Labour and the Labour left

• Step up pressure on union lefts to get John McDonnell on the ballot March 22 2007
  If John McDonnell’s name were to appear on the ballot paper to decide the Labour Party’s new leader, that would bring with it the possibility of revitalising the entire left. However, thanks in large part to the cowardice of the left union bureaucrats, not enough Labour MPs have come under pressure to nominate him, says Jim Moody
• Uphill battle for McDonnell March 15 2007
  With in all likelihood only a couple of months to go before Tony Blair steps down as Labour leader, the campaign to elect John McDonnell as his replacement is still unable to gather enough steam to ensure that, at the very least, his name appears on the ballot paper. Peter Manson reports
• Father knew Lloyd George January 25 2007
  With another senior Labour figure arrested over cash for honours and a cover-up alleged, the criminal investigation is drawing Blair into its net. But what lessons can we draw about democracy, accountability and the system of capital itself? Jim Moody examines the issues
• Left network launched January 18 2007
  Dave Isaacson reports on the January 13 launch conference of Socialist Youth Network, the Labour Representation Committee’s youth organisation, at the University of London Union
  • "Weekly Worker my favourite"
  • Good AWL Labourites
  • Alphabet soup
  • Engaging with youth
    Ben Lewis spoke to Marsha-Jane Thompson, SYN co-chair and one of the conference organisers
• Mountains out of molehills February 8 2007
  Leading the Alliance for Workers Liberty’s typically slippery response to our coverage of the Socialist Youth Network launch conference reveals an organisation in crisis and rapidly moving to the right, says James Turley
• Another Marxism is possible November 16 2006
  Richard Price responds to Mike Macnair’s critique of 100 years of Labour
• Keeping Marxist powder dry October 26 2006
  Owen Jones of the campaign to elect John McDonnell to succeed Tony Blair spoke to the Weekly Worker
• 100 years hard labour? September 28 2006
  Mike Macnair reviews Graham Bash and Andrew Fisher: 100 years of Labour (London 2006, pp80, £4).
• No space left of Labour September 21 2006
  The John McDonnell campaign marks a significant change, argues Owen Jones of the Labour Representation Committee and Socialist Youth Network
• Good riddance, Blair - No Brown coronation September 14 2006
  McDonnell's campaign should be strengthened with some key demands, says Peter Manson
  • Fight for what we need and for democracy
    Carey Davies and Sachin Sharma report from the launch rally for John McDonnell's bid for the Labour Party leadership
    
• Astute timing but weak politics July 27 2006
  The John McDonnell challenge affords the Labour left a chance of a comeback, Mark Fischer reckons. But what should be the role of Marxists in the party?
  • Confident campaign
    John McDonnell was bullish about both the Labour Representation Committee conference and the prospects for his leadership campaign when he spoke to Mark Fischer
  • 21st century socialism
    Owen Jones is the coordinator of the recently launched LRC youth group, the Young Socialists, and is on the John McDonnell campaign team. Mark Fischer collared him for an argument
    
• Come back and fight (and vote) July 20 2006
  John McDonnell’s decision to contest the Labour leadership opens up opportunities for the left, writes Graham Bash of Labour Left Briefing
• Into the dustbin of history May 11 2006
  Graham Bash of ‘Labour Left Briefing’ looks forward to Blair’s demise in the aftermath of the May 4 local elections
• Labour versus Blairism March 30 2006
  The events of the last couple of weeks have seen Blair go into crisis, writes Graham Bash of Labour Left Briefing. The question is, to what extent is it terminal?
• New Labour sleaze merchants March 23 2006
  Capitalism inevitably means corruption, says Eddie Ford
• Umbilical cord joins New Labour to Cameron’s Tories January 5 2006
  Graham Bash (Labour Left Briefing) assesses the left’s prospects for 2006 - and urges support for an unusual candidate to the new Labour Party NEC
• Blair’s own poll tax October 13 2005
  Harry Cohen, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, was one of only four Labour candidates in the May 5 general election to come out clearly and unequivocally for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq
• Return to Labourism? September 29 2005
  Graham Bash (Labour Left Briefing) reports from the Labour Party conference
• Glimmer of hope September 22 2005
  What are the prospects for this year’s Labour Party conference? How should revolutionary socialists unite theory and practice in this period? Graham Bash (Labour Left Briefing) gives his views
• Weak, but still alive July 21 2005
  At its annual general meeting at Congress House on Saturday July 16, the Labour Representation Committee established itself as probably the most serious grouping currently active on the left of Labour. Dave Lewis was there
  • Questions that unite us
    Maria Exall is LRC vice-chair and a member of the national executive council of the Communication Workers Union. She spoke to Mark Fischer
  • Broken silence
    In his regular column, Graham Bash from Labour Left Briefing gives his impression of the confernce and the Labour left more generally
• Vote Labour anti-war April 7 2005
  Mark Fischer investigates which Labour candidates deserve our vote
• From words to deeds April 7 2005
  Graham Bash calls for votes and support for Labour’s anti-war candidates
• A good day February 10 2005
  While the Socialist Alliance was being put to the sword in one part of the University of London Union, the Labour left met elsewhere in the same building in the shape of Labour Against the War, reports Graham Bash
• Anti-war fightback and the Blair-Brown leadership battle January 27 2004
  Labour party activist Graham Bash examines the state of Labour Against The War, the leadership wrangling between Brown and Blair, and calls on communists and socialists to join and fight within the Labour Party
• Phantoms and anti-war candidates December 9 2004
  Is it all just a waste of time? Seasoned Labour left-winger Graham Bash outlines his view on Respect, George Galloway and what the tasks should be for the anti-war movement within the Labour Party.
• Blair under pressure September 30 2004
  Graham Bash, editor of Labour Left Briefing, assesses the Labour Party conference and discusses the huge tasks for the Labour left
• Good start made July 8 2004
  Dave Lewis reports from the foundation of the Labour Representation Committee, a new alliance of Constituency Labour Party activists, trade unionists and left MPs
  • Political voice
    LRC coordinating committee and Communication Workers Union EC member Maria Exall spoke to the Weekly Worker
  • Rebuilding a party of labour
    In his monthly column, Graham Bash (Labour Left Briefing) looks at the launch of the LRC, Livingstone and the task of revolutionaries in relation to the Labour Party
• Kick 'em when they're down May 20 2004
  In his guest column Labour Left View, Graham Bash argues that when Denis Healey starts attacking New Labour from the left, it is time for the real left to go onto the attack. If necessary, they must build anew the party of labour: and not waste time on the "brain-dead sectarianism" of Respect.
• Beat the Tories April 29 2004
  Camden Labour councillor Lucy Anderson will be contesting the
  Tory-held London assembly constituency of Camden and Barnet on June 10. Justifying Respect’s decision to stand against her, the
  SWP’s Rob Hoveman called comrade Anderson a “Blairite”
  (Weekly Worker February 26). Mark Fischer spoke to her
• Find answers in Labour, not Respect April 22 2004
  Graham Bash of Labour Left Briefing discusses the way forward for the Labour left, and criticises the Weekly Worker being distracted from this fight by Respect.
• Another cul de sac February 12 2004
  Graham Bash is on the editorial board of Labour Left Briefing, an influential monthly magazine on the Labour left. This is the first of an occasional column in which he looks at developments in the party and the broader movement
• Walk on two legs February 5 2004
  Where for the left inside and outside the Labour Party? Mark Fischer reports on a debate that concerns the whole left
• CPGB theses on the Labour Party January 29 2004
  The CPGB members' aggregate discussed the Labour Party and the attitude of communists
• Back in Labour fold January 8 2004
  The return of Livingstone to his political home raises questions for the left, writes Ian Donovan
• Labour socialists and SSP October 16 2003
  Can Labour be reclaimed? Are avenues of dissent concreted over? Vince Mills secretary of the Campaign for Socialism - a group within the Scottish Labour Party - speaks to Mark Fischer
• Unavoidable battleground September 25 2003
  Graham Bash of Left Labour Briefing argues that the Socialist Alliance was doomed to fail, and that the real fight is that against Blairism in the Labour Party
• Labour left gains in confidence July 10 2003
  On July 5 the Labour left came together for a well attended conference called by the Socialist Campaign Group. Mark Fischer reports
• Common sense and the Labour left September 26 2002
  Marcus Ström calls for an intelligent engagement with Blair's left wing
• After New Labour September 26 2005
  Has Labour become just another bosses’ party? Is Tony Blair’s government qualitively different from Attlee’s and Wilson’s? Labour Party plc, by Socialist Alliance member Dave Osler, is released this week and provides some thought-provoking answers