Straight Left
Encyclopedia
Straight Left was a left-wing newspaper. The phrase was also the generic name given to a political faction of the Communist Party of Great Britain
who disagreed with the leadership's emerging Eurocommunist
politics, and were responsible for the production of the newspaper. Though the origins of this faction within the CPGB go back earlier it emerged under this name in 1977.
and environmentalism
.
Because the CPGB's rules banned the formation of factional groups
, SL operated in secret. Members of the faction contributed funds to the organisation through significant monthly donations, which helped fund the groups educational gatherings, often referred to as camping weekends. Its meetings were not publicly announced, and writers in their newspaper Straight Left and their theoretical magazine Communist wrote under pseudonym
s like Nicholson, whose pen-name was "Harry Steel". The Straight Left faction also produced anonymous bulletins to try and influence CPGB Congresses usually under the heading "Congress Truth".
The faction also produced a dissident internal pamphlet entitled "The Crisis in Our Communist Party - Cause, Effect and Cure", which was distributed nationally but not under its name. This was authored,(in all likelihood in conjunction with others), by veteran miner and communist Charlie Woods, who was expelled from the CPGB for putting his name to the publication.
Charlie Woods, who had been the CPGB's Northern organiser in the late 1930s, was the factions oldest link to a period when the CPGB was operating in a manner that the Straight Left faction hoped the CPGB would eventually return. A significant number of Straight Left faction members had developed close personal friendships with members of fraternal communist parties, particularly the Iranian
, Iraqi
, South African and Greek
parties, who were well organised on most British University campuses.
Many Straight Left supporters felt that the style of organisation and the overall ethos of these organisations was significantly more impressive than the CPGB at that stage, and as a result sought to steer the CPGB. They wished the CPGB to return to a more pro-Soviet stance, with high levels of membership commitment, a focus on working class organisation, as well as a strong emphasis on Marxist-Leninist education in the branches. The faction recruited members from within the CPGB and required members to demonstrate a high level of commitment. The faction was critic of those were increasingly focusing not on traditional class politics but on the new social forces around the environment and feminism. The faction's opposition to the leadership of the CPGB was visceral and extremely time-consuming for its members, and many members were expelled throughout this period.
Though it was a faction within the CPGB it had supporters within the Labour Party. In March 1979 the Straight Left newspaper was launched as a political monthly which claimed to be a "non-party, non sectarian journal of the left, committed to working class unity and class consciousness". It was edited by Mike Toumazou and the business manager was Seumas Milne
. Frank Swift was responsible for fund-raising and the editorial advisory panel consisted of Ray Buckton, Bill Keys, James Lamond
MP, Jim Layzell, Alf Lomas MEP, Joan Maynard
MP, Alan Sapper
, Gordon Schaffer and William Wilson MP.
Straight Left supporters chose to stay in the CPGB, when rival factions split off to form the New Communist Party (NCP) in 1977 and the Communist Party of Britain
(CPB) in 1988. Some leading members such as Andrew Murray
and Nick Wright formed a group called "Communist Liaison" after the dissolution of the CPGB in 1991 they published a newsletter called "Diamat" but it later dissolved and most of them, including Wright and Murray joined the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), soon taking up leading positions throughout the new organisation. Others, (notably Fergus Nicholson) decided not to join any party, whether through a continued distaste at having to work with once reviled rivals, or a belief that the conditions were no longer suitable to the creation of a Communist party in Britain is not clear, but they stayed resolutely outside the CPB. Many former leading figures in the faction who did not join the CPB, ceased political activity, others remained active in broader movements.
A group close to the original Straight Left Leadership, notably brothers Noah Tucker and Calvin Tucker, have also carried on the political outlook of the group, by the publication of an ezine' called "21st Century Socialism" which specialises in coverage of international issues, especially in Latin America.
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
who disagreed with the leadership's emerging Eurocommunist
Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
politics, and were responsible for the production of the newspaper. Though the origins of this faction within the CPGB go back earlier it emerged under this name in 1977.
Organisation
The leading ideological force in the faction was Fergus Nicholson, who had previously worked as the CPGB's student organiser. Unlike the leadership, they supported the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia 1968 and Afghanistan in 1979. They also thought the party should concentrate its work in Trade Unions, and not in social movements such as feminismFeminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
and environmentalism
Green Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
.
Because the CPGB's rules banned the formation of factional groups
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
, SL operated in secret. Members of the faction contributed funds to the organisation through significant monthly donations, which helped fund the groups educational gatherings, often referred to as camping weekends. Its meetings were not publicly announced, and writers in their newspaper Straight Left and their theoretical magazine Communist wrote under pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s like Nicholson, whose pen-name was "Harry Steel". The Straight Left faction also produced anonymous bulletins to try and influence CPGB Congresses usually under the heading "Congress Truth".
The faction also produced a dissident internal pamphlet entitled "The Crisis in Our Communist Party - Cause, Effect and Cure", which was distributed nationally but not under its name. This was authored,(in all likelihood in conjunction with others), by veteran miner and communist Charlie Woods, who was expelled from the CPGB for putting his name to the publication.
Charlie Woods, who had been the CPGB's Northern organiser in the late 1930s, was the factions oldest link to a period when the CPGB was operating in a manner that the Straight Left faction hoped the CPGB would eventually return. A significant number of Straight Left faction members had developed close personal friendships with members of fraternal communist parties, particularly the Iranian
Tudeh Party of Iran
The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mohsen Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddeq's campaign to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and his term as prime...
, Iraqi
Iraqi Communist Party
Since its foundation in 1934, the Iraqi Communist Party has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a fundamental role in shaping the political history of Iraq between its foundation and the 1970s. The Party was involved in many of the most important national uprisings and demonstrations...
, South African and Greek
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
parties, who were well organised on most British University campuses.
Many Straight Left supporters felt that the style of organisation and the overall ethos of these organisations was significantly more impressive than the CPGB at that stage, and as a result sought to steer the CPGB. They wished the CPGB to return to a more pro-Soviet stance, with high levels of membership commitment, a focus on working class organisation, as well as a strong emphasis on Marxist-Leninist education in the branches. The faction recruited members from within the CPGB and required members to demonstrate a high level of commitment. The faction was critic of those were increasingly focusing not on traditional class politics but on the new social forces around the environment and feminism. The faction's opposition to the leadership of the CPGB was visceral and extremely time-consuming for its members, and many members were expelled throughout this period.
Though it was a faction within the CPGB it had supporters within the Labour Party. In March 1979 the Straight Left newspaper was launched as a political monthly which claimed to be a "non-party, non sectarian journal of the left, committed to working class unity and class consciousness". It was edited by Mike Toumazou and the business manager was Seumas Milne
Seumas Milne
Seumas Milne is a British journalist and writer known for his left-wing views. A columnist and associate editor at The Guardian newspaper, he is author of a best-selling book about the 1984-5 British miners' strike, The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against the Miners, which focuses on the role of...
. Frank Swift was responsible for fund-raising and the editorial advisory panel consisted of Ray Buckton, Bill Keys, James Lamond
James Lamond
James Alexander Lamond was a British Labour politician. He was a Member of Parliament for 22 years, representing Oldham East from 1970 to 1983 and then Oldham Central and Royton from 1983 until he retired at the 1992 general election.- Biography :Lamond was born in Burrelton, Perthshire...
MP, Jim Layzell, Alf Lomas MEP, Joan Maynard
Joan Maynard
Vera Joan Maynard known as Joan Maynard was an English trade unionist and Labour politician.Dubbed "Stalin's Granny" due to her left-wing views, Maynard was a leading activist in the National Union of Agricultural Workers becoming vice-president of the union and being narrowly beaten to its...
MP, Alan Sapper
Alan Sapper
Alan Sapper was a British trade unionist.Born in Hammersmith, Sapper studied at the Latymer Upper School, then worked as a botanist at Kew Gardens while studying with the University of London External Programme...
, Gordon Schaffer and William Wilson MP.
Straight Left supporters chose to stay in the CPGB, when rival factions split off to form the New Communist Party (NCP) in 1977 and the Communist Party of Britain
Communist Party of Britain
The Communist Party of Britain is a communist political party in Great Britain. Although founded in 1988 it traces its origins back to 1920 and the Communist Party of Great Britain, and claims the legacy of that party and its most influential members Harry Pollitt and John Gollan as its...
(CPB) in 1988. Some leading members such as Andrew Murray
Andrew Murray (campaigner and journalist)
Andrew Murray is a British campaigner and journalist who has been Chair of the Stop the War Coalition from its formation in 2001. In this capacity he presided at the concluding rally of what is claimed as the largest political demonstration in British history, against the Iraq war in 2003...
and Nick Wright formed a group called "Communist Liaison" after the dissolution of the CPGB in 1991 they published a newsletter called "Diamat" but it later dissolved and most of them, including Wright and Murray joined the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), soon taking up leading positions throughout the new organisation. Others, (notably Fergus Nicholson) decided not to join any party, whether through a continued distaste at having to work with once reviled rivals, or a belief that the conditions were no longer suitable to the creation of a Communist party in Britain is not clear, but they stayed resolutely outside the CPB. Many former leading figures in the faction who did not join the CPB, ceased political activity, others remained active in broader movements.
Newspaper
The Straight Left newspaper/magazine, published by Nicholson and his most loyal supporters, continued to appear long after the bulk of the original faction had decided to follow Andrew Murray and Nick Wright into the Communist Party of Britain. After a series of annual conferences, Straight Left eventually ceased publication as a newspaper, due to the difficulties in maintaining sales and production. The main publication of the group is now The Socialist Correspondent, which is available online.A group close to the original Straight Left Leadership, notably brothers Noah Tucker and Calvin Tucker, have also carried on the political outlook of the group, by the publication of an ezine' called "21st Century Socialism" which specialises in coverage of international issues, especially in Latin America.
External links
- The Socialist Correspondent - http://www.thesocialistcorrespondent.org.uk/
- "21st Century Socialism" - http://21stcenturysocialism.com/