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Socialist Party (England and Wales)

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Socialist Party
Welsh: Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru
General SecretaryHannah Sell
FounderPeter Taaffe
Founded1997; 29 years ago (1997)
Preceded by
  • Militant
    (1964–1991)
  • Militant Labour
    (1991–1997)
HeadquartersEnfield, London, England
NewspaperThe Socialist
Youth wingYoung Socialists
Membershipc. 2,000 (2016)[1]
IdeologyTrotskyism[2]
Marxism
Socialism
Revolutionary socialism
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationSocialist Green Unity Coalition (2005–2010)
European affiliationEuropean Anti-Capitalist Left
International affiliationCommittee for a Workers' International
Electoral allianceTUSC
Colours  Red
Website
socialistparty.org.uk

The Socialist Party (Welsh: Plaid Sosialaidd Cymru) is a Trotskyist political party in England and Wales. Founded in 1997, it had formerly been Militant Tendency, an entryist group in the Labour Party from 1964 to 1991, which became Militant Labour from 1991 until 1997. It is a member of the refounded Committee for a Workers' International, and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition[3]

History

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Socialist Party booth at a protest against the 2006 Lebanon War.

The Socialist Party was formerly the Militant group, which practised entryism in the Labour Party. In the 1980s, Militant supporters Dave Nellist, Pat Wall and Terry Fields were elected to the House of Commons as Labour MPs. In 1982, Liverpool District Labour Party adopted Militant's policies for Liverpool City Council in its battle against cuts in the rate support grant from government, and came into conflict with the Conservative government.[4]

In 1991, there was a debate within Militant as to whether to continue working within the Labour Party, centred around whether they could still effectively operate in the party following the expulsions. The group became Militant Labour in 1991, after leaving the Labour Party. In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party,[5] and the Militant newspaper was renamed The Socialist.

The party was involved in founding the Socialist Alliance in the late 1990s, being chaired by Dave Nellist.[6] The group left the alliance in November 2001 following a change to a One Member, One Vote system by the SWP[7] leading to fears of SWP domination.[8]

The 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes were one of the only times the party received attention from outside the far left.[9]

In March 2009, the Socialist Party was invited to participate in No to EU – Yes to Democracy (No2EU), a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition by the RMT union leader Bob Crow, for the 2009 European Parliament elections.[10] This alliance later developed into the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), of which the party is a member.[11]

During Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party, members of the Socialist Party attempted to join the former, with then leader of the Socialist Party, Peter Taaffe, stating they hoped to be able to affiliate to the Labour Party and stand joint candidates at future general elections. Labour Party sources however distanced themselves from such attempts, highlighting the rules preventing active members of other parties joining the Labour Party.[12]

In 2018 and 2019, the party was involved in a dispute within the predecessor Committee for a Workers' International (1974) around the questions of socialism and identity politics.[13] The Socialist Party, as part of the “In Defence of a Working Class and Trotskyist CWI” (IDWCTCWI) faction, re-established a revived Committee for a Workers' International in 2019 that considers itself a continuance of the original CWI (though this is disputed).[14]

Youth and student campaigning

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The SP founded Young Socialists, which is organised as a caucus as a 'youth group' within the party.

Socialist Students is another organisation founded by members of the SP. Although not considered the student faction of the party, they operate independently to ensure inclusivity of political belief between its members to control the freedom of discourse and discussion. Socialist Students are affiliated and co-affiliated with university and college societies around the UK.

The SP have helped Socialist Students in past campaigns by promoting them in their newspaper The Socialist and sharing them with its members, such as their 'Funding Not Fees' campaign in February 2025 after the Leicester Socialist Students Conference.

Electoral activity

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Due to the existence of the Socialist Party of Great Britain, the Socialist Party is registered with the UK Government Electoral Commission under the name of Socialist Alternative.[15][better source needed]

The Socialist Party contested three seats at the 1992 United Kingdom general election, and 21 at the 1997 United Kingdom general election.[16]

Trade union activity

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In 2025, the New Statesman reported that left groups, including the Socialist Party, had united behind Andrea Egan's campaign for Unison General Secretary. Egan, expelled from Labour in 2022, had "reached out to other left groups, including the Socialist Party, to avoid dividing support".[17] In 2021, The Guardian reported that Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham’s successful election campaign for General Secretary was "backed by the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Party.” [18] A 2025 article in The Daily Telegraph claimed that Sharon Graham, as Unite General Secretary, ‘surrounded herself with people from the Socialist Party’.[19]

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ↑ Kelly, John (14 March 2018). Contemporary Trotskyism: Parties, Sects and Social Movements in Britain. London: Routledge. p. 37. doi:10.4324/9781315671048. ISBN 9781315671048.
  2. ↑ Lansford, Tom (20 March 2014). Political Handbook of the World 2014. SAGE Publications. p. 1522. ISBN 1483386260. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  3. ↑ "Building A Socialist International". Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Mgadzah, Ray (28 March 1995). "Legacy of Mersey's Militants". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Socialist Party (formerly the Revolutionary Socialist League, Militant Tendency and Militant Labour)". mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  6. ↑ Turner, Alwyn (2021). "2. Left and Right". All In It Together: England in the Early 21st Century. Profile. ISBN 9781782837862.
  7. ↑ Keith, Daniel; March, Luke (2023). "The United Kingdom". The Palgrave Handbook of Radical Left Parties in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 543. ISBN 9781137562647.
  8. ↑ Kelly, John (14 March 2018). Contemporary Trotskyism: Parties, Sects and Social Movements in Britain. London: Routledge. p. 65. doi:10.4324/9781315671048. ISBN 9781315671048.
  9. ↑ Daker, Stephen (20 October 2018). "The Spectre of Militant". New Socialist.
  10. ↑ "Election campaigns". socialistparty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  11. ↑ "About". TUSC. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (11 November 2016). "Socialist party leader submits application to rejoin Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Fiach (6 March 2019). "Socialist Party documents illustrate criticism from international comrades". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Flakin, Nathaniel (9 August 2019). "The Split in the CWI: Lessons for Trotskyists". Left Voice. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "The Electoral Commission Registrations". Electoral commission. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  16. ↑ Kelly, John (14 March 2018). Contemporary Trotskyism: Parties, Sects and Social Movements in Britain. London: Routledge. p. 65. doi:10.4324/9781315671048. ISBN 9781315671048.
  17. ↑ "Inside the battle for Unison's soul". New Statesman. 2025.
  18. ↑ "New Unite boss Sharon Graham: doing what it says on the tin". The Guardian. 25 August 2021.
  19. ↑ "The new cabal of militant union barons threatening to bring havoc to Britain". The Telegraph. 19 April 2025.
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