Red Party (UK)
Encyclopedia
Red Star is a revolutionary socialist organisation in Britain formed by former members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (PCC), the Alliance for Workers' Liberty
, and the Peace Party
. Founded in July 2004 as the Red Party, it produced five issues of its paper, the Red Star.
, with the aim to reverse the CPGB's withdrawal from the Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform
. It also argued for greater democracy and humanism in the party's internal structure. Though it won the battle to take the CPGB back into the SADP, most of the platform members left following disputes over the publication of their views in the Weekly Worker
.
The Red Party regarded the division of the left into separate groups as natural, and even a healthy sign that socialists are arguing out complicated questions of programme. It believed the left had "lost its way" through "sectarianism", which it defined as the refusal to unite in a single workers' party unless each group's own programmatic demands are met. It further believed that the left focuses primarily on arguing these programmatic issues internally, rather than taking basic socialist arguments to the working class as a whole. It placed an emphasis on plain language arguments for socialism.
became the rupture point within the group in the early summer of 2005. The discovery by group members of the writings of Maurice Brinton
(pen name of Chris Pallis) and the Solidarity
group led to a reassessment of the groups political orientation and the departure of one member to the AWL. The surviving Red Star group considers itself as a part of the libertarian left and has comrades who are active in Class War
, the Anarchist Federation
and Surrey Anarchist Group, whilst maintaining a Libertarian Marxist persona and links with parts of the traditional left through the Socialist Alliance (Provisional).
As a postscript, the comrade whose departure from the red party group in protest at its lack of Leninist purity, is now a leading figure in The Commune, an anti-Leninist and libertarian Marxist group that derives a great deal of its founding politics from the writings of Maurice Brinton
and the Solidarity
group.
Alliance for Workers' Liberty
The Alliance for Workers' Liberty , also known as Workers' Liberty, is a Trotskyist group in Britain. The group has a complex history but has always been identified with the theorist Sean Matgamna...
, and the Peace Party
Peace Party
The Peace Party is a small political party in the United Kingdom and represents some who totally oppose war. The party was founded in 1996 as the Pacifist Party by a group of activists in Guildford, Surrey....
. Founded in July 2004 as the Red Party, it produced five issues of its paper, the Red Star.
Red Platform
Politically the Red Party was a continuation of the Red Platform of the CPGB formed in April 2004 in opposition to the CPGB's electoral support for RESPECT The Unity CoalitionRESPECT The Unity Coalition
Respect is a socialist political party in England and Wales founded in 2004. Its name is a contrived acronym standing for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community and Trade Unionism.-Policies:...
, with the aim to reverse the CPGB's withdrawal from the Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform
Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform
The Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform was a faction of the Socialist Alliance , a left-wing political group of England and Wales which existed between 1999 and 2005....
. It also argued for greater democracy and humanism in the party's internal structure. Though it won the battle to take the CPGB back into the SADP, most of the platform members left following disputes over the publication of their views in the Weekly Worker
Weekly Worker
The Weekly Worker is a newspaper published by the Communist Party of Great Britain . The paper is well known on the left for its polemical articles, close attention to Marxist theory and the politics of other Marxist groups...
.
The Red Party regarded the division of the left into separate groups as natural, and even a healthy sign that socialists are arguing out complicated questions of programme. It believed the left had "lost its way" through "sectarianism", which it defined as the refusal to unite in a single workers' party unless each group's own programmatic demands are met. It further believed that the left focuses primarily on arguing these programmatic issues internally, rather than taking basic socialist arguments to the working class as a whole. It placed an emphasis on plain language arguments for socialism.
Red Party
LeninismLeninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
became the rupture point within the group in the early summer of 2005. The discovery by group members of the writings of Maurice Brinton
Maurice Brinton
Maurice Brinton was the pen name under which Christopher Agamemnon Pallis wrote and translated for the British libertarian socialist group Solidarity from 1960 until the early 1980s....
(pen name of Chris Pallis) and the Solidarity
Solidarity (UK)
Solidarity was a small libertarian socialist organisation from 1960 to 1992 in the United Kingdom. It published a magazine of the same name. Solidarity was close to council communism in its prescriptions and was known for its emphasis on workers' self-organisation and for its radical...
group led to a reassessment of the groups political orientation and the departure of one member to the AWL. The surviving Red Star group considers itself as a part of the libertarian left and has comrades who are active in Class War
Class War
Class War is a UK class struggle based group and newspaper originally set up by Ian Bone and others in 1983. It subsequently mutated various forms, becoming specifically anarchist....
, the Anarchist Federation
Anarchist Federation (British Isles)
The Anarchist Federation is a federation of anarcho-communists in Great Britain and Ireland. It is not a political party, but a direct action, agitational and propaganda organisation.- Origins :...
and Surrey Anarchist Group, whilst maintaining a Libertarian Marxist persona and links with parts of the traditional left through the Socialist Alliance (Provisional).
As a postscript, the comrade whose departure from the red party group in protest at its lack of Leninist purity, is now a leading figure in The Commune, an anti-Leninist and libertarian Marxist group that derives a great deal of its founding politics from the writings of Maurice Brinton
Maurice Brinton
Maurice Brinton was the pen name under which Christopher Agamemnon Pallis wrote and translated for the British libertarian socialist group Solidarity from 1960 until the early 1980s....
and the Solidarity
Solidarity (UK)
Solidarity was a small libertarian socialist organisation from 1960 to 1992 in the United Kingdom. It published a magazine of the same name. Solidarity was close to council communism in its prescriptions and was known for its emphasis on workers' self-organisation and for its radical...
group.
Publications
- The Red Party Tiny Red Book (July 2004)
- Red Star 1 (August 2004)
- Red Star 2 (October 2004)
- Red Star 3
- Red Star 4
- Red Star 5