It seems hard to believe that the 2015 general election was only 18 months ago, so profound has been the change in the political landscape since the Tories’ unexpected triumph. For Labour, the political and emotional traumas of that defeat have been resonating ever since as it’s reeled from Jeremy Corbyn’s shock victory in last...
Corbyn Urged to Speak Out on Syria
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been urged to speak out against “the ongoing slaughter of civilians by Russian and Assad-regime forces in Syria” by party members, Momentum activists and socialists, including many self-declared Corbyn supporters. Signatories to the open letter, published online on 3 October, declare their “wholehearted” agreement with Corbyn’s opposition to militarism and...
New Website Marks 80 Years Since Cable Street
Hope not Hate have launched a new website to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street when the people of the east end of London united to halt Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists (BUF) from marching through Stepney. The fascists were subjected to a humiliating defeat as the police...
Peace in the Party? The Candidates’ Plans for Unity
On 22 August, former Labour MP HARRY BARNES wrote a letter to the Guardian posing a challenge to the two candidates for the Labour Party leadership. He wrote: “Before I fill in my Labour party ballot paper, I would like to know … how (if elected) they will bring about peace and reconciliation within the...
Labour on the Brink: A Statement on the Leadership Crisis
A statement from the ILP’s National Administrative Council on Labour’s leadership election and a call for the Party to pull together, whoever wins....
Jayaben Desai and the ILP Tradition
Saturday 20 August 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of the day when Jayaben Desai walked out of the Grunwick photo-developing company in London, igniting a strike which drew support from thousands. GRAHAM TAYLOR remembers the woman whose dignity in dispute recalled the ethical traditions of the ILP. For Jayaben Desai, the Grunwick strike was about...
Corbyn: Labour’s Accidental Leader
IAN BULLOCK’s recurring nightmare is that the Labour Party will end up like the ILP at the end of the 1930s – with a leader who could do no wrong in the eyes of an adoring membership, but with little or no political influence, let alone power. ‘At least Jimmy Maxton was a brilliant...
Stand by Conference Policies
HARRY BARNES calls for the Labour’s leadership candidates to stand by the party’s current policies as decided by party conference, and by future conferences. The Labour leadership candidates should be pushed to come to an agreement to stand by party policies as these have been (and will come to be) agreed by Labour Party conference....
A Day for Ada
The Labour left today could do with a few members like Ada Salter, the quietly-spoken, peace-loving ILPer whose pioneering work transformed south-east London in the early decades of the 20th century. MATTHEW BROWN attended the first Ada Salter Day. There have been many reasons in recent weeks to yearn for a different kind of...
Brexit: Do we Need a New Consensus?
DAVE BERRY discusses his experiences of the referendum campaign and calls for left-wing reform of the European Union. The referendum has been a painful experience for me and, like many others, I feel disconnected from politics. As an ex-shop steward and councillor I really miss being the representative of people rather than just an individual...
Brexit: Organising for Dangerous Times
“I am truly worried about our country. We are living in dangerous times.” So says Nick Lowles of Hope not Hate as reports arrive of a rise in racist and xenophic attacks across the country in the wake of last Thursday’s Brexit vote. “The decision to leave the EU has been quickly followed by a...
Brexit: The Left Responds
‘We still believe in each other’ is the message from Hope not Hate, just one of a number of left wing groups and organisations who have responded to the European Union referendum result. The United Kingdom voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU at the polls yesterday, triggering Prime Minister David Cameron to...