Socialist Action (UK)
Socialist Action | |
---|---|
Founded | 1982 |
Headquarters | Far-left |
International affiliation | None |
Website | |
www | |
Socialist Action is a small Trotskyist group in the United Kingdom.[1] From the mid-1980s Socialist Action became an entryist organisation, attempting to work within other organisations, with members using code names and not revealing their affiliation.[2][3]
The organisation was linked with the 2000–2008 Greater London mayoral administrations of
History
The group was founded in 1982 when the International Marxist Group entered the Labour Party and changed its name to the Socialist League. It became generally known by the name of its publication, Socialist Action, which first appeared on 16 March 1983.[3] The group organised around the newspaper, but also had a bookshop The Other Bookshop, in Islington, as well as a printing press, Lithoprint Ltd, in Stoke Newington, which it still owns.[3]
In September 1983, assuming that the
By the mid-1980s, the group had around 500 members.[3] Working with increasing secrecy in the Labour Party, often under the auspices of other apparently independent organisations, its members became supporters of Ken Livingstone and the Campaign Group of Labour MPs.
The group's character changed in a wave of splits in the mid-1980s, beginning in 1985 when a minority, led by Phil Hearse, Dave Packer, Davy Jones, and Jane Kelly formed the
The remainder of the group drew pessimistic conclusions from the fall of the
In 1997, along with Labour Party activist Ken Livingstone, SA backed Morning Star chief executive Mary Rosser and committee member Kumar Murshid in a battle for control over the newspaper.[6][7][8]
In 2001, SA stopped publishing its journal, also named Socialist Action, but continued to organise as a faction, for instance as the
Socialist Action was heavily involved in the publication and editorial control of Socialist Campaign Group News.[citation needed]
Ken Livingstone
The group's association with Ken Livingstone goes back to 1985, when the group's leader, John Ross, became Livingstone's economic advisor.[3] In the mid-1980s the group adopted Livingstone as something of a figurehead, regarding Arthur Scargill and Tony Benn as spent forces,[3] and according to Atma Singh was "instrumental" in getting Livingstone elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee in 1987 and 1988.[3]
Running as an independent candidate for Mayor in 2000, Livingstone's decision to appoint members of Socialist Action to his administration during his first term drew criticism in the media.
In 2007 Livingstone changed the GLA rules so that his eight key advisers, four associated with SA (including John Ross and the late Redmond O'Neill), who as temporary appointments would not normally have been entitled to severance pay, received an average of £200,000 each.[18]
After 2007
Socialist Action also participated in
Its members continue to publish occasional pamphlets and leaflets. It relaunched its website[
Jeremy Corbyn
Following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour Party leader and Leader of the Opposition in 2015, many of its leading members became active in the party leadership.[23] Former member Atma Singh said that Socialist Action were building "a real power base" around Corbyn[24] and journalist Paul Mason said that "its members became highly influential in the leader’s office."[25] Simon Fletcher - who according to Singh had been on the SA central committee - was appointed Corbyn's Chief of Staff[15] (having previously been appointed Labour's trade union liaison manager by Ed Miliband in 2013[26]) while John Ross has been linked to Corbyn's inner circle.[27] Fletcher resigned from his role in early 2017.[28]
Russia and China
In 2020 and 2022, focusing on its leading member John Ross, Paul Mason described Socialist Action as among "Western apologists" for "totalitarian China", "committed to whitewashing China's authoritarian form of capitalism".[29][30][25][31]
During the
References
- ^ Nick Cohen "Why Ken Livingstone is not fit for office", The Observer, 20 January 2008
- ^ a b c Atma Singh, The Times, 19 January 2008 Atma Singh's full article on Ken Livingstone
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Andrew Hosken (2008), Ken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone, Arcadia Books
- ^ Ross Lydall "Ken and his cronies top new London power list" Archived 14 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Evening Standard, 5 October 2007
- ^ Matthew Taylor "From maverick outsider to establishment candidate. But can Livingstone win again?", The Guardian, 24 April 2008
- ^ "Warm, witty and incisive – remembering former Morning Star editor John Haylett". Morning Star. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "Management retreats". Weekly Worker. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "'Star' row threatens endangered species". The Independent. 21 March 1998. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ Carrell, Severin (13 September 2003). "'Rigged' election row splits CND". The Independent. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ Wintour, Patrick (1 December 2003). "Far left has hijacked peace group, says CND veteran". the Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ Marianne Maeckelbergh, (2009), Will of the Many: How the Alterglobalisation Movement Is Changing the Face of Democracy, Pluto Press, p. 76
- ^ Leo McKinstry (13 July 2002). "Revenge of the Killer Newt". The Spectator.
- ^ Keith Lee (8 July 2004). "London's Mayor Livingstone gives aides massive salary rise". World Socialist Web Site.
- ^ "The Court of Ken" Part 1 of 5, YouTube
- ^ Independent.co.uk. 18 September 2015.
- ^ Jonathan Oliver (20 January 2008). "Ken Livingstone's aides 'in secret Marxist cell'". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Livingstone claims show is 'hatchet job'". 21 January 2008.
- ^ Ken cronies' £1.6m payoff, Evening Standard, 4 August 2008
- ^ Workers' Liberty
- ^ "Secret sect giving PSC mask of respectability". www.thejc.com. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Report of Unite Against Fascism conference 2012". Workers' Liberty. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ Socialist Action
- ^ Eaton, George (5 March 2018). "The meaning of Corbynism". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "Jeremy Corbyn's top team encouraged street riots". 26 September 2015.
- ^ a b Mason, Paul (5 January 2022). "The left must stand against Xi Jinping's totalitarian China". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "Team Corbyn: who's who?". Channel 4 News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "Corbyn angers MPs with anti-war dinner | The Sunday Times". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 13 December 2015.
- ^ "More Pain For Jeremy Corbyn As Simon Fletcher Quits As Campaigns Chief". HuffPost UK. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ Mason, Paul (5 August 2020). "Why the left must condemn China's brutal authoritarianism". New Statesman. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Socialists should oppose the new cold war against China – a reply to Paul Mason". Morning Star. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Paul Mason, China and Marxism". Workers' Liberty. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ Mason, Paul (26 February 2022). "Ukraine: The Politics of Dying. How the West's political dynamics are… - Feb, 2022". Medium. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
Further reading
- 2008 article by Nick Cohen, The Observer
- 2008 article by ex-member Atma Singh, Sunday Times
- The Guardian, 22 January 2008, report on Channel 4 Dispatches documentary
- "The strange history of Socialist Action". Workers' Liberty. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
External links
- Socialist Action
- "Socialist Action archive, 1983-84". Marxist Internet Archive. 16 March 1983. Retrieved 28 February 2022.