110-555: The Anti-Nazi League ( ANL ) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups in the United Kingdom . It was wound down in 1981. It was relaunched in 1992, but merged into Unite Against Fascism in 2003. In its first period, 1977–1982,
220-723: A BM meeting in May 1978, Nicky Crane and other BM members took part in an assault on a black family at a bus stop in Bishopsgate , east London using broken bottles. In 1979, Crane and BM members were part of 200-strong skinhead mob that attacked Asians on Brick Lane, east London. Crane also led and instigated the Woolwich Odeon attack of 1980. After their intended victims ran inside the Odeon cinema to escape attack, Crane and BM members started smashing windows and doors. One Pakistani man
330-592: A BM organiser in Derbyshire . Donaldson's attempts to leave the skinhead scene and scale back his involvement in music soured the relationship, however, and links were severed in 1990 after a group of activists turned up at Donaldson's local pub and told him to play for them or face assault. The progress of the BNSM was halted in the early 1990s by the emergence of Combat 18 with much of the membership switching allegiance to this new group. The new BM re-emerged during
440-672: A Nazi message nearly 300 people were still prepared to vote for an anti-immigration candidate. Indeed, the BM members had openly worn the German Nazi Swastika symbol, and party literature featured pictures of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler . The BM contested the UK general elections in 1970 and in February 1974 . The party failed to attract much support in those elections due to its openness about its support for Nazism, and because most of
550-696: A UAF demonstration against the EDL in Bristol .) Following a UAF demonstration against the English Defence League (EDL) in Bolton on 20 March 2010, SWP Central Committee member Weyman Bennett was charged with conspiracy to incite violent disorder but the charge was dropped in November 2010. On 22 May 2010, around 100 SWP members disrupted negotiations between Unite and British Airways inside
660-410: A general turn to industry, including setting up factory branches. During the 1972 miners' strike , Socialist Worker was taken and sold by miners. Between March 1972 and March 1974, the membership of IS increased from 2,351 to 3,310 and also recruited a large number of manual workers into membership. Meanwhile, other much smaller far-left groups emerged as a result of their members being expelled from
770-772: A means of working in the Labour Party in order to reach an audience and recruit. Of particular importance was the Labour League of Youth (LLY); from the 33 members at the first recorded meeting, 19 were in the LLY. Through campaigning within the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Young Socialists, a new Labour Party youth movement, the Socialist Review Group was able to recruit among
880-455: A new generation of activists and by 1964 had a membership of 200. In 1959, the first edition of Cliff's book on Rosa Luxemburg was published. In this, Cliff asserts: Rosa Luxemburg's conception of the structure of the revolutionary organisation – that they should be built from below up, on a consistently democratic basis – fits the needs of the workers' movement in the advanced countries much more closely than Lenin's conception of 1902−4, which
990-620: A new group had begun to coalesce in December 2002. In England and Wales around January 2004 the SWP began an involvement in Respect – The Unity Coalition , an electoral alliance with a single Member of Parliament, the ex-Labour MP George Galloway, and a small number of councillors. The coalition between the SWP and Galloway's group finally collapsed in Autumn 2007 with both sides blaming the other for
1100-592: A purge in late 1981 – it is said to have proved an effective strategy during the ANL's early years from 1977 to 1979. In April 1979, an ANL member, Blair Peach , was killed following a demonstration at Southall against a National Front election meeting. Police had sealed off the area around Southall Town Hall , and demonstrators trying to make their way there were blocked. In the ensuing confrontation, more than 40 people (including 21 police) were injured, and 300 were arrested. Bricks were allegedly hurled at police, who described
1210-510: A quarterly magazine and regular newsletters." A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said, "The persistence of far-right activity is totally unacceptable. It is particularly worrying that many of these groups deliberately target and recruit impressionable youngsters. The apparent endurance of the neo-nazi British National Socialist Movement is especially disconcerting, as is the formation of newer groups peddling similar antisemitic and racist ideologies." On 14 March 2024, Michael Gove ,
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#17327718269131320-561: A result, the IS grew from 400 to 1,000 members but also suffered many splits. According to group historian Ian Birchall , "IS's position was always one of unconditional support for the IRA in the struggle against imperialism". However, Socialist Worker argued against those who prematurely raised the slogan "Troops Out!" on the grounds that the presence of British troops would allow the nationalist population to recover: The breathing space provided by
1430-530: A result. The BM entered electoral politics in 1969 when Jordan put himself forward as a candidate for the Birmingham Ladywood by-election . The campaign made no attempts to hide the party's support for Nazism and violence became the hallmark, not least on the election night itself when scuffles at the count were televised nationally. The 3.5% vote share that the BM secured was treated as a success by activists who felt that it proved that even with
1540-539: A rival protest in central London on the same day. However, Doreen Lawrence came to realise that the ANL was a "front for the Socialist Workers Party". She later wrote that "the various groups that had taken an interest in Stephen's death were tearing each other apart and were in danger of destroying our campaign which we wanted to keep focused and dignified", and Doreen and Neville Lawrence wrote to both
1650-568: A significant decline in the party's membership. It also led to a number of formal reviews which resulted in new procedures to support any member who experienced sexual harassment or other forms of oppressive behaviour. On the international level, the SWP is part of the International Socialist Tendency . The origins of the SWP lie in the formation of the Socialist Review Group (SRG) which held its founding conference in 1950. The group, initially of only eight members,
1760-492: A statement to BM members rejecting the expulsion and threatening a court injunction to overturn the expulsion. With legal advice provided by British Democratic Party leader Anthony Reed Herbert , Hill soon issued the writ against McLaughlin, who attempted to get around the problems by renaming the BM the British Nationalist and Socialist Movement and claiming that the BM in fact no longer existed. About half of
1870-514: A street army appealed to Martin Webster who attempted to coax members away from the BM to the NF but the BM only lost a handful of members in this manner before NF leader John Tyndall , mindful of the desire to present a respectable NF image, called a halt to the scheme. A key strategy for gaining publicity and members was by encouraging violence at football matches and concerts. Nicky Crane , one of
1980-411: A tiny, largely inactive, membership. It does, however, maintain a presence on the internet, publishes a monthly newspaper called The Emblem , a monthly BM members' newsletter called The Sunwheel and a quarterly magazine called Broadsword , and is occasionally the subject of newspaper reports and media attention. The Annual State of Hate Report for 2021 published by Hope Not Hate says that while
2090-463: A united front. There were occasional examples of individuals holding simultaneous membership of the BM and NF, although they were not linked at any official level. Jordan's run as leader came to an end in 1975 when he was arrested in the Coventry branch of Tesco on a charge of shoplifting. Jordan declared that the event, and the reports that the item he had stolen were a pair of women's knickers,
2200-563: A valid reflection of contemporary America, Oliver Kamm wrote in The Times in 2006 that the SWP were "allying with classic anti-Semitism". Atzmon and the SWP were similarly accused by other writers. The party eventually severed their association with Atzmon. In January 2009, John Rees, Lindsey German and Chris Nineham resigned from the Central Committee at party conference before forming an oppositional Left Platform in
2310-474: A very hostile period with substantial numbers of party members. In contrast Murray Smith described it as "jumping from one campaign to the next and hostility towards the rest of the left". The early 1990s, for many of the far-left, was a period of demoralisation and disorientation, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, for the SWP this was seen as a vindication of their long held analysis that
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#17327718269132420-586: A vote for the Labour Party with the belief that there would rapidly be a crisis of expectations in Labour, which would lead New Labour voters to question their allegiances, opening up opportunities, space for organisation and activity to the left of Labour that is traditionally occupied by the party when it is in opposition. John Rees wrote in July 1997: "In the mid-term the 'sado-monetarist' strategy followed by
2530-649: Is a far-left political party in the United Kingdom . Founded as the Socialist Review Group by supporters of Tony Cliff in 1950, it became the International Socialists in 1962 and the SWP in 1977. The party considers itself to be Trotskyist . Cliff and his followers criticised the Soviet Union and its satellites, calling them state capitalist rather than socialist countries . The SWP has founded several fronts through which they have sought to coordinate and influence leftist action, such as
2640-537: Is exercised without responsibility". The Guardian reported that a woman who complained about rape in the SWP claimed she was asked a number of offensive questions about her sexual past and drinking habits. Another article in The Guardian suggested that instead of actually dealing with the rape allegation, the SWP preferred to talk about its internal organisation, thereby protecting its leadership. A report by Shiv Malik and Nick Cohen published by The Guardian
2750-568: The Acas building, much to the disapproval of both parties. The talks had to be abandoned. Martin Smith claimed on Channel 4 News that the actions of Willie Walsh , then BA chief executive, were far worse. In the 2010 general election the SWP joined the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition ; this alliance received 0.04 per cent of the votes cast. In April 2011, Chris Bambery, one of
2860-530: The Anti-Nazi League in the late 1970s. It also formed an alliance with George Galloway and Respect , the dissolution of which in 2007 caused an internal crisis in the SWP. A more serious internal crisis emerged at the beginning of 2013 over allegations of rape and sexual assault made against a leading member of the party. The SWP's handling of these accusations against the individual known as Comrade Delta , later identified as Martin Smith , led to
2970-551: The British Democratic Party in the city. Hill also managed to ensure publicity for the BM from the Leicester Mercury after a riot in the city, a fact that won him the admiration of McLaughlin. Following an incident at a Birmingham hotel in which NF supporters had entered a room booked by the BM and daubed the walls with graffiti Hill suggested to McLaughlin that the breach in security had been
3080-802: The Heysel Stadium disaster at the 1985 European Cup final . The BNSM was soon attempting to re-activate the old BM membership and followed the old template of encouraging members to undergo military training through the Territorial Army or other means. The BNSM built up links with the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force and BNSM members served with the English companies of these Ulster loyalist paramilitaries. The group, which had about 300 members by 1990, also sought links with European groups and
3190-673: The Muslim Association of Britain and the Communist Party of Britain . With them, they launched the Stop the War Coalition , although the SWP ("old hands" at controlling popular fronts, according to the comedian and activist Mark Thomas ) was the dominant organisation, The Coalition's aims were to oppose to the invasion of Afghanistan and subsequently Iraq and to campaign against attacks on Muslims. Lindsey German
3300-477: The Muslim Association of Britain was accused of being a conservative Islamist body sharing only anti-western sentiments with groups like the SWP and Respect. Former Socialist Alliance and Stop the War activist and press officer Anna Chen saw Lindsey German's comment "I'm in favour of defending gay rights, but I am not prepared to have it as a shibboleth, [created by] people who ... won't defend George Galloway", as
3410-557: The Race Relations Act 1968 passed the notion of openly parading Nazi credentials in a party name had to be abandoned, leading to Jordan forming a new group to known as the British Movement. Whilst the new party intended to continue the old group's role of being Nazi apologists and endorsing anti-Semitism it aimed to do so within the restrictions brought in by the newly enacted law. Not long after its formation
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3520-584: The Revolutionary Communist Party led by Frank Furedi . In 1974, Labour returned to power and introduced the Social Contract which implemented a voluntary incomes policy, with the backing of many left wing union leaders such as Hugh Scanlon and Jack Jones . This period also saw an increase in the number of full-time union convenors, and these factors along with an increase in unemployment have been blamed by Tony Cliff and
3630-520: The Unite Against Fascism (UAF) demonstration against BNP leader Nick Griffin 's appearance on the BBC's Question Time programme. Smith was found guilty of the assault at South Western Magistrates' Court, London, on 7 September 2010. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order, with 80 hours' unpaid work, and was fined £450 pending an appeal. (Smith was arrested again in July 2012 at
3740-606: The far right vote went to the National Front (NF). The group's highest result was the 2.5% share which Jordan captured in Birmingham Aston in 1970. Nonetheless, contact between the BM and NF was not infrequent and in early 1972 John Tyndall had met with Jordan and discussed the possibility that the BM might form the basis of a new NF group in the Midlands, an area of BM strength and NF weakness. The proposal
3850-459: The 1970s and in the May 1976 local elections polled 15,340 votes in Leicester and large votes elsewhere. They were even more visible on the streets through graffiti, racist attacks and street protests. A key turning point came when on 13 August 1977 thousands of anti-fascists, later joined by large numbers of local black youths, attempted to stop the NF from marching through Lewisham . Following
3960-746: The 1970s were in opposition to far right groups which it claimed were not just racist but fascist, such as the National Front , an organisation led by John Tyndall who had a long history of involvement with openly fascist and Nazi groups. The ANL also campaigned against the British Movement which was a more openly Hitlerite grouping. The ANL was linked to Rock Against Racism in the 1970s, which ran two giant carnivals in 1978 involving bands such as The Clash , Stiff Little Fingers , Steel Pulse , Misty in Roots , X-Ray Spex and Tom Robinson , attended by 80,000 and then 100,000 supporters. Alongside
4070-508: The ANL and ARA to demand that they "stop using Stephen's name". ANL worked with Love Music Hate Racism (based on the earlier Rock Against Racism), from 2002 onwards. In 2004, the ANL affiliated with the National Assembly Against Racism to relaunch as Unite Against Fascism . The ANL National Organiser at the time of the creation of Unite Against Fascism was Weyman Bennett, a member of the Central Committee of
4180-530: The ANL and other anti-fascists argued that the BNP remained a Nazi party irrespective of the fact that under the leadership of Nick Griffin it adopted what the ANL described as the 'Dual Strategy' of cultivating respectability in the media while retaining a cadre of committed fascists. This position was countered by BNP members who said that their party is increasingly democratic in its nature. An investigation by The Guardian newspaper on 22 December 2006 reported that
4290-545: The ANL as an SWP front. Anti-fascist magazine Searchlight criticised the "politics of deceit being practised by the SWP", accusing the ANL of deliberately exaggerating the danger posed by the BNP. In 1993, the ANL organised a demonstration, attended by up 15,000 people (and marred by police provocation and violence ) at the BNP's bookshop in Welling , in the wake of the killing nearby of black teenager Stephen Lawrence , attended by Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence ; ARA held
4400-569: The ANL two months later. When the National Front and the British National Party had been led by John Tyndall, his record of involvement in openly neo-Nazi groups made it far easier to assert that the National Front and BNP were fascist or neo-Nazi in nature. Similarly, Tyndall's convictions for violence and incitement to racial hatred provide ample grounds for the ANL to claim both organisations were racist. After 1992,
4510-436: The ANL was "an orthodox united front " based on a "strategy of working class unity", as advocated by Leon Trotsky . Critics of the ANL, such as Anti-Fascist Action argue that the ANL's co-operation with " bourgeois " groups who work closely with the state, such as Searchlight magazine and the Labour Party , rule out this description, making it a classic popular front . Most of the ANL's leafleting and other campaigns in
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4620-461: The ANL was a "front for the Socialist Workers Party". She later wrote that "the various groups that had taken an interest in Stephen's death were tearing each other apart and were in danger of destroying our campaign which we wanted to keep focused and dignified", and Doreen and Neville Lawrence wrote to both the ANL and ARA to demand that they "stop using Stephen's name". In 1997, despite being highly opposed to Tony Blair 's policies, they called for
4730-437: The ANL, the women's organisation Women's Voice and the paper for ethnic minorities Flame . Many of those active in the ANL and especially its defence "squads" were denounced as " squadist " and expelled, later going on to form Anti-Fascist Action and Red Action . The closure of Women's Voice in 1982, reputedly because it tried to inject feminist thinking into SWP theoretical practice rather than gaining women members for
4840-552: The Anti-Nazi League was launched directly by the SWP; it was effectively its front organisation. Many trade unions sponsored it, as did the Indian Workers' Association (then a large organisation), and many members of the Labour Party , including MPs such as Neil Kinnock and future MPs such as trade unionist Ernie Roberts and anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain . According to socialist historian Dave Renton ,
4950-417: The BM continued to exist alongside the BNSM the latter gave more freedom to activists by operating as a cell-based structure within the BM. The new group attempted to act as a rallying-point for white power skinheads, although this role was later filled more successfully by Blood and Honour . It also continued to have involvement in football hooliganism and BM members were amongst the rioters responsible for
5060-474: The BM gained news coverage in Leicester , where a growing Midlands branch was being organised by Ray Hill , when local members attacked students who were supporting an Anti-Apartheid Movement protest against a South African trade delegation visiting the city. Direct action activities such as this, which usually ended in violence, became the stock in trade of the BM during its early days. An underground cell,
5170-605: The BNP remained a fascist party. ANL's relaunch was criticised by other anti-racists. The recently launched broad-based Anti-Racist Alliance said: "The ANL is an exercise in nostalgia. These people are living off the glory of a few years in the late 1970s, when we're setting up a long-term challenge to racism in Europe, an anti-racist organisation that will live in the community and in the mainstream of political life." ARA's chair Ken Livingstone used his column in The Sun to denounce
5280-577: The British Movement is a "mere shadow of its heyday self from the early 1980s" it has been "surprisingly resilient" and remains active during a period when many far-right groups have folded. "It has active units in south London and Kent, South Wales, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, Scotland and Northern Ireland," the report says. "Its activists hold meetings, host white power concerts, coordinate leafleting and postering sessions for activists and attend demonstrations and protests. It also produces
5390-543: The Conservative Party . This "welcome and timely" call to action was supported in a Guardian letter signed by the league's founders, which included former Labour minister Peter Hain , political activist Paul Holborow and leading musicians from Rock Against Racism. Socialist Workers Party (UK) Social democracy Socialism Communism Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other The Socialist Workers Party ( SWP )
5500-553: The IS. The Workers' Fight group joined as an open and allowed faction, but were expelled in 1971, and ultimately became the Alliance for Workers' Liberty . In 1975, what had been known as the Left Faction suffered the same fate, and became Workers Power . The Revolutionary Faction were expelled from the IS in 1973. The resulting Revolutionary Communist Group soon found itself with an internal opposition which eventually became
5610-513: The Labour government will clash increasingly sharply with a working class movement which has drawn hope and confidence from its electoral victory over the Tories ". Between 1970 and 2007 the British police had 24 undercover officers infiltrate the SWP. Some of the officers used the identity of dead children and four of these officers entered into sexual relationships with party members. The SWP
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#17327718269135720-459: The NF. Relf had gained national attention after he advertised his house as being "For Sale - to a white family only". Meanwhile, McLaughlin's baser ideas struck a chord with the growing White power skinhead movement and large numbers of these youths, many of whom were involved in regular acts of violence against non-Whites, flocked to the BM. By 1980 it claimed to have 4,000 members and 25 branches. The notion of recruiting violent youths to form
5830-697: The National Socialist Group, was also established in Blackheath by David Courtney and this undertook paramilitary training exercises in Scotland whilst also seeking to build links between the BM and like-minded groups in Europe . The group vanished suddenly in 1969 when Special Branch began to investigate them, with Courtney in particular dropping out of the far-right scene for some time afterwards. Despite this setback violence remained on
5940-684: The SWP and its kind is over". British Movement The British Movement ( BM ), later called the British National Socialist Movement ( BNSM ), is a British neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequently on the margins of the British far-right , the BM has had a long and chequered history for its association with violence and extremism. It
6050-656: The SWP decided to stand in parliamentary by-elections but the results were very poor and the original idea of standing in 60 seats at the next election was dropped. In January 1977, IS was renamed the Socialist Workers Party. This decision was a result of the move to stand in elections along with a perception that: "IS's ability to initiate activity, rather than simply join in movements launched by others, had never been greater. Industrially, there were more members than ever able to lead disputes in their own workplaces". According to Martin Shaw, this occurred with no real discussion within
6160-501: The SWP for a drastic fall in union militancy. In 1974 the IS was ambitious and optimistic expecting to double the number of its factory branches over the next year. In practice, they declined swiftly from 38 in 1974 to only three or four by 1976. When the firefighters went on strike in 1977 against the Social Contract the IS was unable to deliver any significant solidarity. The national rank-and-file movement fell apart. In 1976,
6270-452: The SWP joined the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and stood five candidates in the general election . The jazz musician Gilad Atzmon performed at SWP events for several years from 2004, and was promoted by the party as delivering "fearless tirades against Zionism". Because Atzmon believed the text of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , a hoax from the early 20th century, was
6380-451: The Socialist Workers Party as was Julie Waterson, its previous National Organiser. In August 2018, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called for a revival of "an Anti-Nazi League-type cultural and political campaign" following a number of far-right and racist incidents in the UK, including an attack on a socialist bookshop by members of the far-right, marches in favour of far-right activist Tommy Robinson and high-profile Islamophobia in
6490-452: The Soviet Union was a 'state capitalist' society. They argued that "the transition from state capitalism to multinational capitalism is neither a step forward nor a step backwards, but a step sidewards. The change only involves a shift from one form of exploitation to another form for the working class as a whole." It was this period, that the Revolutionary Democratic Group were expelled and became in their words, "an external faction". The SWP
6600-401: The agenda as the party maintained a "Leader Guard" of violent members whom it encouraged to join the Territorial Army , as well as a Women's Division and a National Youth Movement. Members of the BM also took part in paramilitary training exercises in Germany . One of the BM's fiercest street fighters, Nicky Crane , led and organised several violent attacks by the BM on non-whites. Following
6710-479: The broad "marches and music festival" focus of the ANL, in 1977 the SWP also formed regional fighting groups, initially in Manchester and then elsewhere, known as " squads " to both safeguard the ANL's broad, populist activities, though aggressive stewarding, and also to fight the National Front street gangs whenever the opportunity arose. Although the SWP leadership eventually turned against this "dual track" approach to anti-fascism – expelling many leading "squadists" in
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#17327718269136820-443: The closure of the BM in September 1983 and in the statement blamed the court case brought by Ray Hill which had severely depleted BM funds. A group calling itself the British Movement continued to operate after September 1983 under the leadership of Stephen Frost, a Yorkshire member of the original BM. At its 1985 yearly meeting the BM established a new group to be known as the British National Socialist Movement ( BNSM ). Whilst
6930-483: The direct workers' organisations. But in the wards and GMCs the practice of buying the right to discuss politics by over-fulfilling the canvassing norms, should cease or be reduced to the minimum". It marked a turn to more of a focus on work in the trade unions, and a key part of this process was the pamphlet published in 1966: Incomes policy, legislation and shop stewards , which opposed the Labour Party's incomes policy and discussed how it could be fought. In 1968,
7040-413: The expulsions which were then ratified. In February 2010, sixty former members of the Left Platform including John Rees , Lindsey German and Chris Nineham resigned from the SWP. In response to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 , the SWP initiated the Right to Work campaign in June 2009. In October 2009, the SWP's then National Secretary Martin Smith was charged with assaulting a police officer at
7150-423: The fault of Steve Brady, a leading figure in the League of St. George and the only non-BM member invited to the event. McLaughlin appointed Hill to head up an "anti-subversion unit" as a result, although a lack of funding ensured that the unit never actually convened. Nonetheless Hill continued to criticise Brady to McLaughlin and before long Hill had been promoted to the head of the entire Midlands region following
7260-459: The following March said that further allegations of rape have been made internally against another party member. On 10 March, a special conference was held in which Seymour and Miéville's faction was defeated, and the central committee insisted the report about the complaint against Delta "that no rape had occurred" be accepted. Seymour, who later accused "the leadership" of "rigged debates and gerrymandered votes", announced his resignation while
7370-441: The group adopted Leninist democratic centralism as an organisational practice, returning to Cliff's original position after leaving aside brief flirtations with Luxemburgian critiques of party vanguardism. This period saw the IS heavily involved in the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (in support of the Viet Cong ) and local variations of the student protests of 1968 , where it was able to recruit from this pool of youngsters. As
7480-409: The group and soon became one of its leading figures, a decision prompted by the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight , for whom Hill had become a mole. Hill was appointed Area Leader in the East Midlands where he was given responsibility for enticing disaffected NF members to join the BM. Before long Hill had added about thirty members in Leicester and had also built a close working relationship with
7590-409: The group, the first complaint against him being made in 2010. Delta has never been questioned by the police about the allegations made against him. A transcript was leaked to the Socialist Unity website shortly after the January conference, and the party's perceived failure to adequately resolve the issue resulted in strong internal criticism. One member of the disputes committee had asserted that
7700-485: The intention of forming a new Marxist grouping north of the border. 50 ex-members of the SWP formed the International Socialist Group shortly thereafter. A Disputes Committee document was discussed at the party conference in January 2013 about allegations of sexual assault and rape made by a 19-year-old female member against former SWP National Secretary Martin Smith , known as Comrade Delta. Allegations about Smith's behaviour had been an issue for several years within
7810-435: The last two Central Committee members to have worked alongside Tony Cliff, and the organiser of the Right To Work campaign, resigned from the party arguing, in his resignation letter, that it was ridden with factionalism, that he had learned about the founding of RTW from Party Notes and that the party has no credible strategy to fight the government's cuts agenda. Bambery's resignation was followed by 38 members in Scotland with
7920-485: The leading figures of the neo-Nazi skinhead movement, joined the BM and became an organiser in Kent . By this time the BM had effectively given up mainstream politics in favour of provocative marches and violence, changes that appealed to the younger element who were disillusioned with the disintegrating NF. In 1980, Ray Hill , who had been a leading member of the BM under Jordan before emigrating to South Africa , rejoined
8030-479: The left as a self-serving unilateral SWP initiative to seize the leadership of the anti-racist movement and was regarded with suspicion by many anti-racist/anti-fascist activists. This was particularly true of many in the existing broad-based Anti-Fascist Committees (often with close connections to the local labour and trade union movement). The fact that local ANL groups were often launched as an SWP-led alternative to existing broad-based Anti-Fascist Committees increased
8140-649: The longest established national anti-fascist organisation in the UK at that time, organised well-attended events in October 1991 – a Unity Carnival in East London attracting 10,000 people and a march through Bethnal Green attracting 4,000 people – prompting other left-wing groups to launch anti-racist and anti-fascist organisations, including the Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA) in November and the re-launch of
8250-504: The members of the BM went with Hill out and joined the newly launched British National Party in 1982, a huge blow to McLaughlin's group. The party failed to contest the 1983 general election , although a single candidate had attempted to stand in Peterborough as a Labour Party candidate; he was barred by the returning officer after several signatures on the nominating papers were found to be invalid. McLaughlin finally announced
8360-417: The mid-1990s by becoming heavily involved in the distribution of white power music. By this time Michael 'Micky' Lane had taken over as leader (BM National Chairman) of the group from Daniel Tolan (with Stephen Frost becoming BM National Secretary), a position that meant Lane's name appeared on an alleged Combat 18 hitlist due to the rivalries between the groups. Although a British Movement still exists, it has
8470-414: The need for solidarity and explaining why this was not happening. Cliff described the approach as one of concrete propaganda: "It had to answer the question 'What slogan fits the issue the workers are fighting over?'". This change in outlook and methods was viewed by many on the left as being a retreat into sectarianism by the SWP, but this change in methods is credited by the SWP as allowing it to survive
8580-628: The newly established International Socialist Network gained more than 100 now former SWP members. Julie Sherry, a member of the Central Committee responded in The Guardian to allegations of the party's sexism. Sherry replaced a member of the Central Committee who disapproved of the handling of the case while Sherry's father was a member of the Disputes Committee who found the allegation of misconduct against Delta "not proven". Journalist Owen Jones speculated in January that "the era of
8690-423: The organisation. Jim Higgins has claimed: "Its founding was for purely internal reasons, to give the members a sense of progress, the better to conceal the fact that there had actually been a retreat". A campaign in which the SWP had a significant role at this time was the Anti-Nazi League (ANL), and viewed as a "front" for the organisation by commentators and historians. The National Front (NF) grew during
8800-502: The party in October 2009 with the support of 64 members. The faction agreed to disband after the party's January 2010 conference. Two members of the Left Platform were expelled over allegations of secret factionalising outside of the three-month period prior to conference (in which open factions are permitted). The expulsions were contested at the conference of 2010 but a majority of the more than 500 delegates voted in favour of
8910-427: The party had "no faith in the bourgeois court system to deliver justice". Journalist Laurie Penny , and Socialist Worker journalist Tom Walker, noted that the allegations were investigated and dismissed by friends of the accused, Penny adding that the alleged victim and her friends were harassed by other party members; while journalist John Palmer, a one-time International Socialists member, pointed to problems with
9020-485: The party's equivalent of Labour's revision of Clause IV . According to John Rentoul , the SWP and its allies were not against the war at all, but in favour of Saddam Hussein winning. John Rees has said: "Socialists should unconditionally stand with the oppressed against the oppressor, even if the people who run the oppressed country are undemocratic and persecute minorities, like Saddam Hussein." According to John Rees, discussions with George Galloway about establishing
9130-402: The party, was a bitterly disputed action made by the leadership, a sharp debate taking place between those who believed the result would be to ignore the specificities of women's oppression, and those who believed that feminist theories were in danger of losing contact with the united interests of men and women workers. During the 1984–1985 miners' strike , the SWP's propaganda concentrated on
9240-589: The perceived success of the 13 August mobilisation in Lewisham, the SWP launched the Anti Nazi League in the Autumn of 1977 with a series of celebrity-endorsed adverts published in the press. Although it was portrayed as a broad initiative supported by the SWP along with wide swathes of the Labour Left and figures from popular culture (singers, musicians, actors and so on), the ANL was seen by many on
9350-442: The period of rising militancy had come to an end and a downturn had begun. Cliff wrote: "The crisis in the organisation went on for about 3 years, 1976–79". By 1982, the SWP was refocused completely to a propagandist approach, with geographical branches as the main unit of the party, a focus on Marxist theory and an abandonment of perspective of building a rank and file movement. The rank and file organisations were wound down, as were
9460-491: The police at a BM rally in Paddington helped to cement Hill's popularity amongst the rank and file membership, most of whom held police in contempt. After he opened contact with Jordan, Hill was expelled from the BM by McLaughlin in 1981. Hill was backed by his Leicester branch, London organiser Tony Malski and Robert Relf and his lieutenant Mike Cole, all of whom backed Hill to replace McLaughlin as leader. Hill released
9570-553: The policy of democratic centralism as it had been adopted by Tony Cliff, though Alex Callinicos defended the party's version of Leninism and referred to the Delta issue as "a difficult disciplinary case" in the February issue of the party's monthly Socialist Review magazine. In an official statement via Charlie Kimber, the party's Central Committee, stated that the issue was an internal matter, insisting that "we strongly condemn"
9680-399: The presence of British troops is short but vital. Those who call for the immediate withdrawal of the troops before the men behind the barricades can defend themselves are inviting a pogrom which will hit first and hardest at socialists. With hindsight, Tony Cliff concluded that the years 1970–74 had been "the best years of my life". That period saw the creation of rank-and-file newspapers and
9790-504: The release of the conference transcript and that "this case is closed". On his Lenin's Tomb blog, Richard Seymour criticised the party's leadership. Along with another writer and (then) SWP member China Miéville and others, Seymour was involved with the internal opposition's blog, International Socialism, established in January 2013. According to Alex Callinicos: "the internal opposition are accountable to no one for these actions. They offer an unappetising lesson in what happens when power
9900-628: The retirement of Birmingham chief Peter Marriner. Under Searchlight direction Hill sought to take charge of the BM and he launched his campaign at a demonstration in Welling in October 1980 organised by Crane. Attending in McLaughlin's stead after the BM leader had asked him to Hill made frequent references to other organisers present about allegations that McLaughlin was letting them do the work whilst he stayed behind at BM headquarters in Lampeter collecting membership fees. A speech criticising
10010-489: The rioting as the most violent they had handled in London. Peach was among the demonstrators. During an incident in a side street 100 yards from the town hall, he was seriously injured and collapsed after being struck on the head, allegedly by an unauthorised weapon used by a member of the police Special Patrol Group . Peach died later in hospital. An inquest jury later returned a verdict of misadventure , and no police officer
10120-496: The rival Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA) in which Socialist Action played a major role. Livingstone argued that this kind of action was playing into the hands of the BNP. He said at the time: "No one's discussing [the BNP's] policies. Now the question is the violence of the SWP, arguments between the police and the SWP about who is to blame". Although Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence attended the Welling demo, she came to realise that
10230-468: The scenes. McLaughlin quickly rejected this notion and made it clear that Jordan's time was over, resulting in the former leader retiring to Yorkshire from where he still published his own journal Gothic Ripples from time to time, the pages of which were regularly filled with criticism of McLaughlin. McLaughlin, in contrast to Jordan, was under no delusions that the BM might gain a broad following and instead he felt that its best area of possible support
10340-698: The split. After the schism, a faction led by the SWP formed the Left List (now called Left Alternative ). In Scotland, the SWP existed as a platform of the Scottish Socialist Party but in August 2006, it decided to split from the SSP in order to pursue a new political grouping with Tommy Sheridan 's Solidarity , founded a few months after Sheridan's successful defamation case , but before his eventual conviction for perjury in 2010. In that year,
10450-466: The suspicions of non-SWP activists but a widespread desire not to display public divisions and a fear of alienating the ANL's celebrity sponsors meant that these divisions were kept fairly quiet. The ANL also received support from other Trotskyist groups and the Communist Party of Great Britain , who restrained their members and supporters from openly criticising the ANL. In response to Eric Clapton 's public support for Enoch Powell , Rock Against Racism
10560-520: The winding up of the organisation, including some members of the SWP. After being expelled from the Socialist Workers Party some of these elements formed Red Action and with others organised Anti-Fascist Action . In the early 1990s, the far right, and in particular the British National Party (BNP) was resurgent both electorally and in terms of racial attacks (from 4,383 in 1988 to 7,780 three years later). Anti-Fascist Action , now
10670-406: Was a frame-up, but soon after he resigned as leader of the BM to take on an advisory role. After Jordan stood down as leader of the BM, Michael McLaughlin , a former milkman from Liverpool , became the leader. McLaughlin, who was seen as a talented organiser but weak leader, was largely believed to have been chosen as little more than a "front" leader who could be controlled by Jordan from behind
10780-556: Was amongst young, working-class males. The BM journals, The Phoenix and British Patriot , thus changed to become much more simplistic and aggressive publications largely shorn of Jordan's pseudoscientific racialism in favour of more basic notions. The BM had also gained some publicity in 1976 when "race martyr" and sometime party activist Robert Relf went on hunger strike in protest at the Race Relations Bill but this proved short-lived as Tyndall quickly signed Relf up to
10890-638: Was close to the Dutch former SS man Et Wolsink who was variously connected to Dutch People's Union and the Dutch sections of the Wiking-Jugend and the Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists . Links were also built with the white power music scene of Blood and Honour and in particular with Ian Stuart Donaldson who, despite his previous membership of the NF, was close to Cat Mee,
11000-515: Was copied and given an added bureaucratic twist by Stalinists the world over. Cliff wrote in 1960 that Leon Trotsky 's insight in 1904 about Vladimir Lenin 's substitutionism was a strong warning of the serious flaws "inherent in Lenin's conception of party organisation" sustained by events since 1917. The paper Industrial Worker was created in 1961 and was quickly renamed Labour Worker before evolving into Socialist Worker . Socialist Review
11110-637: Was elected as Convenor and John Rees and Chris Nineham were appointed as national officers, all leading SWP members at the time. The Coalition organised a demonstration on 15 February 2003 when around 750,000 people (according to the Police) or up to 2 million (according to the organisers) marched through London. The SWP described the Iraqi insurgency as a "resistance" movement against military occupation and endorsed George Galloway 's support of Hezbollah , who they described as "the resistance". In addition,
11220-466: Was ever charged or prosecuted, although an internal police inquiry at the time and not released officially for 30 years, thought he had been killed by an unidentifiable police officer. A primary school in Southall bears his name. In 1981, with the eclipse of the National Front and collapse of the British Movement , the initial incarnation of the ANL was wound up. Some elements within the ANL opposed
11330-536: Was formed around Tony Cliff 's analysis of Russia as a bureaucratic state capitalist regime and were expelled from the Revolutionary Communist Party . Three documents formed the theoretical basis of the group, namely The Nature of Stalinist Russia , The Class Nature of the People's Democracies and Marxism and the Theory of Bureaucratic Collectivism . The tiny size of the group meant that they adopted entryism as
11440-509: Was founded as a political party but manifested itself more as a pressure and activist group. It has had spells of dormancy. The NSM had come to an end sometime after Colin Jordan was imprisoned in early 1967 for distributing a racist leaflet The Coloured Invasion and following his release Jordan had met John Tyndall in Denis Pirie 's house about the possibility of joining the National Front . These talks came to nothing however and with
11550-476: Was involved in the relaunch the ANL in 1992 in response to the growth of the British National Party and campaigned against the Criminal Justice Bill . A demonstration for justice for murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence near the BNP headquarters in Welling in 1993 turned into a violent confrontation with the police, leading to criticism from Ken Livingstone , then a Labour MP and a supporter of
11660-736: Was involved with the Socialist Alliance in England and the Welsh Socialist Alliance . Its Scottish members joined the Scottish Socialist Party as the Socialist Worker Platform in May 2001. The SWP was accused of financial impropriety by Liz Davies and by a former SA press officer of "running" the Alliance into the ground. In the aftermath of 9/11, the SWP approached other groups, such as
11770-590: Was knocked unconscious. Convictions were not uncommon. Crane was jailed in 1981 for his part in an ambush on black youths at Woolwich Arsenal station. An Old Bailey judge described Crane as "worse than an animal" after his part in the May 1978 bus stop attack in Bishopsgate. Other BM members felt the force of the law as was the case in January 1981 when three members, Rod Roberts, Harvey Stock and Robert Giles, were arrested for possession of illegal weapons and attempted arson with Roberts imprisoned for seven years as
11880-651: Was reduced in size and then scrapped. The Socialist Review Group became the International Socialism Group (IS) at the end of 1962. With the Labour Party in power and many Labour members becoming disillusioned, IS started doing more work that was external to the Labour Party and ceased to practise entryism as a tactic around 1965. After 1967, few IS members were active in that party. In 1965, an article in Labour Worker said: "Obviously Marxists should take those positions which give access to
11990-533: Was set up in close collaboration with the ANL and a series of successful carnivals were organised. Among the bands involved with Rock Against Racism were The Clash (as seen in the film Rude Boy ), The Buzzcocks , Steel Pulse , X-Ray Spex , The Ruts , Generation X and the Tom Robinson Band . By 1981, the NF had fragmented becoming far smaller, and the campaign was wound up. From 1978 onward, Tony Cliff became convinced by some of his comrades that
12100-413: Was soon dropped however and was largely made only because Tyndall was seeking to build a power-base in his attempts to replace John O'Brien as NF chairman. For his part, Jordan had a long-held ambition to unite the divided far-right and he personally oversaw the production of a BM leaflet, Nationalist Solidarity in '70 , in which he called for personal disagreements to be set aside in favour of presenting
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