Socialist Appeal - Labour Party

NEW FROM WELLRED

THE CLASSICS OF MARXISM

Four great works in one book

Labour Party

Unite leader wants to take back the Labour Party

By Niklas Albin Svensson
Tuesday, 01 June 2010
Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of UNITE, in a speech at the union’s conference in Manchester, declared his determination to “take the party back” for working people. This is a positive step but it needs to be made concrete.

Labour Leadership Campaign: A view from the Marxists in Ireland

By Fightback (Ireland)
Monday, 31 May 2010
We publish here an article which looks at thge Labour leadership campaign from an Irish point of view.

‘Unite behind John McDonnell’

By Socialist Appeal
Sunday, 23 May 2010
With Labour Party officials now having been forced by pressure from below into extending the time period for MPs to nominate for the position of Labour leader, the campaign to get John McDonnell onto the ballot has been given a new impetus. As part of this Jerry Hicks, the left candidate for the position of Unite General Secretary, has issued a press release giving support to John:

Who needs enemies when you have friends like... Diane Abbott

By Niklas Albin Svensson
Thursday, 20 May 2010
For all those of us who had hoped that the Labour Party leadership election campaign might bring some serious debate on the need for socialist policies, we have this morning received yet another blow. After the NEC decided to make the period for candidates to collect nominations from MP a mere four days (24-27 May), in the way of the uphill struggle for John McDonnell has been placed another formidable obstacle in Diane Abbott.

Choice… or no choice: we say John4leader!

By Steve Jones
Monday, 17 May 2010
No sooner has the dust started to settle on the fall out from the 2010 general election and the decision of Gordon Brown to fall on his sword both as PM and Labour leader than we are already seeing names being put forward as “suitable” choices to become the new leader of the labour Party.

Michael Foot and his legacy for Labour

By Barbara Humphries
Thursday, 04 March 2010
The death of former Labour leader Michael Foot has brought him many accolades from his friends in the labour movement, and also, with some hypocrisy, from some of his political enemies amongst the Tories. Michael Foot was on the left of the Labour Party. Having come from a Liberal family, he spent his whole political life in the Party and was committed to causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Even in his nineties, he was seen addressing anti-war demonstrations against the war in Iraq – a war unfortunately pursued by a Labour Prime Minister.

Report: CLPD Meeting

By CLPD Member
Thursday, 25 February 2010
We are pleased to publish a report we have received on the recent annual meeting of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD) held in London. The CLPD was formed in 1973 as a ‘soft’ left pressure group inside the Labour Party, concentrating mainly on organisational issues.

The Northern Region LRC gets behind two socialist candidates in SE Northumberland.

By Steve Brown, Northern Region LRC Co-ordinator.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
On Saturday 23rd Jan, the Northern Region LRC (Labour Representation Committee) met in Gateshead to hear a speech from Ronnie Campbell MP for Blyth Valley in Northumberland. Ronnie, who is a well known life long socialist and former NUM activist, addressed the 17 strong gathering of LP and TU activists and laid out his view of the Labour Movement, a view of its history and the perspectives for the coming election.

LRC Conference Report 2009

By Terry McPartlan (Tyneside)
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
This year’s LRC conference took place on Saturday 14^th November in central London. The LRC is currently the biggest left formation in the Labour Party with over 1000 members and with affiliations from 6 national trade unions. Although it is probably the most significant left group in the party for some 15 or more years, it is best viewed as an anticipation of what is to come. Some 240 people attended this year’s conference with about half being delegates from affiliated organisations. The composition of the conference was in the main drawn from older lefts in the unions and the Labour Party, but there was also a smattering of young people.

Labour Left rallies in Cambridge

By Matt Wells
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Matt Wells reports on the formation of an LRC group in Cambridge, in the build up to the annual conference of LRC in London in November

LRC AGM: 14th November 2009

By Steve Jones
Monday, 14 September 2009
Details have just been announced for this years conference of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), meeting on London on Saturday 14th November. Socialist Appeal supports the work of the LRC and will be at the conference again this year. Why not come along?

Glasgow: Brown not welcome here!

By Ewan Gibbs
Friday, 17 April 2009
Poor old Gordon Brown, down in the polls as his part in destroying the lives of millions of working people through his mismanagement of the economy is exposed to all. With his attempts to smear the Tories blowing up in his own face, things aren’t going so well for him. He thought a cabinet meeting in Glasgow, away from the City and Fleet Street, might do some good for his popularity. He was wrong.

Welfare ‘reform’ and David Freud’s defection to the Tories

By Fred McDowell

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

The welfare ‘reform’ measures currently wending their way through Parliament are so right wing you might have thought they were drafted by the Tories. Funny you should mention it...David Freud, who drafted the White Paper on which the bill is based, has just defected to the Conservatives. This shows two things:

<!--[He’s a rat leaving what he sees as a sinking ship

<!--[New Labour sucking up to the Tories with anti-working class policies just paves the way for the real thing to take over and put the boot in further.