George Orwell’s celebrated book on the Spanish Civil War is often misinterpreted, says DANNY EVANS. It deserves to be read afresh without political blinkers....
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....
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....
Labour’s Deep Divide
TREVOR FISHER examines the causes and consequences of Labour’s often bitter splits into hard left and right factions. The soft left could provide the bridge, he says, but it remains organisationally weak and politically invisible....
Banners, Bands & the Big Meeting
MARY STRATFORD celebrates the return of Durham Miners’ Gala, explaining how it’s survived for more than 150 years and why it still matters to local people and the wider Labour movement. ‘It remains the greatest celebration of trade union and Labour movement values in the UK … and beyond.’...
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....
ILP Profiles: Sarah Reddish – A Neglected Lancashire Hero
PAUL SALVESON hails the work of a north-west ILPer and intrepid co-operator whose life and achievements are finally due to be commemorated nearly a century after her death....
New Labour & the Democratic Bridge
When Tony Blair’s New Labour government was elected on 1 May 1997, exactly 25 years ago last Sunday, it brought to an end 18 years of Conservative rule....
The Long-Forgotten Words of a Co-operative Champion
Principle 5, the Sheffield-based co-operative resource centre, has published the latest in its series of re-discovered pamphlets from the history of the co-operative movement, called The Future of Co-operation, written originally in 1927 by Alice Honora Enfield....
Fenner Brockway & the Return of ‘Hungry England’
CHRISTOPHER OLEWICZ looks back 90 years at Fenner Brockway’s ground-breaking report on destitution in 1930s Britain. With the current cost of living crisis, he asks, is ‘literal starvation’ once again stalking the nation’s poorest communities?...
Celebrating the Salters – Centenary Website Launched
Organisers of the Salter Centenary Project have launched a new website to highlight the year-long series of events celebrating ILPers Ada and Alfred Salter in south-east London throughout 2022....