Until 1979, Wainwright was a research fellow at the Department of Sociology at
Durham University. From 1979 to 1981, she was a researcher at the Technology Department of the
Open University. In 1982, she became
Ken Livingstone's Deputy Chief Economic Advisor to the
Greater London Council (GLC). Wainwright is a
Fellow of the international think tank for progressive politics, the
Transnational Institute,
Amsterdam; Senior Research Associate at the International Centre for Participation Studies at the Department for Peace Studies,
University of Bradford, UK and previously research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the
London School of Economics. She has also been a visiting professor and scholar at the
University of California, Los Angeles; Havens Center,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, and
Todai University,
Tokyo. Formerly on the editorial board of
New Left Review, she was also on the National Council of the
Catalyst think tank. A researcher and writer, Wainwright is concerned with the emergence of new forms of democratic accountability within parties, movements and the state. She has documented examples of resurgent democratic movements in many countries around the world and the lessons they provide for progressive politics. In July 2015, Wainwright endorsed
Jeremy Corbyn's
campaign in the
Labour Party leadership election. She said: "To be honest, the
Labour Party isn't worth that valuable three quid. But a platform for someone who not only insists that there is an alternative, but stretches himself to support everyone who is fighting for it, is beyond anything that money can buy." She added: "I believe Jeremy Corbyn should be supported not as an attempt to 'reclaim the Labour Party' but as a transition to a political organisation beyond the Labour Party and beyond parliamentary politics". Wainwright has written for
The Guardian, The Nation,
New Statesman,
openDemocracy,
Jacobin,
Carta,
Il Manifesto and ''
, as well as appearing as a commentator on the BBC. Wainwright is a founding member and co-editor of the Red Pepper'' political magazine. ==Personal life and honours==