Socialist Organiser
Encyclopedia
Socialist Organiser was a weekly socialist newspaper circulated in the Labour Party
. The newspaper was founded in 1979 by the Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory, later renamed the Socialist Organiser Alliance.
The newspaper was originally a vehicle for united work between the International-Communist League (I-CL), the Workers' Socialist League
(who merged with the ICL to become a new WSL), Workers Power and independent leftists, such as Ken Livingstone
.
Some independent Labour leftists split from the paper when it opposed the tactic of raising rates to offset cuts to local government services.
In the mid-1980s, the paper was sued by the Workers Revolutionary Party over claims they repeated that the WRP was partially funded by money from the Libyan and Iraqi governments, but the WRP abandoned the action.
The newspaper gradually became more identified with the new WSL. This process was completed when the ICL/WSL fusion broke, as Socialist Organiser re-evaluated many of its international policies and developed its own distinctive "third camp
" position.
As Socialist Organiser lost ground as a broad vehicle of left unity in the Labour Party, Sean Matgamna
's supporters from the former ICL began to work entirely through the Socialist Organiser Alliance.
Socialist Organiser was denied the right to register with the Labour Party in 1990, but this had little practical effect and it continued to be published until the mid-1990s, when the Alliance for Workers' Liberty
and International Socialist Group
supported the launch of a new newspaper, Action for Solidarity.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. The newspaper was founded in 1979 by the Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory, later renamed the Socialist Organiser Alliance.
The newspaper was originally a vehicle for united work between the International-Communist League (I-CL), the Workers' Socialist League
Workers' Socialist League
The Workers Socialist League was a Trotskyist group in Britain. The group was formed by Alan Thornett and other members of the Workers Revolutionary Party after their expulsion from that group in 1974.- Origins :...
(who merged with the ICL to become a new WSL), Workers Power and independent leftists, such as Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
.
Some independent Labour leftists split from the paper when it opposed the tactic of raising rates to offset cuts to local government services.
In the mid-1980s, the paper was sued by the Workers Revolutionary Party over claims they repeated that the WRP was partially funded by money from the Libyan and Iraqi governments, but the WRP abandoned the action.
The newspaper gradually became more identified with the new WSL. This process was completed when the ICL/WSL fusion broke, as Socialist Organiser re-evaluated many of its international policies and developed its own distinctive "third camp
Third camp
The third camp, also known as third camp socialism or third camp Trotskyism, is a branch of socialism which aims to oppose both capitalism and Stalinism, by supporting the organised working class as a "third camp"....
" position.
As Socialist Organiser lost ground as a broad vehicle of left unity in the Labour Party, Sean Matgamna
Sean Matgamna
Sean Matgamna, also known as John O'Mahony is a Trotskyist theorist and activist. He was a founder of Workers' Fight in 1966 and is still a prominent member of the group, now called the Alliance for Workers' Liberty.- Early political experience :He joined the Young Communist League as a teenager...
's supporters from the former ICL began to work entirely through the Socialist Organiser Alliance.
Socialist Organiser was denied the right to register with the Labour Party in 1990, but this had little practical effect and it continued to be published until the mid-1990s, when the Alliance for Workers' Liberty
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 International Socialist Group
International Socialist Group
The International Socialist Group was a Trotskyist organisation in Britain. It was the British section of the Fourth International until July 2009 when it dissolved into Socialist Resistance.- Origin :...
supported the launch of a new newspaper, Action for Solidarity.