of the council.
The For Britain Movement was a minor far-right political party in the United Kingdom, founded by the anti-Islam and "counter-jihad" activist Anne Marie Waters after she was defeated in the 2017 UK Independence Party leadership election.
The 2018 Barking and Dagenham Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Barking and Dagenham Council in London. This was on the same day as other local elections. The Labour Party won every available council seat for the third election in a row, winning 74% of the popular vote. The Conservatives saw their vote share rise by 13 percentage points, but failed to win any seats.
Elections to Manchester City Council were held on 2 May 2019, as part of the 2019 United Kingdom local elections. In 2018 Labour retained its majority of the council with 94 seats to the Liberal Democrats making up the opposition of 2, led by former MP John Leech.
The 2022 London local elections took place on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All London borough councillor seats were up for election. Mayoral elections took place in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets, with Croydon electing a mayor for the first time following a local referendum in October 2021.
The 2022 Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 51 members of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.
The 2022 Barnet London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022, alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom. All 63 members of Barnet London Borough Council were elected. The Labour Party took overall control, winning 41 of the seats to the Conservative Party's 22. This was the first time Labour had won the council outright; previously, the Conservatives had always won the most seats, usually with an overall majority.
The 2022 Southwark London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 63 members of Southwark London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.