For A-level student student ROBIN EDEN, the Tories’ attack on the National Health Service makes the choice at the coming general election a straightforward one....
Co-op Members to Vote on Political Link – Again!
Co-op members are once again being asked to vote on the Group’s political link to the Co-operative Party, established by the movement exactly 100 years ago....
Re-balancing Education: Dear Labour Councillor…
BEN SELLERS wrote an angry and articulate open letter to Durham County councillors on his blog last month, following their decision to suspend plans to cut the pay of local teaching assistants. As part of our series on education, we are re-publishing his letter below, prefaced with an explanatory note from ILP chair DAVID...
Red Noses For You
At a time when the UK aid budget is under concerted attacks from right-wing Tories, UKIP and the media, it might seem churlish to criticise one of the great ‘set piece’ British events that focus our attention on development in Africa. However, David Lammy’s Guardian comment is a necessary and welcome contribution to Red...
The Strike that Changed the Rules
BARRY WINTER reviews the second edition of Jack Dromey and Graham Taylor’s book about the Grunwick dispute which has been republished by Lawrence & Wishart to mark the strike’s 40th anniversary. Forty years ago an amazing trade-union struggle took place in Brent in north London. Beginning very locally at the Grunwick Photo Processing Plant in...
Orgreave: Still Waiting for Justice
The news that there will not be a public inquiry into the events at Orgreave during the 1984-85 miners’ strike was described by Labour’s Andy Burnham as ‘an estabishment stitch-up’. GERRY LAVERY recalls what happened 32 years ago and reports on the campaigners’ fights for justice. The news that there will not be a public...
Historic Cable Street Pamphlet Republished
The ILP has republished a first-hand account of the Battle of Cable Street to mark the 80th anniversary of the day in 1936 when the people of London’s east end united to halt Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists (BUF) from marching through Stepney....
New Website Marks 80 Years Since Cable Street
Hope not Hate have launched a new website to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street when the people of the east end of London united to halt Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists (BUF) from marching through Stepney. The fascists were subjected to a humiliating defeat as the police...
Peace in the Party? The Candidates’ Plans for Unity
On 22 August, former Labour MP HARRY BARNES wrote a letter to the Guardian posing a challenge to the two candidates for the Labour Party leadership. He wrote: “Before I fill in my Labour party ballot paper, I would like to know … how (if elected) they will bring about peace and reconciliation within the...
Jayaben Desai and the ILP Tradition
Saturday 20 August 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of the day when Jayaben Desai walked out of the Grunwick photo-developing company in London, igniting a strike which drew support from thousands. GRAHAM TAYLOR remembers the woman whose dignity in dispute recalled the ethical traditions of the ILP. For Jayaben Desai, the Grunwick strike was about...
Corbyn: Labour’s Accidental Leader
IAN BULLOCK’s recurring nightmare is that the Labour Party will end up like the ILP at the end of the 1930s – with a leader who could do no wrong in the eyes of an adoring membership, but with little or no political influence, let alone power. ‘At least Jimmy Maxton was a brilliant...
Brexit: Do we Need a New Consensus?
DAVE BERRY discusses his experiences of the referendum campaign and calls for left-wing reform of the European Union. The referendum has been a painful experience for me and, like many others, I feel disconnected from politics. As an ex-shop steward and councillor I really miss being the representative of people rather than just an individual...