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....
ILP@130: Past & Present Renewed
The ILP has published a revised edition of Barry Winter’s ‘The ILP: Past & Present’ to mark the 130th anniversary of the organisation’s founding in January 1893. This brief history, first printed 30 years ago to coincide with our centenary celebrations, has been updated and enhanced with new photographs and a new full-colour format....
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....
A Tale of Two Keirs: Labour & its Broad Church
Keir Hardie’s conception of Labour as a broad alliance of left and liberal thinkers is under threat like never before from Keir Starmer’s leadership team. DAVID CONNOLLY calls for a halt to the current hostility and a renewed commitment to the founder’s vision....
Ireland, the ILP & the Slow Train to Peace
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland reaches it 25th anniversary on 10 April. The ILP and a grassroots peace movement played an often-forgotten yet important role on the road to reconciliation. GARY KENT aims to put the record straight....
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....
ILP@130: Striking Portraits Published of ILP Birthday Event
Photographer Simon Weldon has published an online gallery of participants at the Indie Labour Fest event held to mark the ILP’s 130th anniversary in Bradford in January....
History Online: New Directory of the Sheffield Co-operator
Sheffield-based co-operative resource centre Principle 5 has published a valuable online directory of the Sheffield Co-operator, the local Co-op Party newspaper that was printed monthly from May 1922 to July 1939....
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”....