Labour Briefing was a monthly political magazine produced by members of the British Labour Party .
127-556: The magazine began in 1980 as London Labour Briefing . The founders were the members of the Chartist Minority Tendency, which was a former Trotskyist part of the Chartist Collective. It was edited by (among others) Graham Bash, Chris Knight and Keith Veness and counted Ken Livingstone , Tony Benn and other prominent Labour councillors and MPs among its supporters. Throughout the early period, its masthead slogan
254-458: A "signal contribution" to the discipline of international relations . They argued his theory presented "a specific understanding of capitalist development as "uneven", insofar as it systematically featured geographically divergent "advanced" and "backward" regions" across the world economy . Faith merely promises to move mountains; but technology , which takes nothing ‘on faith’, is actually able to cut down mountains and move them. Up to now this
381-409: A 1982 article published by The Economist , Corbyn was named as " Briefing 's general secretary figure", as he also was in a profile on Corbyn compiled by parliamentary biographer Andrew Roth in 2004, which alleges that he joined the editorial board as General Secretary in 1979. Michael Crick , in the 2016 edition of his book Militant , says that Corbyn was "a member of the editorial board" in
508-612: A Leninist party model. Trotsky would also assume a central role in the 1905 revolution and serve as the Chairman of the Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates in which he wrote several proclamations urging for improved economic conditions , political rights and the use of strike action against the Tsarist regime on behalf of workers. In 1917, he had proposed the election of a new Soviet presidium with other socialist parties on
635-479: A Policy Review, which many on the left thought would lead to an abandonment of the party's commitment to Clause IV , public ownership and the transformation of society. At a meeting of the Campaign Group following this election defeat, it was agreed that Tony Benn should stand against Kinnock in a leadership election, although Benn himself was reluctant to run. The decision to run led to a number of MPs leaving
762-679: A Spanish-born NKVD agent, and died the next day in a hospital. His murder is considered a political assassination. Almost all Trotskyists within the VKP(b) were executed in the Great Purges of 1937–1938, effectively removing all of Trotsky's internal influence in the USSR. Nikita Khrushchev had come to power as head of the Communist Party in Ukraine, signing lists of other Trotskyists to be executed. Trotsky and
889-472: A conscious expression of historical processes. Trotskyists are critical of Stalinism as they oppose Joseph Stalin 's theory of socialism in one country in favour of Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution . Trotskyists criticize the bureaucracy and anti-democratic current developed in the Soviet Union under Stalin . Despite their ideological disputes, Trotsky and Lenin were close personally prior to
1016-425: A contest. Rules introduced following Tony Benn 's 1988 leadership challenge meant that candidates would have to secure nominations from 55 MPs to make it onto the ballot paper. Three candidates sought nominations: John Smith , the favourite, regarded as being "from the right" of the party, Bryan Gould , from the "centre-left" and Ken Livingstone , the Campaign Group candidate. Bernie Grant sought nominations as
1143-451: A fast and loose way, mainly to ensure that left candidates are excluded or defeated." Labour Party historian Alex Nunns described how "Left-wing hopefuls, like Christine Shawcroft or Mark Seddon, were stopped at all costs. Party workers were tasked with personal lobbying for the leadership's preferred choice, or were even told to chase up certain postal votes but not others." Blair's strategist Peter Mandelson reportedly described wanting
1270-484: A generation of poorer children to ghettos of collapsing schools". 14 Campaign Group MPs, working with other Labour backbenchers, sought to block the plans by proposing an alternative plan for education. John McDonnell , then Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, argued "Our sincere hope is that the prime minister desists from relying upon a [David] Cameron coalition to force his education policies through in
1397-483: A hostile capitalist world and the internal pressures of its backward economy. Trotsky argued that the revolution must quickly spread to capitalist countries, bringing about a socialist revolution that must spread worldwide. In this way, the revolution is "permanent", moving out of necessity first, from the bourgeois revolution to the workers' revolution and from there uninterruptedly to European and worldwide revolutions. An internationalist outlook of permanent revolution
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#17330860433731524-530: A leadership election on the grounds that they did not think he had campaigned sufficiently vigorously for Remain. MPs hostile to Corbyn leaked internal emails to the BBC which showed that Corbyn's team had resisted moves to pursue a more hostile line on immigration and suggested that this was evidence that Corbyn had sought to "sabotage" the remain campaign. Anti-Corbyn MPs had been briefing the media "for months to "expect movement" against Corbyn on 24 June", suggesting that
1651-434: A member of the Campaign Group, sought nominations to run against Gordon Brown . Both McDonnell and Meacher agreed that whichever of them had the support of fewer Labour MPs at the point of Tony Blair 's resignation would withdraw from the campaign and support the other. However, although Meacher gave his support to McDonnell following Blair's resignation not all of his supporters switched allegiance, leaving McDonnell short of
1778-508: A newly established body and called for the strengthening of its formal responsibilities to support a balanced level of economic reconstruction after the Civil War. Lenin and Politburo members had also proposed he served as deputy chairman with a focus on economic matters related to the either STO , Gosplan or the Council of National Economy. Trotsky had urged economic decentralisation between
1905-460: A number of Old Bolsheviks who signed The Declaration of 46 raised concerns to the Poliburo concerning intra-party democracy which shared similarities with Lenin's proposed party reforms before his death. The signatories of the 46 letter expressed grievances related to the provincial conferences, party congresses and the election of committees. Separately, Trotsky would develop his views further with
2032-569: A piece from the editorial board which "disassociated itself" from an article the previous month criticising the bombing, saying the criticism was a "serious political misjudgment". Throughout the 1990s, Briefing lost supporters and influence as New Labour 's hold over the Labour Party increased. Liz Davies was vetoed by Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Leeds North East in 1995, in part for her association with Briefing . Corbyn called
2159-470: A proper debate about the future of the Labour Party. Two minutes before the deadline Corbyn reached the threshold of 35 nominations, having been 'lent' nominations from MPs who did not support him but were persuaded to nominate him by grassroots members and Campaign Group MPs. Margaret Beckett was one of those who nominated Corbyn despite disagreeing with him, and later described herself as a "moron" for doing so. Immediately following his success in getting on
2286-569: A range of prominent historians and political scientists such as E.H. Carr , Isaac Deutscher , Moshe Lewin , Ronald Suny , Richard B. Day and W. Bruce Lincoln was that Lenin’s desired “heir” would have been a collective responsibility in which Trotsky was placed in "an important role and within which Stalin would be dramatically demoted (if not removed)". Trotsky advocated for a decentralized form of economic planning , worker's control of production , elected representation of Soviet socialist parties , mass soviet democratization ,
2413-463: A result, the global working class would come to Russia's aid, and socialism could develop worldwide. According to political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz, Trotsky’s theory of “permanent revolution” was grossly misrepresented by Stalin as defeatist and adventurist during the succession struggle when in fact Trotsky encouraged revolutions in Europe but was not at any time proposing “reckless confrontations” with
2540-493: A result, they are linked to and rely on the feudal landowners in many ways. Thus, Trotsky argues that because a majority of the branches of industry in Russia originated under the direct influence of government measures—sometimes with the help of government subsidies—the capitalist class was again tied to the ruling elite. The capitalist class was subservient to European capital. The theory of permanent revolution further considers that
2667-499: A revival of freedom of Soviet parties, beginning with the party of Bolsheviks, and a resurrection of the trade unions. The bringing of democracy into industry means a radical revision of plans in the interests of toilers. In 1931, Trotsky wrote a pamphlet on the Spanish Revolution and called for the creation of worker’s juntas in emulation of elected soviets as an expression of working class organisation. Trotsky stipulated
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#17330860433732794-538: A revolution in a European capitalist society would lead to a socialist one. According to this position, a socialist revolution could not occur in a backward, feudal country such as early 20th-century Russia when it had such a small and almost powerless capitalist class. In 1905, Trotsky formulated his theory of permanent revolution , which later became a defining characteristic of Trotskyism. The theory of permanent revolution addressed how such feudal regimes were to be overthrown and how socialism could establish itself, given
2921-414: A revolution in peasant-based countries such as Russia ultimately prepares the ground for capitalism's development since the liberated peasants become small owners, producers, and traders. This leads to the growth of commodity markets, from which a new capitalist class emerges. Trotsky agreed that a new socialist state and economy in a country like Russia would not be able to hold out against the pressures of
3048-557: A shop anywhere near, they were denied the right to buy them. So, each Campaign Group member agreed to buy one set of bolt-cutters and donate to the Greenham Women. Which we duly did! Following the 1997 General Election , 7% of Labour MPs were members of the Campaign Group. Tony Blair enthusiastically carried on Kinnock's attempts to "delegitimise the left". He sought to reduce the number of left-wing Labour MPs by centralising control of candidate selections and used "open shortlists in
3175-475: A spectrum from communism on the left to imperialist capitalism on the right. However, given that Stalinism is often labelled rightist within the communist spectrum and left communism leftist, anti-revisionists' idea of the left is very different from that of left communism. Despite being Bolshevik-Leninist comrades during the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War , Trotsky and Stalin became enemies in
3302-406: A split in the left between a " soft left " supportive of Foot's leadership and a dissenting " hard left " organised principally around Benn. The Campaign Group would go on to back Eric Heffer and Michael Meacher in their unsuccessful bids for the leadership and deputy leadership in 1983. The Campaign Group subsequently organised itself around opposition to the direction the party took under
3429-453: Is found in the works of Karl Marx . The term "permanent revolution" is taken from a remark of Marx in his March 1850 Address: "it is our task", Marx said: [...] to make the revolution permanent until all the more or less propertied classes have been driven from their ruling positions, until the proletariat has conquered state power and until the association of the proletarians has progressed sufficiently far—not only in one country but in all
3556-405: Is lacking, yet the economy is largely in the hands of the state, are termed by orthodox Trotskyist theories as degenerated or deformed workers' states and not socialist states. Bureaucratic autocracy must give place to Soviet democracy. A restoration of the right of criticism, and a genuine freedom of elections, are necessary conditions for the further development of the country. This assumes
3683-518: The Left Opposition and the Fourth International . Trotsky described himself as an orthodox Marxist , a revolutionary Marxist , and a Bolshevik – Leninist as well as a follower of Karl Marx , Frederick Engels , Vladimir Lenin , Karl Liebknecht , and Rosa Luxemburg . His relations with Lenin have been a source of intense historical debate. However, on balance, scholarly opinion among
3810-584: The London Congress of Social Democrats in 1903 and during the First World War . Lenin and Trotsky were close ideologically and personally during the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Trotskyists and some others call Trotsky its "co-leader". This was also alluded to by Rosa Luxemburg. Lenin himself never mentioned the concept of "Trotskyism" after Trotsky became a member of the Bolshevik party. Trotsky
3937-529: The New York Intellectuals . Trotsky presented a critique of contemporary literary movements such as Futurism and emphasised a need of cultural autonomy for the development of a socialist culture. According to literary critic Terry Eagleton , Trotsky recognised "like Lenin on the need for a socialist culture to absorb the finest products of bourgeois art". Trotsky himself viewed the proletarian culture as "temporary and transitional" which would provide
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4064-728: The Socialist Campaign Group of Members of Parliament , and aims to promote and build the network of local Campaign Groups. Following a contested vote at the July 2012 AGM, some supporters of Labour Briefing decided to transfer control of the magazine to the Labour Representation Committee . Other Editorial Board members, including Labour Party NEC member Christine Shawcroft , opposed the move, and continued to publish their own independent Labour Briefing magazine (sometimes known as 'Original Briefing'). In February 2023,
4191-544: The Soviet bureaucracy as primary evidence that Lenin sought to remove Stalin from the position of General Secretary . Various historians have also cited Lenin's proposal to appoint Trotsky Vice-Chairman of the Soviet Union as further evidence that he intended Trotsky to be his successor as head of government . In 1927, Trotsky was purged from the Communist Party and Soviet politics. In October, by order of Stalin, Trotsky
4318-760: The UK miners' strike of 1984–1985 . In due course, London Labour Briefing spawned local papers around Britain, such as Devon Labour Briefing . In July 1982, Corbyn argued against expulsions of Militant in Briefing . Following the Brighton hotel bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican Army , the editorial board of London Labour Briefing said the bombings showed that "the British only sit up and take notice [of Ireland] when they are bombed into it". In December 1984,
4445-494: The peasantry as a whole cannot take on the task of carrying through the revolution because it is dispersed in small holdings throughout the country and forms a heterogeneous grouping, including the rich peasants who employ rural workers and aspire to landlordism as well as the poor peasants who aspire to own more land. Trotsky argues: "All historical experience [...] shows that the peasantry are absolutely incapable of taking up an independent political role". Trotskyists differ on
4572-413: The political spectrum of Marxism , Trotskyists are usually considered to be on the left. In the 1920s, they called themselves the Left Opposition , although today's left communism is distinct and usually non-Bolshevik. The terminological disagreement can be confusing because different versions of a left-right political spectrum are used. Anti-revisionists consider themselves the ultimate leftists on
4699-587: The war with Poland in 1920, proposed armistice with the Entente and temperance with staging anti-British revolts in the Middle East. Historian Robert Vincent Daniels believed that the practical differences, in the domain of international policy , between the Left Opposition and other factions had been exaggerated and he contended that Trotsky was no more prepared than other Bolshevik figures to risk war or for
4826-460: The whip withdrawn or been expelled from the party. The group was formed in 1982 following the 1981 Labour deputy leadership election when a number of soft left MPs, led by Neil Kinnock , refused to back Tony Benn 's campaign, leading a number of left-wing Benn-supporting MPs to split from the Tribune Group to form the Campaign Group. It was at a meeting of the Campaign Group in 2015 that
4953-483: The "mid 1980s", as does Lansley, Goss and Wolmar's The Rise and Fall of the Municipal Left in 1989. The Times also said that Corbyn was still "closely linked" with the group in 1995. However, in 2017, Corbyn claimed these reports were inaccurate, telling Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge , "Andrew Roth has a wonderful reputation for having the most inaccurate parliamentary profiles known to anyone", and that "I read
5080-613: The 1920s and, after that, opposed the legitimacy of each other's forms of Leninism. Trotsky was highly critical of the Stalinist USSR for suppressing democracy and the lack of adequate economic planning. Overall, Trotsky and the Left-United Opposition factions advocated for rapid industrialization , voluntary collectivisation of agriculture, and the expansion of a worker's democracy . Until 1905, some revolutionaries claimed that Marx's theory of history posited that only
5207-407: The Campaign Group candidate for Deputy Leader . John Prescott , Ann Clywd and Margaret Beckett were the other deputy leadership contenders. It quickly became clear that the 20% nomination threshold risked eliminating all candidates except Smith. "The '20 per cent' rule was introduced in 1989 specifically to exclude the Campaign Group – the left – from future leadership elections. At that time
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5334-409: The Campaign Group did not require members to adhere to a particular set of policies, the group did occasionally set out statements of principle. The February 1988 edition of Campaign Group News included "The Aims and Objectives of the Labour Party" a statement agreed by the Campaign Group of Labour MPs and circulated "to provide a focus for political discussion and education within the party ... and to be
5461-496: The Campaign Group including Clare Short , Margaret Beckett , Jo Richardson and Joan Ruddock . Labour's electoral college was weighted 40% to affiliated unions , 30% to Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and 30% to MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party . Benn secured only 11.4% of the vote (17.2% of MPs, 19.6% of CLPs and 0.2% of affiliated unions). The scale of this defeat was a surprise to Benn, in particular
5588-524: The Campaign Group, opposed these plans, speaking and voting against them in Parliament. Blair ally Patricia Hewitt was alleged to have described the rebellion as a "conspiracy organised by the Socialist Campaign Group" 47 Labour MPs voted against the proposals including Campaign Group members Ken Livingstone , Ronnie Campbell , Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn, Ann Cryer , Alan Simpson , John McDonnell , Dennis Skinner , Audrey Wise , and Diane Abbott . Despite
5715-483: The Commons and put forward Remain arguments during interviews on Sky, BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Analysis from academics at Loughborough University found that the BBC had excluded Labour voices during the campaign and instead covered the campaign as a Conservative Party civil war. When the result of the referendum was announced Corbyn's opponents on the right and centre of the Parliamentary Labour Party sought to trigger
5842-510: The Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party in 1981 was heavily criticised by Labour's leader Michael Foot , who had long been associated with the Labour left and Tribune Group. Tribune Group member and future Labour leader Neil Kinnock led a number of Labour MPs to support John Silkin in the deputy leadership election and abstain in the run-off between Healey and Benn. This sowed the seeds for
5969-608: The Labour Briefing Editorial Board announced the closure of the magazine. There have been a number of notable contributors and members of the magazine's editorial board. Most contributors in the 1980s were prominent members of London's "outside left". They included: Trotskyist Historical Historical Trotskyism ( Russian : Троцкизм , Trotskizm ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of
6096-847: The Labour Party (including Blair himself) celebrated this reform, believing that the changes would mean that "the next Labour leader will be a Blairite". At a meeting of the Socialist Campaign Group on 3 June it was decided that, with McDonnell and Abbott both ruling themselves out after having stood previously, Jeremy Corbyn should be the left's candidate for leader. Corbyn was immediately nominated by Campaign Group MPs including John McDonnell (who became chair of his campaign), Diane Abbott , Ronnie Campbell , Kelvin Hopkins , Michael Meacher , Dennis Skinner , Richard Burgon , Clive Lewis and Cat Smith . The campaign quickly mobilised grassroots Labour members and activists to pressure MPs to nominate Corbyn, even if they disagreed with him, in order to ensure
6223-500: The PLP. He also made it clear that public repudiation of the group would be amply and swiftly rewarded. Jeremy Corbyn , Labour MP for Islington North and for many years Campaign Group Secretary, remarked that the group was the biggest job creation scheme in the Palace of Westminster. Nearly every one of the twenty-odd ex-members of the Campaign Group sitting in the 1987–92 Parliament was appointed to
6350-675: The Russian Revolution with the Great French Revolution, the former can never be transformed into a repetition of the latter." In the French Revolution of 1789 , France experienced what Marxists called a " bourgeois-democratic revolution "—a regime was established wherein the bourgeoisie overthrew the existing French feudalistic system. The bourgeoisie then moved towards establishing a regime of democratic parliamentary institutions. However, while democratic rights were extended to
6477-462: The Russian revolution. Soviet scholar Robert Bird considered his work as the "first systematic treatment of art by a Communist leader" and a catalyst for later, Marxist cultural and critical theories. He had also defended intellectual autonomy in relation to the Russian literary movements and scientific theories such as Freudian psychoanalytic theory along with Einstein ’s theory of relativity during
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#17330860433736604-456: The Socialist Campaign Group also led a "direct action protest" in the House of Commons by refusing to sit down in order to force a debate on the strike. In 1989, the third Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher announced plans to introduce a flat-tax to fund local Government. The planned tax became known as the poll tax and was thought by many to be intended to save the rich money and move
6731-573: The Socialist Campaign Group produced a pamphlet called "Winning the Future", which proposed solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic . There have been nine Labour leadership elections since the formation of the Socialist Campaign Group: 1983 , 1988 , 1992 , 1994 , 2007 , 2010 , 2015 , 2016 , and 2020 . The Campaign Group backed Eric Heffer and Michael Meacher in their unsuccessful bids for
6858-554: The Socialist Campaign Group until he stood down as an MP at the 2001 General Election ) were among the most high profile of the initial sponsors of the Stop the War Coalition at the meeting on 21 September 2001, along with figures such as Tariq Ali , Harold Pinter , Andrew Murray and Lindsey German , who became the convenor of Stop the War. The Coalition organised what is widely thought to be
6985-536: The West and controversies around party schisms. In the Transitional Program , which was drafted in 1938 during the founding congress of the Fourth International , Trotsky reiterated the need for the legalization of the Soviet parties and worker's control of production . The concept of uneven and combined development derived from the political theories of Trotsky. This concept was developed in combination with
7112-457: The anti-poll tax unions and the federation that brought them together, for without their brilliant leadership and the mass rallies which they organised the Tories might just have got away with it. This campaign had no support at all from the Labour Party at a national level, no official party rallies being organised, and those who rallied were singled out for disciplinary action, many being expelled from
7239-510: The arms trade throughout the world and for a new international economic order which will start to reverse the transfer of wealth from the poorest to the richest. Until that is done the Gulf War will be the first of many such wars where Western countries declare war on Third World countries, allegedly for reasons of international law but in reality for an unjust economic order and against people attempting to claim their right to self-determination – like
7366-469: The autocracy there stood a capitalist bourgeoisie, very small in numbers, isolated from the "people", half-foreign, without historical traditions, and inspired only by the greed for gain. For instance, the Putilov Factory numbered 12,000 workers in 1900 and, according to Trotsky, 36,000 in July 1917. Although only a tiny minority in Russian society, the proletariat would lead a revolution to emancipate
7493-515: The ballot Corbyn attended a protest against the treatment of women detained at Yarls Wood Detention Centre and against the 13-year detention by the US of British resident Shaker Aamer in Guantanamo Bay without charge. Corbyn outlined an anti-austerity domestic agenda and an international agenda opposed to military intervention. He campaigned on issues with wide popular support that had been outside of
7620-716: The basis of proportional representation . On the other hand, he had accepted the ban on rival parties in Moscow during the Russian Civil War due to their opposition to the October Revolution . Yet, he also opposed the extension of the ban to the Mensheviks in Soviet Georgia . In 1922, Lenin allied with Leon Trotsky against the party's growing bureaucratisation and the influence of Joseph Stalin . In 1923, Trotsky and
7747-446: The basis of our long-term political work". The statement set out the ideological basis for Benn's 1988 campaign to be Labour leader. The document outlines a socialist, internationalist, and democratic agenda and starts by listing the rights that members thought out to be fought for: "WE BELIEVE: That there should be certain rights which must be won and maintained: We need a campaign for peace and disarmament in Europe, and for an end to
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#17330860433737874-480: The bourgeoisie, they were not generally extended to a universal franchise. The freedom for workers to organize unions or to strike was not achieved without considerable struggle. Trotsky argues that countries like Russia had no "enlightened, active" revolutionary bourgeoisie which could play the same role, and the working class constituted a tiny minority. By the time of the European revolutions of 1848, "the bourgeoisie
8001-789: The campaign against the Poll Tax as a "huge victory" for the Labour left who campaigned in alliance with the extra-parliamentary socialist left "against one of the most reactionary pieces of legislation dreamt up in the modern age". Tony Benn described the relationship of the campaign against the Poll Tax with the Labour Party: "The main credit for defeating this monstrosity [the Poll Tax] must go to those, first in Scotland and then in England and Wales, who organised
8128-512: The capitalist world. Revolutions in Britain in the 17th century and in France in 1789 abolished feudalism and established the essential requisites for the development of capitalism. Trotsky argued that these revolutions would not be repeated in Russia. In Results and Prospects , written in 1906, Trotsky outlines his theory in detail, arguing: "History does not repeat itself. However much one may compare
8255-525: The decision of the NEC "totally unacceptable" at the time. In 1995, Central Books, a left-wing publisher which used to distribute the magazine, said: "It used to be wacky and even amusing. Now it's neo-Trotskyite rubbish." London Labour Briefing was renamed Labour Briefing and was then known as Labour Left Briefing in 1995. In 2008, upon merging with Voice of the Unions , it reverted to Labour Briefing . It supports
8382-435: The decision was taken that Jeremy Corbyn would contest for the leadership of the Labour Party . The Campaign Group maintains close links with Momentum . The Socialist Campaign Group was founded in 1982 due to a disagreement within the Labour left, traditionally organised around the Tribune Group , about whom to back in the 1981 Labour Party deputy leadership election . Tony Benn's decision to challenge Denis Healey for
8509-569: The decline in support from CLPs since the 1983 election, and strengthened Kinnock's position, which he used to take the party further towards centrism. Following this election, the party rules were changed to quadruple the number of MPs required to nominate a candidate to launch a leadership challenge from 5% to 20% (lowered in 1993 to 12.5% for elections where the incumbent had resigned). Neil Kinnock resigned just three days after he lost his second general election , and tried to persuade candidates other than John Smith to stand aside so as to avoid
8636-412: The essentially feudal landlords and, ultimately, the existing Czarist Russian state forces. This was to protect their ownership of their property—factories, banks, etc.—from expropriation by the revolutionary working class. Therefore, according to the theory of permanent revolution, the capitalist classes of economically backward countries are weak and incapable of carrying through revolutionary change. As
8763-554: The expenses onto the poor. Only 15 Labour MPs supported the Anti Poll Tax Federation . Socialist Campaign Group MPs made up a significant number of these including Tony Benn , who gave his full support to the campaign and spoke at the 200,000 strong anti-Poll Tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square, and Jeremy Corbyn who appeared at Highbury Magistrates' Court in 1991 for not paying his poll tax bill of £481. Corbyn
8890-416: The extent to which this is true today. However, even the most orthodox tend to recognise in the late twentieth century a new development in the revolts of the rural poor: the self-organising struggles of the landless, along with many other struggles that in some ways reflect the militant united, organised struggles of the working class, which to various degrees do not bear the marks of class divisions typical of
9017-447: The face of this overwhelming opposition within the parliamentary Labour party." With Tory support, the reforms were eventually passed by 422 to 98 votes; however, this was the largest rebellion a Labour government had ever suffered at the third reading of a Bill . Members of the Campaign Group have been the first to be at the forefront of mass campaigns on trade union rights, private equity, council housing, public services and against
9144-435: The factories and workplaces; and that the collective consciousness it achieves as a result is an essential ingredient of the socialist reconstruction of society. Trotsky himself argued that only the proletariat or working class were capable of achieving the tasks of that bourgeois revolution. In 1905, the working class in Russia, a generation brought together in vast factories from the relative isolation of peasant life, saw
9271-400: The foundations for a culture above classes. He also argued that the pre-conditions for artistic creativity were economic well-being and emancipation from material constraints. Political scientist, Baruch Knei-Paz, characterised his view on the role of the party as transmitters of culture to the masses and raising the standards of education, as well as entry into the cultural sphere, but that
9398-422: The front bench shortly after leaving the group." During the 1984–85 miners' strike , MPs from the Socialist Campaign Group took action to support the striking miners by visiting picket lines and raising money to be donated to the miners' relief centres. This put pressure on the Labour Party leadership to support the strike, something Neil Kinnock resisted until 10 months after the start of the strike. Members of
9525-415: The heroic peasant struggles of previous epochs. However, orthodox Trotskyists today still argue that the town- and city-based working-class struggle is central to the task of a successful socialist revolution linked to these struggles of the rural poor. They argue that the working class learns of the necessity to conduct a collective struggle, for instance, in trade unions, arising from its social conditions in
9652-459: The implementation of the First five-year plan . He noted that several engineers and economists who had created the plan were themselves later put on trial as " conscious wreckers who had acted on the instructions of a foreign power". Polish historian and biographer, Isaac Deutscher , viewed his inner-party reforms in 1923–24 as arguably the first act in the restoration of free Soviet institutions which
9779-412: The lack of economic prerequisites. Trotsky argued that only the working class could overthrow feudalism and win the peasantry 's support in Russia. Furthermore, he argued that the Russian working class would not stop there. They would win their revolution against the weak capitalist class, establish a workers' state in Russia and appeal to the working class in the advanced capitalist countries worldwide. As
9906-491: The largest demonstration in British history, when on 15 February 2003 , over a million people marched against the Iraq War . Campaign Group MP Alan Simpson launched Labour Against The War to coordinate parliamentary opposition to Tony Blair 's decision to follow George W. Bush in invading Iraq. Although Blair was able to win these votes with the support of Conservative MPs, 139 Labour MPs voted against his plans for war, one of
10033-546: The largest rebellions ever seen in the Commons. In 2005, Blair's government announced plans to encourage every school to become an independent self-governing trust. These schools would, like academies , determine their own curriculum and ethos, appoint the governing body, control their own assets, employ their own staff and set their own admissions policy. These plans were described as intending to "all but abolish local authority involvement in state schools" and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott argued that it would "condemn
10160-448: The leadership and deputy leadership in 1983. Tony Benn could not stand because he was not currently in Parliament at the time, having just lost his seat. During his time as Leader Neil Kinnock moved the Labour party to adopt centrist politics. In the 1987 general election , Margaret Thatcher 's Conservatives won a landslide victory and were nearly 12% ahead of Labour in the popular vote. Following this defeat Kinnock introduced
10287-532: The leadership election.. Abbott secured the first-preference votes of 7 MPs: Diane Abbott , Katy Clark , Jeremy Corbyn , Kelvin Hopkins , John McDonnell , Linda Riordan and Mike Wood . The 2015 leadership election was the first held under new rules introduced by Ed Miliband following the Collins Review which recommended moving to a one-member one vote (OMOV) system. This reduced the previous weighting in favour of MPs and Trade Unions. The Blairite wing of
10414-583: The leadership of Kinnock and his successors. An advertisement in Tribune (24 April 1983) gave the membership of the Campaign Group as: Norman Atkinson , Tony Benn , Ron Brown , Dennis Canavan , Bob Cryer , Don Dixon , Martin Flannery , Stuart Holland , Bob Litherland , Joan Maynard , Willie McKelvey , Andy McMahon , Bob McTaggart , Michael Meacher , Bob Parry , Reg Race , Allan Roberts , Ernie Roberts , Dennis Skinner , and John Tilley . Neil Kinnock
10541-404: The leading countries of the world—that competition between the proletarians of these countries ceases and at least the decisive forces of production are concentrated in the hands of the workers. His biographer, Isaac Deutscher, has explicitly contrasted his support for proletarian internationalism against his opposition to revolution by military conquest as seen with his documented opposition to
10668-710: The left on the NEC predicted that the new rule would rebound against democracy in the entire party – including the soft left who voted for it. As soon as it became clear that John Smith was the front runner, more and more MPs simply jumped on his bandwagon. After all the leader will be handing out front bench appointments for the rest of this Parliament! As the deadline for nominations approached it started to look as though all other candidates would be excluded – not only Livingstone and Grant but also Ann Clwyd , Bryan Gould and John Prescott ." Not only have they stitched up who will win but they have also stitched up who will lose and in what order. To avoid this party officials changed
10795-476: The loss of trade opportunities despite his support for world revolution . Prior to the October Revolution, Trotsky had been part of an old radical democracy which included both Left Mensheviks and Left Bolsheviks . His work, Our Political Tasks , published in 1904 reviewed issues related to party organisation, mass participation and the potential dangers of substitutionism which he foresaw in
10922-500: The magazine carried a reader's letter praising the "audacity" of the IRA attack and stating: "What do you call four dead Tories? A start." It mocked Norman Tebbit , the trade secretary who was dug out of the rubble of the Grand Hotel and whose wife was left permanently paralysed, saying: "Try riding your bike now, Norman" (in reference to an earlier speech made by Tebbit). The same issue carried
11049-418: The magazine. I wrote for the magazine. I was not a member of the editorial board. I didn't agree with it." The group campaigned for left-wing policies and greater democracy in the Labour Party, and focused on issues relating to municipal affairs. The paper also emphasised sexual and personal politics and anti-racism campaigns. London Labour Briefing was also prominent in supporting Irish Republicanism and
11176-470: The mobilisation of members by Momentum Corbyn refused to resign. Owen Smith secured the required nominations to run against him. Corbyn's opponents in the National Executive Committee were alleged by Robert Peston to have sought to fix the results, by increasing the fee for becoming a registered supporter from £3 to £25 and excluding from voting the 130,000 new members who had joined in
11303-423: The need for shared participation of the communist factions, anarcho-syndicalists and socialists . In 1936, Trotsky argued in his work, The Revolution Betrayed , for the restoration of the right of criticism in areas such as economic matters , the revitalization of trade unions and free elections of the Soviet parties . Trotsky also argued that the excessive authoritarianism under Stalin had undermined
11430-562: The nominations required and leading to Gordon Brown becoming leader unopposed. As part of his campaign, John McDonnell published his manifesto as a book entitled Another World Is Possible: A Manifesto for 21st Century Socialism. In 2010 nominations from 33 MPs (12.5% of the Parliamentary Labour Party) were required to make it onto the ballot paper. Socialist Campaign Group MPs John McDonnell and Diane Abbott both sought nominations to run; however, McDonnell withdrew from
11557-627: The opposition to Corbyn was not primarily motivated by his actions during the referendum. In the days following the referendum a number of Corbyn's critics resigned from the Shadow Cabinet and the parliamentary party passed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn by 172 votes against to 40 for. Corbyn promoted a number of Campaign Group MPs to fill his Shadow Cabinet including Richard Burgon , Rebecca Long-Bailey , Grahame Morris and Clive Lewis , and with their support along with that of other left wing MPs and
11684-532: The parliamentary left to become "a sealed tomb". Alan Simpson , a member of the Campaign Group during the New Labour years, described it as "the only bolt-hole of real political thought that I found throughout my parliamentary years ... they were the MPs you would always find on picket lines , at trade union and social movement rallies, on anti-war marches and at the forefront of campaigns to restore rather than exploit
11811-423: The part of the population and for suppressing workers' self-management and democratic participation in the management of the economy. Because these authoritarian political measures were inconsistent with the organizational precepts of socialism, Trotsky characterized the Soviet Union as a deformed workers' state that would not be able to effectively transition to socialism. Ostensibly socialist states where democracy
11938-403: The party constitution should stop. No Campaign Group MPs backed Tony Blair , who went on to win the contest. In 2007, only 24 of 353 Labour MPs were members of the Socialist Campaign Group and party rules required nominations from 45 MPs (12.5% of the Parliamentary Labour Party) to make it onto the ballot paper. Both John McDonnell , then Chair of the Campaign Group, and Michael Meacher ,
12065-401: The party had sought to establish in 1917 and the return of worker's democracy which would correspond with a gradual dismantlement of the single-party system . At the same time, Deutscher noted that Trotsky's attitude towards democracy could be characterised as inconsistent and hesitant by opponents but this stemmed from a range of reasons such as the ill timing after the failed revolutions in
12192-520: The party just because they were active in the movement, and some prospective local and parliamentary candidates were refused endorsement by the NEC merely for their principled refusal to pay." In one hilarious meeting [of the Socialist Campaign Group], the Greenham [Common] Women addressed us. They were trying to buy bolt-cutters to cut the fences at Greenham Common, but anytime they turned up at
12319-633: The party of Trotskyists were still recognized as enemies of the USSR during Khrushchev's rule of the USSR after 1956. Trotsky's Fourth International was established in the French Third Republic in 1938 when Trotskyists argued that the Comintern or Third International had become irretrievably "lost to Stalinism" and thus incapable of leading the international working class to political power. According to Trotsky, his programme could be distinguished from other Marxist theories by five key elements: On
12446-408: The peasantry and thus "secure the support of the peasantry" as part of that revolution, on whose support it will rely. However, to improve their conditions, the working class must create a revolution of their own, which would accomplish the bourgeois revolution and establish a workers' state. Only fully developed capitalist conditions prepare the basis for socialism. According to classical Marxism ,
12573-416: The planet." Under Blair, the Labour government introduced plans to cut lone parent benefit, a measure which members of the Campaign Group believed would disproportionately harm women. The cut was brought in by Harriet Harman , Secretary of State for Social Security , who championed the cut despite the majority of people affected being women and children who were already poor. Backbench Labour MPs, led by
12700-522: The political mainstream for many years, including rail re-nationalisation, free higher education, regional investment and a higher minimum wage. On 12 September 2015 Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party in a landslide victory , with 59.5% of first-preference votes . During the 2016 referendum Corbyn led Labour in campaigning to remain. Corbyn spoke at 15 rallies from London to Hastings to Aberdeen, reached more than 10 million people with his Remain messages on social media, made six statements in
12827-498: The previous 6 months. On 24 September 2016, Corbyn was re-elected Leader of the Labour Party in another landslide victory, increasing his share of the vote from 59.5% to 61.8%. Following the 2019 general election , the Socialist Campaign Group reformed for 2019–2024. Campaign Group members Rebecca Long-Bailey and Richard Burgon ran for leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party, respectively. Both were defeated by Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner , respectively. Although
12954-417: The process of artistic creation in terms of language and presentation should be the domain of the practitioner. Knei-Paz also noted key distinctions between Trotsky's approach on cultural matters and Stalin's policy in the 1930s . Trotsky was an early proponent of economic planning since 1923 and favored an accelerated pace of industrialization. In 1921, he had also been a prominent supporter of Gosplan as
13081-627: The publication of the New Course in 1924. In 1927, Trotsky and the United Opposition had argued for the expansion of industrial democracy with their joint platform which demanded majority representation of workers in trade union congresses including the All-Union Congress and an increase of non-party workers to one-third of representation in these elected organs. They also supported legal protection for worker's right to criticise such as
13208-525: The race after it became clear he would not receive sufficient nominations, and instead supported Abbott to give her the best chance of making it onto the ballot. Abbott, the first black woman to ever contest the Labour leadership, secured the necessary 33 nominations after being 'lent' nominations from a number of MPs who were not supporting her campaign but wanted to ensure that the contest was not exclusively white and male. It has been suggested that this practice of lending nominations to left candidate to widen
13335-445: The related theory of permanent revolution to explain the historical context of Russia. He would later elaborate on this theory to explain the specific laws of uneven development in 1930 and the conditions for a possible revolutionary scenario. According to biographer Ian Thatcher, this theory would be later generalised to "the entire history of mankind". Political scientists Emanuele Saccarelli and Latha Varadarajan valued his theory as
13462-434: The result of its labour as a vast collective effort, also seeing the only means of struggling against its oppression in terms of a collective effort, forming workers councils ( soviets ) in the course of the revolution of that year. In 1906, Trotsky argued: The factory system brings the proletariat to the foreground [...] The proletariat immediately found itself concentrated in tremendous masses, while between these masses and
13589-501: The right to make independent proposals. According to historian Vadim Rogovin , these proposals would have developed democracy in the sphere of production and facilitated the establishment of worker's control over economic management. Following Stalin's consolidation of power in the Soviet Union and static centralization of political power, Trotsky condemned the Soviet government's policies for lacking widespread democratic participation on
13716-442: The rules mid-contest, at the suggestion of Gould, to allow MPs who had already nominated a candidate to withdraw and support another instead. This ensured that Gould received enough nominations to ensure a contest between him and Smith, and that Ken Livingstone and Bernie Grant were kept off the ballot. Margaret Beckett described this change as "unprecedented". John Smith won the electoral college vote against Gould with 91% of
13843-534: The scale of the opposition from Labour MPs and campaigners, Harman continued to implement the cuts. She was sacked from Cabinet the following year. The Stop the War Coalition was founded in the weeks following 9/11 , when George W. Bush announced the " War on terror ", and has since campaigned to oppose and end the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere. Socialist Campaign Group MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Tam Dalyell , along with Tony Benn , (who had been in
13970-414: The scope of debate "set a precedent" for Jeremy Corbyn 's run for Leadership in 2015. Despite beating both Andy Burnham and Ed Balls in total number of first preference votes cast (35,259 individual first preferences for Abbott compared to 28,772 for Burnham and 34,489 for Balls), Abbott was eliminated in the first round of voting, as she received fewer votes from MPs, and Ed Miliband went on to win
14097-467: The shadow cabinet . The rule that shadow cabinet MPs could not be group members caused difficulties, and this rule was removed, allowing the group to recover to 23 members by 2019. In January 2020, the Socialist Campaign Group was reformed. It supported Rebecca Long-Bailey for Leader and Richard Burgon for Deputy Leader in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election , which was won by Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner , respectively. In October 2020,
14224-475: The state, oblast regions and factories to counter structural inefficiency and the problem of bureaucracy. He had proposed the principles underlying the N.E.P. in 1920 to the Politburo to mitigate urgent economic matters arising from war communism. He would later reproach Lenin privately about the delayed government response in 1921-1922. However, his position also differed from the majority of Soviet leaders at
14351-479: The succession period. However, these theories were increasingly marginalised during the Stalin era. Trotsky would later co-author the 1938 Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art with the endorsement of prominent artists Andre Breton and Diego Rivera . Trotsky's writings on literature such as his 1923 survey which advocated tolerance, limited censorship and respect for literary tradition had strong appeal to
14478-480: The support of many party intellectuals . Trotsky had specified the need for the "overall guidance in planning i.e. the systematic co-ordination of the fundamental sectors of the state economy in the process of adapting to the present market" and urged for a national plan alongside currency stabilization. He also rejected the Stalinist conception of industrialisation which favoured heavy industry . Rather, he proposed
14605-549: The tactic of a united front against far-right parties, cultural autonomy for artistic movements, voluntary collectivisation , a transitional program and socialist internationalism . He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat , and a dictatorship of the proletariat (as opposed to the " dictatorship of the bourgeoisie ", which Marxists argue is a major component of capitalism ) based on working-class self-emancipation and council democracy . Trotsky also adhered to scientific socialism and viewed this as
14732-603: The time who fully supported the New Economic policy . Comparatively, Trotsky believed that planning and N.E.P should develop within a mixed framework until the socialist sector gradually superseded the private industry. He found allies among a circle of economic theorists and administrators which included Evgenii Preobazhensky along Georgy Pyatakov , deputy chairman of the Council of the National Economy and had more broadly
14859-600: The use of foreign trade as an accelerator and to direct investments by means of a system of comparative coefficients . Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group , also simply known as the Campaign Group , is a UK parliamentary caucus of the Labour Party including Members of Parliament in the House of Commons . The group also includes some MPs who formerly represented Labour in Parliament but have had
14986-417: The vote. No candidate from the Campaign Group ran in the 1994 leadership election and the group did not endorse a candidate. However, Margaret Beckett , who had been a member of the Campaign Group until 1988, was nominated by 18 Campaign Group MPs, with 5 nominating John Prescott . Beckett's campaign was supported due to her position that Tory anti-union laws should be repealed and that anti-union changes to
15113-487: The war ... We consistently raise uncomfortable issues and support campaigns that no other parliamentarians will touch, on issues like asylum, deportations, international trade union and human rights, campaigns for those killed or injured at work, safety of vulnerable workers, including sex workers, cuts in legal aid and English for speakers of other languages funding. While Corbyn was party leader, from 2015 to 2019, Socialist Campaign Group activity reduced as many members joined
15240-428: The working class into fighting for its revolutionary aspirations against their exploitation by capitalism. In Russia, the working class, although a small minority in a predominantly peasant-based society, was organised in vast factories owned by the capitalist class and into large working-class districts. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, the capitalist class found it necessary to ally with reactionary elements such as
15367-523: Was "Labour – take the power!" While the magazine's followers often acted as a political faction, its internal politics were non-sectarian and open, ranging from democratic socialist backers of the former Labour MP Tony Benn to some of the Trotskyist groups. Jeremy Corbyn , later Leader of the Labour Party , became a regular contributor to London Labour Briefing in the 1980s, and was described by The Times in 1981 as " Briefing 's founder". In
15494-434: Was already unable to play a comparable role. It did not want and was not able to undertake the revolutionary liquidation of the social system that stood in its path to power." The theory of permanent revolution considers that in many countries that are thought under Trotskyism to have not yet completed a bourgeois-democratic revolution, the capitalist class opposes the creation of any revolutionary situation. They fear stirring
15621-413: Was done for industrial purposes (mines) or for railways (tunnels); in the future this will be done on an immeasurably larger scale, according to a general industrial and artistic plan. Man will occupy himself with re-registering mountains and rivers, and will earnestly and repeatedly make improvements in nature . In Literature and Revolution , Trotsky examined aesthetic issues in relation to class and
15748-412: Was hostile to the Campaign Group. He pursued a " carrot and stick " approach to undermining the Campaign Group by promoting MPs who were willing to leave the Campaign Group and renounce their previously held views and by isolating those who remained members. "From the day Kinnock became leader he made it clear that membership of the left wing Campaign Group of Labour MPs would be a bar to promotion within
15875-424: Was in court alongside 16 other Islington residents all opposing the levy on grounds other than inability to pay. He told The Times newspaper "I am here today because thousands of people who elected me just cannot afford to pay." The scale of public opposition in both polls and in the streets have been identified as one of the key causes of the end of Thatcher's premiership. Labour historians have identified
16002-760: Was removed from power and, in November, expelled from the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (aka: VKP(b)). He was exiled to Alma-Ata (now Almaty) in January 1928 and then expelled from the USSR in February 1929. As the head of the Fourth International , Trotsky continued in exile to oppose what he termed the degenerated workers' state in the USSR. On 20 August 1940, Trotsky was attacked in Mexico City by Ramón Mercader ,
16129-795: Was the Red Army 's paramount leader in the Revolutionary period's direct aftermath. Trotsky initially opposed some aspects of Leninism but eventually concluded that unity between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks was impossible and joined the Bolsheviks. Trotsky played a leading role with Lenin in the October Revolution . Lenin and Trotsky were also both honorary presidents of the Third International . Trotskyists have traditionally drawn upon Lenin's testament and his alliance with Trotsky in 1922–23 against
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