PAUL SALVESON reports on the Colne Valley Labour Party’s 120th anniversary. Our former MP Kali Mountford described it as a ‘triumph’ and we’ll not disagree, self-effacing Northerners though we are. Last Thursday’s evening of walks, talks and drama to celebrate Colne Valley Labour Party’s 120th anniversary went pretty well. We had a capacity audience...
Challenge, change and hope
PAUL SALVESON brings his celebration of the 120-year-old Colne Valley Labour Party up to date with a look at its present predicaments and future prospects In the aftermath of the May 2010 election defeat there has been a re-evaluation of where the Labour Party was going, at local and national level. Despite being defeated,...
Socialism in the Valley
To mark its 120th anniversary this July, local member PAUL SALVESON celebrates the roots, birth and history of the Colne Valley Labour Party and examines its impact on the distinctive culture of the area The Colne Valley CLP was formed on 21 July 1891 and put down deep roots in the Pennine communities of...
Colne Valley Labour Party 120th Anniversary Celebrations
—- Colne Valley Labour Party 120th Anniversary Celebrations Thursday 21 July, 7.30pm The Watershed (behind Monsoon) Bridge Street Slaithwaite HD7 5JN Guest speaker: Lord David Clark, author of Colne Valley: radicalism to socialism and MP for Colne Valley 1970-1974 Plus: launch of souvenir booklet Looking Back, Looking Forward: Colne Valley Socialism 1891-2011 socialist songs from...
Refounding Labour – an ILP viewpoint
This contribution responds to the invitation for comments on Labour’s future as part of the Refounding Labour process, and is broadly endorsed by the ILP’s NAC. The renewal of the Labour Party, encompassing changes in its structures and practices, is long overdue and we welcome the Refounding Labour initiative. There is much to commend...
Members’ rights will not be compromised, says Hain
Peter Hain this week moved to allay fears that a new Labour supporters’ network will lead to ‘US primary-style’ party elections as a result of the Refounding Labour process on party reform which he is heading. Speaking at a meeting in the House of Commons organised by Compass on Tuesday (14 June), Hain said...
Refounding Labour?
Despite its vagueness and many, many unanswered questions, Refounding Labour could be a genuine opportunity to renew the party, says WILL BROWN The future of the Labour Party, and in particular its internal organisation and operation, was a recurrent theme in the campaign for party leadership. All candidates argued that the party needs reinvigorating...
The Politics of the Coalition
MATTHEW BROWN reviews the birth and record of the Tory-led government and considers the current short-comings of the anti-cuts movement. Let’s go back a year. In fact, let’s go back more than a year, to shortly before the general election when a Conservative majority appeared almost inevitable. It may seem difficult to believe now,...
Remaking our Music
BARRY WINTER introduces the ILP’s new perspective document, The ILP: Our Politics, arguing that our political morality forms the basis of our critique of capitalism. When you look back at the history of the left in politics, whether in the UK or internationally, you could be forgiven thinking that with its often terrible record,...
A Sustaining Weekend
Around 40 ILP members, friends and fellow travellers gathered in Scarborough on 7/8 May for the organisations’s annual weekend school, where the politics of the ILP, the coalition government and the Labour Party came under scrutiny. “Why have people like us not given up?” asked Barry Winter at the start of two days of...
Labour, the left, and capitalism
An interview with Harry Barnes, former Labour MP and ILP friend, which appears on the Irish Labour Watch website: http://irishlabourwatch.wordpress.com Harry talks about his political influences, the politics of Northern Ireland, Iraq, Libya, new Labour, the Robin Hood Tax, and much more besides. Read the full interview here. Read Harry Barnes’ own blog here....
31 51 81: Why Labour stayed in opposition, part 3
The third part of BARRY WINTER’s report on a conference to explore Labour’s lost decades, held on Rotherham on 19 March. Part 3: the 1950s and the 1980s The 1950s Mark Wickham-Jones argued that some important reasons why Labour did not do so well in the 1950s have been neglected. Apart from a team...