Red Action is a small British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 leftist political group formed in 1981. It became known for violently confronting racist

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 and fascist opponents on the streets, and for supporting Anti-Fascist Action

Anti-Fascist Action

Anti-Fascist Action was a militant anti-fascist organization founded by members of Red Action and other left-wing groups in the United Kingdom in 1985....

. In 1995, The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

estimated that it had between 20 and 30 branches with 10-15 activists in each, and the paper stated that the group "enthusiastically espouses the use of violence". It also set out links between Red Action and the Irish Republican

Irish Republicanism

Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

 movement, and stated that members operate primarily in large cities such as London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 and Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

.

The group was formed by activists who had been expelled from the Socialist Workers Party (SWP)

Socialist Workers Party (Britain)

The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...

 for their involvement in squadism

Squadism

Squadism was a militant movement within the Anti-Nazi League in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Participants used violence and intimidation to break up meetings, marches and other gatherings of far right groups such as the National Front and the British Movement...

 (violent actions against far right

Far right

Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...

 racist groups). The expelled activists regrouped around a paper named Red Action. After several years, the group became more interested in the electoral process, and it joined the Red Front in 1987 and the Socialist Alliance

Socialist Alliance (England)

The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 in 1999. Red Action members then left this organisation, along with the Socialist Party of England and Wales, citing the domination of the SWP over the organisation. Some Red Action members went on to found the Independent Working Class Association

Independent Working Class Association

The Independent Working Class Association is a minor working-class political party in the United Kingdom that aims to promote the political and economic interests of the working class, regardless of the consequences to existing political and economic structures...

.

External links

• Homepage
• As Soon As This Pub Closes - Red Action section satirical profile by John Sullivan