With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, John McNair became the ILP’s representative in Barcelona, channelling money and medical supplies to support the republican cause and liaising with the ILP contingent which fought alongside the POUM militia. McNair’s graphic account of the war was reprinted in the ILP’s Socialist Leader in 1974 and later...
New ILP Mural Postcards Available
New postcards of the ILP’s famous mural from its 1914 ‘Coming of Age’ conference are now available from the ILP website....
The Corbyn Effect
Converting supporters and new members into active campaigners is the challenge for Labour today, but will Momentum help? asks MIKE DAVIS. Democratic socialism is back on the agenda. For the first time in 30 years members and supporters are talking about what socialism means in the 21st century. If the Corbyn leadership can be sustained...
Challenging the Welfare Myths
GERRY LAVERY of Unite Community Leeds reports from a conference in Birmingham set up ‘to challenge the myths around welfare and build a coalition to fight for our safety net’. The well-attended conference on Saturday 31 October was called by Unite Community (Unite the Union’s community wing) and the Public Services and Commercial Services Union...
Looking for Scotland’s Alternative Futures
Soundings are holding a workshop in Glasgow on Saturday 12 December to examine the themes of their Kilburn Manifesto, After Neoliberalism?, in relation to Scotland’s rapidly changing political context....
Momentum Mobilise Against Tax Credit Cuts
Momentum are gathering a series of video messages from people around the country to highlight the impact on families of George Osborne’s proposed cuts to tax credits....
Make the Living Wage Compulsory
While recent rate increases are welcome, the Living Wage Foundation’s voluntary approach to employers is not working, says ERNIE JACQUES....
ILP Profiles: Mary Barbour – Govan’s Local Hero
CATRIONA BURNESS marks the centenary of the Glasgow rent strikes with a narrative account of the life of Mary Barbour, the ILPer who lent her name to the ‘army’ of women who led resistance to profit-hungry property owners 100 years ago. The Remember Mary Barbour Association is campaigning to see a statue raised to Barbour...
Labour Together Looks to Unite the Party
The post-Corbyn re-organisation of internal Labour Party forces continued last week with the launch of Labour Together by prominent MPs and council leaders, including Jon Cruddas, Lisa Nandy, Steve Reed, Judith Blake and Nick Forbes. Coming just a fortnight after the formation of Momentum, Labour Together’s founders claim their aim is to “provide a space...
Hope Not Hate to Launch Voter Registration Drive
Anti-extremist campaigners Hope not Hate are launching a voter registration drive in November to prevent “the biggest single act of disenfranchisement in our history”....
Corbyn Team To Build ‘Momentum’
The team behind Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour Party leader have set up a grassroots network to create “a mass movement for real progressive change” from the energy and enthusiasm generated by his campaign. Described as “the successor entity to the Jeremy Corbyn for Leadership campaign”, Momentum is independent of the party leadership and wants...
Osborne’s ‘Astonishing Attack’ on Working People
Chancellor George Osborne’s attempt to present himself as the champion of labour at the Conservative Party conference has come under attack from TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady after he reiterated his commitment to cutting tax credits for low-paid workers....