Before he died, Walter Smith wrote a personal account of growing up in a left-wing household at the start of the 20th century. It is, says MATTHEW BROWN, a poignant reflection on the hopes and failures of the socialist movement....
Ada Salter to be Honoured with Blue Plaque
ILPer Ada Salter is due to be honoured with one of London’s famous blue plaques, the round English Heritage markers that “link the people of the past with the buildings of the present”....
ILP@130: In or Out – The Lessons of 1932
Socialist historian IAN BULLOCK marks the ILP’s 130th anniversary by reflecting on its fateful decision to disaffiliate from Labour and his own relationship with the Party, drawing pointers for today’s left about the unhappy consequences of separation....
ILP@130: A Festival of Hope
Founded in Bradford on 13 January 1893, the ILP marked its 130th anniversary this month when 130 socialists, activists and community workers came together ‘to create a positive collective vision of what a society that works for everyone might look like’. MARY STRATFORD reports. ...
ILP@130: Bradford & Beyond
This year marks the 130th anniversary of the ILP, a milestone in British political history that we aim to mark and celebrate over the next 12 months in a number of ways....
Labour in Crisis Revisited
When Eric Preston died in September 2020, the ILP lost one of its leading writers and thinkers, a man who – in the words of David Connolly’s obituary – “was ahead of his time” in thinking through the dilemmas and difficulties faced by a Labour left operating within a cautious party and against a...
Celebrating the Spirit of the Salters
SHEILA TAYLOR reflects on the huge success of Southwark’s Salter Centenary project, which comes to an end in January. ‘Throughout the year I kept remembering how historians described the ILP, that it was less of a political party than a way of life,’ she says....
A Telling Tale
Edith Jacques lived from 1909 until 2012. Her twin sons, Terrance and Ernie, were born in 1938 and, at the age of 84, have written a fine biography of their mother. HARRY BARNES reflects on what we can learn from this tough but enthralling story....
Salter Centenary Exhibition Wins Quaker Recognition
The Salter Centenary Project’s celebratory exhibition at the Lake Gallery in Southwark Park, south-east London, has won recognition from the Quakers with a special feature in the society’s magazine, the Friend....
Tales From the Tracks
PAUL SALVESON’s latest book is a collection of short railway stories set in northern England featuring unions, strikes, ILPers … and signalbox ghosts....
Can Labour Remain the Party of Labour?
VINCE MILLS marks the 90th anniversary of the Independent Labour Party’s disaffiliation from the Labour Party in July 1932 by calling for the current Labour left to stick with the party and not add to the long list of failed attempts to build a socialist alternative....
Social-Democracy with a Hyphen
The Social-Democratic Federation had various names and endured many splits during its existence, but at its best it embodied the crucial and often neglected link between socialism and democracy. PAUL MAYNE reviews a new book on one of Labour’s founding organisations....