As the shock of the Bradford West by-election defeat fades, BARRY WINTER argues that we must learn the lessons if Labour is to rebuild a vibrant local politics.
BEN TURLEY reports on the implications of a House of Lords’ ruling in the school uniform court case
In my article, ‘Beggars Belief’, in the last edition of Democratic Socialist, I reported on the Court of Appeal case of Begum v Denbridge High School.
The court decided that the school had infringed the right of Ms Begum [...]
The British National Party won its fifth local council seat in a matter of months in Halifax in January, attracting a brief flurry of national media comment and political hand wringing. BEN TURLEY looks at what happened.
“Halifax is a wonderful place and its people are not racist,” Alice Mahon MP said the day after the [...]
Gypsies have become the object of increasingly racist, anti-immigration demonology over the last few years. As MATTHEW BROWN reports, they have been the one of the most victimised groups in society for centuries.
It could be any day in modern London. A tube pulls into King’s Cross underground station. The doors slide open and a young [...]
JEAN WOOD reports on the plight of Kosovan refugees sent back from Leeds to their own country and a very uncertain future.
Just over a year ago, Serbian forces – intent on cleansing their region of Albanian people – drove thousands from their homes. Many of the luckier ones, who escaped the shootings, rapes and [...]
The east end of London used to be one the BNP’s electoral targets. MATTHEW BROWN reports on how the policies and priorities of one local borough has improved community relations.
Juneha Chowdhury is nearing the end of her first year as a newly qualified teacher. It hasn’t been easy but, at 27, she’s finally beginning to [...]
BEN TURLEY looks at some of the social and political roots of the BNP’s success in northern and midlands towns, and offers some suggestions for how they should be tackled in the future.
The local council election results on 1 May 2003 confirmed the BNP as a significant electoral force in some northern and midland [...]
BARRY WINTER argues for more plural ways of thinking, if we are to meet the challenges posed by racism and the far right.
The title of this article, ‘Racisms, Multiculturalisms and Fascisms’, may at first, appear perverse. But it is not meant to be. The reason for adding an ‘s’ to the three terms, is to [...]
Ben Tullett reports on the battle to beat back the BNP in Halifax during the latest round of local elections
Outside London, the June 2004 council elections were particularly significant. Following boundary changes, in large swathes of the country all seats were up for election, meaning that instead of having just one vote, many electors [...]
Independent Labour Publications (ILP) is an educational trust, publishing house and pressure group committed to democratic socialism and the success of a democratic socialist Labour Party.
The ILP was formed in 1893 as the Independent Labour Party, which became a co-founder of the Labour Party at the beginning of the 20th century. Today we remain committed to Labour's aim of creating 'a society for the many, not the few' and seek to engage with others in discussing how this vision can be turned into reality.
Land and Freedom
A short, moving account of the Spanish Civil War. Focusing on events in Catalonia, it shows how even today, there is more to be remembered than the courage of the International Brigade.
ILP - Past & Present
A lively, frank and well-illustrated account of the ILP’s history from its origins in the 1890s, the Labour party’s development, and the rise and fall of the Labour left.