The ILP’s 130th anniversary year may be drawing to a close but there’s still time to buy our commemorative history pamphlets – The ILP: Past & Present Parts 1 and 2 – which tell the inspiring story of a surviving ethical socialist organisation born in the last decades of the 19th century.
Available individually for £8.00 each from our Publications page, you can now order both together for the reduced price of £14.00 including postage.
Together, the two pamphlets provide a brief but revealing portrait of the ILP’s history and politics.
Part 1, published in June 2023, traces the the ILP’s story through the ups and downs of its development in the early decades of the 20th century, including its role in founding Labour, its fateful decision to leave the party in 1932, and its support for causes such as the living wage, the general strike and the Spanish Civil War.
Part 2, published in October, covers the second half of the ILP’s history from the post-war period, when it struggled to retain political relevance, to 1975 when it made a principled decision to return to the Labour Party as Independent Labour Publications.
It goes on to chart the turbulent Thatcher years when the ILP developed a distinctive approach to Labour and political change that was often at odds with much of the rest of the left. That has remained unchanged over the last 30 years when the ILP has continued to provide an independent left voice within and outside the party – whether under new Labour, Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn or Keir Starmer.
Through all its shifting shapes and fortunes, what comes across most clearly in these publications is the survival of the ILP’s core concern – to help create a society of peace, fellowship and security, where all have an equal chance to develop and thrive.
As author Barry Winter writes in his introduction: “No assessment of the left in Britain is complete without some understanding of the ILP’s record, whether judged favourably or critically. Even today we live with its historical legacy.
“This short account outlines the key moments in that history. In doing so, it touches on many issues that are still relevant today. In trying to understand the ILP’s past, we hope to offer some insights into politics today, particularly for those who share our desire to build a better world – for that has always been the ILP’s purpose.”
The pamphlets are printed in full colour with many original images from the ILP’s archives, while there is also a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to further reading on the ILP’s history.
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The ILP: Past & Present, Parts 1 & 2 cost £8.00 if ordered individually and £14.00 including postage when ordered together.
Please see our Publications page for more details.
Bookshops interested in selling The ILP: Past & Present pamphlets can contact us for details on info@independentlabour.org.uk.
