First published in 1993, the original edition of Barry Winter’s pamphlet provides a lively, frank and well-illustrated account of the ILP’s history – from its grass-roots origins in the 1890s to its role in the 1990s as a principled left pressure group within the Labour Party. Although it’s now sold out, you can still...
Christian Socialism: Out There & Active
CHRIS WILSON surveys today’s exponents of an old left tradition still helping to promote the importance of ethical values in driving progressive change....
A Legacy for the Future: The Case for Christian Socialism
If progressive politics is not ethical, how will it ever be attractive, asks CHRIS WILSON, for whom the Christian socialist tradition provides both inspiration and hope....
Labour, Lawson & the Attack on Party Democracy
Neal Lawson’s threatened explulsion from the Labour Party reveals a level of control freakery unprecedented in Labour history. The party’s long traditions of pluralism and tolerance must be upheld....
Democracy Derailed: The Jamie Driscoll Affair
The row over the exclusion of Jamie Driscoll from the longlist of candidates for North East Mayor has rapidly become a major issue in British politics. It does the Labour party no good at all, says DAVID CONNOLLY....
ILP Profiles: Septimus Sweetman – East London’s ‘Eclectic Believer’
Digging through family history, RAYMOND SWEETMAN uncovered the story of his great uncle – an ILP pioneer and ‘middle ranking’ socialist whose long-lost tale deserves to be told....
Celebrating Six ‘Crucial’ Years of Labour Rule
Sheffield-based co-operative resource centre Principle 5 has re-published an historic pamphlet celebrating the first six years of Labour control of the Yorkshire city’s local council, a period of social progress that lasted from 1926 to 1932....
Alistair Graham 1936-2023: ‘A great friend and a steadfast comrade’
DAVID CONNOLLY pays tribute to Alistair Graham, an ILPer for more than 60 years, who died on 27 February after a lifetime dedicated to the Labour and peace movements....
Ada Salter’s Blue Plaque Unveiled on International Women’s Day
English Heritage marked International Women’s Day today (8 March) by erecting one their famous blue plaques to honour the life and achievements of ILPer Ada Salter who in 1922 became the first Labour woman in Britain to be elected mayor and the first woman mayor of a London borough....
A Family Affair
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....