Lessons of ILP history will up for debate at the next Dronfield Labour Party discussion meeting held on the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford in 1893....
Good old George
JON CRUDDAS MP recalls the life of former Labour leader and east London ILPer George Lansbury, arguing that his life, work and principles crystallise the journey of political rediscovery underway in Ed Miliband’s ‘one nation’ Labour Party. George Lansbury is one of the great heroes of the Labour Party. He was to quote the great...
Present prospects, future hope
“We meet on a weekend of elections,” said ILP chair David Connolly as ILPers and friends gathered in Scarborough on 5/6 May for the organisation’s annual weekend school of political debate and discussion....
Crisis, Markets and Protest
Today capitalism is news. Talk about capitalist crisis is widespread in ways that have not been heard for decades. Yet, it is the forces of the right that continue to dominate politically, even though the system they most strongly espouse is facing severe upheavals. Often discredited, social democratic parties are struggling to get a...
The ILP: Past & Present (1993)
The ILP, which returned to the Labour Party in 1975 as Independent Labour Publications, was in many respects a shadow of its former self. But what it lacked in size and organisations it intended to make up for with political clarity, intellectual honesty and a determination to learn from the left’s past failures, including...
The ILP: Past & Present (1993)
In trying to change society the ILP has, throughout its history, been challenging the ‘common sense’ ideas of the time....
The Joy of Living: In memory of Johnny Dent
Johnny Dent died of cancer on 29 January 2012 in St Cuthbert’s Hospice, Durham. He was a member of the ILP for many years, and a staunch trade unionist. His friend HUGH SHANKLAND gave this moving tribute at his funeral on 6 February....
Housing and the Big Society
The ILP is supporting a public meeting in London to launch two new pamphlets from Chartist, the magazine for democratic socialism, on housing and the Big Society....
Orwell anniversary trip to Catalonia
The Porta de la Historia co-operative is organising a weekend trip to Catalonia to commemorate the 75th anniversary of George Orwell’s wounding outside Huesca....
The ILP: Past & Present (1993)
4. War & After The ILP in the 30s Despite its numerical decline, the ILP remained a significant political force throughout the thirties. In addition, it retained a small but vocal parliamentary presence until Jimmy Maxton’s death in 1946. But, if disaffiliation appeared to resolved the ILP’s dilemma about its role as a left...
It was 119 years ago today
It was on this day, 13th January, 119 years ago that 120 or so young, working class, mainly male delegates gathered at the Labour Institute in Bradford to found the Independent Labour Party. ...
The ILP: Past & Present (1993)
3. Labour’s Rise & Disaffiliation Labour’s Rise From 1918 Labour’s star was in the ascendant. Within four years it held over 140 parliamentary seats and it began to eclipse the Liberals. Other factors lay behind Labour’s rise. In 1918, under the influence of both Sidney Webb, the leading Fabian, and Arthur Henderson, the Labour...