In the first of a two-part examination of the state of the Labour Party, HARRY BARNES looks at the roots of Jeremy Corbyn’s rise and the Party’s turmoil. He begins with New Labour’s emergence after the death of John Smith. I start by referring to a period during my own time as an MP when...
Labour on the Brink: Debating the Party’s Future
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...
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...
Re-Dedication of ILP Volunteers’ Plaque
The role of ILP volunteers in the Spanish Civil War will be commemorated in Salford this Saturday, 24 September, when a plaque at the Working Class Movement Library is re-dedicated to their memory....
Labour on the Brink: What Future for the Party?
With an unprecedented level of uncertainty about Labour’s future, the ILP is organising a conference for members and friends at the Rose Bowl in Leeds on 15 October to discuss the crisis and how to pull the Party together. Book now....
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....
Discussing Labour’s Future
The ILP will lead a post-leadership election discussion on Labour’s future at the Rose Bowl in Leeds on Saturday 15 October. Put the date in your diary....
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...