Peter Hadden was a leading member of the Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Ireland)

The Socialist Party is a socialist political party active in Ireland. It is a member of the Committee for a Workers' International .Formerly known as Militant Tendency, then Militant Labour, it adopted the name The Socialist Party in 1996. From their foundation in 1972 until the 1980s, members of...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Born in Strabane

Strabane

Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....

, Hadden studied at the University of Sussex

University of Sussex

The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....

, where he joined the Trotskyist Militant Tendency

Militant Tendency

The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...

. He moved back to Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 in 1971, where he became a full-time official for NIPSA

NIPSA

NIPSA or the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance is a trade union based in Northern Ireland. It is the largest white collar trade union in Northern Ireland. It is organised into two distinct groupings, the Civil Service Group and the Public Officers Group...

, while organising a Trotskyist group within the Northern Ireland Labour Party

Northern Ireland Labour Party

The Northern Ireland Labour Party was an Irish political party which operated from 1924 until 1987.In 1913 the British Labour Party resolved to give the recently formed Irish Labour Party exclusive organising rights in Ireland...

 (NILP). However, as the 70's progressed the NILP declined significantly in support and influence and Hadden instead founded the Labour and Trade Union Group to contest elections as an independent organisation.

From 1980, Hadden wrote extensively on socialism and The Troubles

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

, with titles including Divide and Rule, Common Misery Common Struggle, Beyond the Troubles, Towards Division Not Peace and Troubled Times. He supported the majority during the split in Militant in the early 1990s, and as a result all the tendency's members in Northern Ireland followed him into Militant Labour.

The LTUG never enjoyed success at the polls and was considered a fringe party

Fringe party

A political party with a negligible electoral support relative to the total national electorate is often described as a fringe party. While some fringe parties are frivolous, this is by no means universally the case and precedents exist for fringe parties and movements becoming "mainstream"....

. Hadden stood for the Labour and Trade Union Group in Belfast South

Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)

Belfast South is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in 1922 when, as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...

 at the 1992 UK general election, taking 2.2% of the votes cast. During the campaign, he only narrowly escaped a bombing, intended for another target. At the Northern Ireland local elections, 1993

Northern Ireland local elections, 1993

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 19 May 1993.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...

, he stood in the Lagan Bank division of Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...

 as a Militant Labour candidate, but took only 142 votes. In 1996 his group was part of the Labour Coalition

Labour Coalition

The Labour Coalition was an electoral coalition in Northern Ireland of left wing and labour groups, formed to stand in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum elections...

. The list garnered 333 votes in Belfast South

Belfast South (Assembly constituency)

Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...

 at the Northern Ireland Forum

Northern Ireland Forum

The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....

election 1996. He was placed sixth on the party's top-up list, but was not elected.

Militant Labour became the Socialist Party, and Hadden remained its leading figure in Northern Ireland until his death in 2010.

External Links

• Socialist Party (Northern Ireland) website
• Committee for a Workers' International website
• Peter Hadden Writings on Marxists Internet Archive