Militant tendency

Origins Militant's Trotskyist roots stretched back to the Workers International League in the 1930s and the post-war Revolutionary Communist Party. The Revolutionary Socialist League was organised in 1957 around the newspaper Socialist Fight. About 40 strong, they were Labour Party members, mainly based in Liverpool, with small forces in London and in South Wales. The Militant newspaper was founded in 1964 after the National Secretary Jimmy Deane, together with Grant, Keith Dickenson, Ellis Hillman and others on the executive of the RSL, decided to wind up Socialist Fight and start another newspaper, initially as a four-page monthly. Peter Taaffe was appointed the first editor, and in 1965 became national secretary. The name of the paper was the same as the American SWP publication The Militant, and as a result "most of the pioneers of Militant were not enthralled by the choice of the name" writes Taaffe. But "Militant did stand for what its proponents intended: the aim of winning in the first instance, the most conscious, combative, fighting, i.e. militant, sections of the working class." Some Trotskyists referred to the new group, still known internally as the Revolutionary Socialist League, as the Grantites after their leading theoretician Ted Grant. The founders of Militant had roots in labour and trade union organisations, especially in the Merseyside area. Jimmy Deane, the first national secretary of Militant, was an electrician and shop convenor at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead who joined the Labour Party in 1937 and was one of the pioneers of Trotskyism in Merseyside. Taaffe joined the Labour Party in 1960, and "In the Labour Party I discovered radical, socialist, Marxist ideas and in the course of discussion and debate I accepted those ideas." Taaffe, together with Ted Mooney and other founding Militant supporters, participated in an apprentices' strike, leading apprentices in English Electric on Merseyside's East Lancashire Road. Early editions of Militant "Drive Out the Tories" was the headline of the first issue of Militant, published just before the general election of 1964 with an article written by the business editor, S. Mani. Below the Militant logo were the words "For Youth and Labour". Inside, above the editorial, was printed: "Militant. Editor: Peter Taaffe (Walton Young Socialists). All correspondence to the business manager: S. Mani". The addition of the "Walton Young Socialists" indicated the significance with which Taaffe and Militant viewed the young socialists, and began the practice of Militant members identifying themselves with their local Labour Party or trade union. With Taaffe in Liverpool, Roger Protz, Keith Dickinson, Ted Grant and others did most of the work on the first few issues. In the editorial of the first issue of the Militant in October 1964, Taaffe made the strategy of entryism clear: Following the 1964 general election, which the Labour Party won with a majority of four seats, Militant called for "No retreat by Labour" from its promises, urging the carrying out of its promised nationalisation of steel and urban land and calling on it to "take action against the big monopolies, combines and trusts which dominate the economy". Under the headline, "Another election 'pledge' broken", Militant denounced the increased spending on nuclear weapons and their retention by the Labour Party, contrary to its commitment to nuclear disarmament. The paper supported the trade union struggle against the Labour government's incomes policy. Militant argued that the only long-term solution to the problems facing working-class people was to end capitalism through a socialist transformation of society, nationally and internationally. In 1965, it demanded: "Nationalise the 400 Monopolies". In the meantime, Roger Protz had severed his connection with the group. A letter from Protz, written around this time, was leaked to The Observer newspaper a decade later. It recalls his experiences at an early Militant editorial board meeting: In 1969, the Labour government came into conflict with the trade unions over its In Place of Strife white paper which was later withdrawn. Militant's national secretary Taaffe outlined how "the trade union and Labour Movement scored a tremendous victory in forcing the Labour government to climb down over its proposed anti-trade union legislation" in the first issue of the Militant International Review (Autumn 1969), Militant's quarterly theoretical journal. Several strikes had taken place, the "first directly political strikes" in what threatened to be an "irreparable breach between the Labour leaders and their base in the Labour Movement". Militant argued that the struggle between the Labour Party leadership and the trade unions arose from the poor economic performance of Britain compared to its competitors. For them, the "capitalist class" wished to make the working class pay for this "crisis" through a policy to restrict workers' incomes: "For a generation now British Capitalism has been in decline... The capitalists are responsible for this mess. But they want the burdens to be borne by the working class, while their fabulous profits continue to rise. They wanted the Labour government to impose an incomes policy." In 1965, highly critical of the policies agreed at the Eighth World Congress of the Fourth International, the Militant tendency abandoned attempts to remain a section of this grouping. According to an internal document by Grant, the International considered Militant to have "a poorly functioning organization" and aligned itself instead with the International Marxist Group (IMG). By 1969, Militant had ceased to use the name Revolutionary Socialist League internally. In 1974, Militant founded the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI). == 1970s ==

Growth and influence In 1970, Militant bought premises belonging to the old Independent Labour Party. In September 1971, the Militant newspaper became fortnightly, although still just four pages, and in January 1972 it became weekly. By the end of 1972 it became an 8-page weekly. By 1972, Militant supporters in the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS) had won a clear majority on its National Committee. In 1973, the Labour Party Young Socialists conference attracted one thousand delegates and visitors. Taaffe claims that Militant had 397 "organised supporters" in March 1973, but by July of the same year this "had grown to 464". In 1965, Militant had claimed 100 members, and in 1979 1,621. In 1973, the Labour Party abolished the 'proscribed list' of organisations which could affiliate to the Labour Party. At the 1972 Labour Party Conference, a resolution moved and seconded by Militant supporters Pat Wall and Ray Apps was passed by 3,501,000 votes to 2,497,000. It demanded that the Labour government commit itself to enacting "an enabling bill to secure the public ownership of the major monopolies". Pat Wall, later an MP, asserted: "No power on earth can stop the organised labour movement!" and "called for Labour to win the workers to a programme of taking power by taking over the 350 monopolies which controlled 85 per cent of the economy". The conference agreed to call on the Labour Party executive: The Militant newspaper commented "This is an answer to those who argue for a slow, gradual, almost imperceptible progress towards nationalisation." Labour Party and press responses to entryism The Observer ran the first article on Militant, "Trot conspirators inside Labour Party", at the end of August 1975. Its author, Nora Beloff, wrote that Militant was a "party within a party". Militant asserted the consonance of its policies with the decisions of the Labour Party conference, which, it said, demonstrated its legitimacy as a current in the Labour Party. "It is significant that all these attacks, particularly that of The Observer, do not deal with the ideas of Militant, openly expressed, which have a great tradition in the labour movement and are the continuation of the ideas of the pioneers of the labour movement and of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky," it commented in response at the beginning of September 1975. The report of National Agent Reg Underhill into the activities of Militant was completed in November 1975, and was soon leaked. By a majority of 16 to 12, the Labour Party's National Executive Committee decided to take no action. (Alexander Kerensky's provisional government was 'replaced' by the Bolsheviks), defended the group. In a television interview, Benn drew a parallel with the forged Zinoviev letter, and claimed the documents published by Underhill had come from the "intelligence service or wherever". At the same time in late 1975, cabinet minister Reg Prentice, later a Conservative minister, was deselected by his Constituency Labour Party in Newham North East. Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Harold Wilson declared that "small and certainly not necessarily representative groups" had "secured a degree of power within a constituency", but according to journalist Andy McSmith it was "manifestly untrue" that Prentice's problems were caused by Militant, who had only a small presence in his constituency party. Meanwhile, in December 1975, Militant suffered a setback when they lost control of the National Organisation of Labour Students to the mainstream left Clause Four Group. After James Callaghan had taken over as Labour Party's Prime Minister in September 1976, two trade unionists on the right of the party, and Ron Hayward, the General Secretary, on Hayward's casting vote, decided to appoint Militant supporter Andy Bevan as the Labour Party's Young Socialist Youth Officer. Bevan had been a member of Reg Prentice's constituency and played a part in his removal. The Times carried three articles in early December 1976 and an editorial about the danger of the Militant tendency, which it exposed as wanting to "establish a group of MPs". Ted Grant, writing in Militant, was optimistic at the time: "This witch hunt will fail, among other reasons, because of the justified hatred and distrust of the Labour Party for the capitalist press and their day to day poisonous propaganda against the labour movement." Andy Bevan faced a demonstration from his Labour colleagues outside Transport House when he finally began his job in January 1977. By the late 1970s, the Militant newspaper was a 16-page weekly, outlining its organisations policies, activities and campaigns. By the end of the 1970s, the Militant tendency was calling for the nationalisation of the top 250 monopolies, later 200, rather than 350 monopolies, because mergers were concentrating ownership further. Between 1975 and 1980, the Labour Party's National Executive Committee voted against expulsion. == Militant in the 1980s ==

First actions by the Labour Party Conscious of his own past, and those of others on the Labour left, Michael Foot, Labour's leader from 1980, was initially against taking any action against Militant. The situation in the Labour Party at the time eventually forced his hand. According to Dianne Hayter, quoting from her interview with (then) MP Ken Woolmer, the 'Group of Ten' Labour members met Foot in the Leader's Room before Prime Minister's Questions. According to Woolmer, they said that "unless he denounced Militant, and recognised that it was a deep cancer within the party, the parliamentary party was on the verge of deeply splitting and was going to come apart." In December 1981, a Labour Party National Executive Committee inquiry team was set up, led by Ron Hayward and David Hughes, then the party's national agent. The inquiry sent a series of questions to the Militant tendency. The Militant general secretary, Taaffe, told the inquiry that the ''Militant's'' Editorial board consisted of five people, with an additional sixty-four full-time staff. The Hayward-Hughes inquiry, which reported in June 1982, found that Militant was guilty of breaking Clause II, section 3 of the Labour Party constitution. It took only one of the four parts of this passage to render an organisation incompatible with the Labour Party: "Programme, Principles and Policy for separate and distinctive propaganda, possessing branches in the constituencies; promoting their own candidates for public office; and, finally, owing allegiance to any political organisation situated abroad." Crick though, pointed out that numerous other groups within Labour left and right, had also broken the strictly worded constitution, such as Labour Solidarity, the Labour Co-ordinating Committee and the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, but that "dislike of Militant" had developed "because it has breached the constitution so blatantly and, perhaps more importantly, so effectively". The inquiry proposed the setting up of a register of non-affiliated groups who would be allowed to operate within the Labour Party. Hayward, according to Tam Dalyell, was thought to be unduly forgiving of Militant by some in the party, and while Hayward and Hughes agreed with Michael Foot's opposition to expulsions in his New Year message for 1982, they said that Militant would be ineligible for their proposed register. The group was given three months to conform to the party rules. In the July 1982 edition of London Labour Briefing, Jeremy Corbyn opposed expulsions of the organisation, saying that "If expulsions are in order for Militant, they should apply to us too." In the same year, he was the "provisional convener" of "Defeat the Witch-Hunt Campaign", based at Corbyn's then address. In September 1982, Militant held a special conference against the 'witch-hunt' at the Wembley Conference Centre at which Ken Livingstone spoke. An attendance was claimed of 1,622 delegates from Constituency Labour Parties and 412 trade union delegates plus visitors, At such mass rallies in this period, Militant displayed two huge banners at each side of the stage, one showing Marx and Engels, and the other showing Lenin and Trotsky. An editorial in the September–October 1982 issue of New Socialist, the Labour Party's internal magazine, objected to the accusations against Militant: At the 1982 Labour Party Conference which followed, the Hayward-Hughes report was endorsed and Militant was declared ineligible for affiliation to the Labour Party. While most Labour Party constituencies were against the register, the motion was endorsed at the conference. Militant was finally proscribed by the Labour Party NEC in December after an 18–9 vote. On 22 February 1983, after a 19 to 9 vote, Labour's National Executive Committee, decided to expel from the party the five members of ''Militant's'' Editorial Board, Taaffe, Grant, Keith Dickinson, Lynn Walsh and Clare Doyle. Following the election defeat in 1983 the NEC agreed to ban sales of Militant at party meetings and the Militant tendency was prohibited from using party facilities. By 1986, 40 expulsions had taken place of Militant supporters in the ranks of the Labour Party. Militant in Liverpool In 1982, Liverpool District Labour Party had adopted Militant policies and the slogan "Better to break the law than break the poor" from the Poplar Rates Rebellion, claiming that cuts to Liverpool's Rate Support Grant meant that £30 million had been "stolen" from Liverpool by Margaret Thatcher's government. Militant supporters argued that a minority Labour Council should have set an illegal "deficit budget" in 1980, demanding money from the central government to balance the books. In May 1983, despite negative press coverage, the Militant-led Labour Party gained the council from a coalition Conservative-Liberal administration on a swing of 12 seats in the local elections running on an ambitious regeneration strategy with a refusal to make above-inflation rent and rate increases. In the 1983 general election elections, Militant supporter Terry Fields won Liverpool Broadgreen. In 1984, Liverpool City Council launched its Urban Regeneration Strategy to build 5,000 houses and other public works, cancelling 1,200 planned redundancies, creating 1,000 new jobs as well as abolishing office of Lord mayor. In 1985, the council joined other left wing councils in the rate-capping rebellion, although only Liverpool and Lambeth refused to set a legal budget with Liverpool passing an illegal deficit budget on 14 June 1985, although the proposal for a general strike was never carried through. After being advised by the District Auditor that the council would be unable to pay wages after November, the Labour group on the council decided in September 1985 to issue ninety-day notices to the 30,000 strong workforce. Militant said the redundancy notices were a "tactic" to buy time. A covering letter to council employees dated 19 September 1985, signed by council leader John Hamilton and his deputy Derek Hatton, explained that "this course of action provides the only way of providing wages and salaries until 18th December, 1985. ...[giving] the Government three months to negotiate with Labour representatives a just settlement to our financial crisis. If the Government recognises its responsibility then all notices will be withdrawn." and Militant's national general secretary Taaffe saw the letter as a great error, although the Council set a legal budget in November 1985 after borrowing £30 million. Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock used his leader's speech to the 1985 Party Conference to attack Militant's record in Liverpool saying, "you end in the grotesque chaos of a Labour council, a Labour council, hiring taxis to scuttle round the city handing out redundancy notices to its own workers." together with left wing politicians not aligned with Militant such as Michael Meacher. In Liverpool, the district auditor had charged the Militant-led 49 Liverpool city councillors £106,000. Their appeal to the House of Lords was lost in 1987 and an additional charge of £242,000 was imposed. The money was raised from donations from the Labour and trade union movement. Peak influence Michael Crick contends that, "For a number of reasons the years 1982 and 1983 probably saw Militant at its peak in terms of influence within the Labour Party." According to Crick, Militant was effectively Britain's fifth biggest party (after Labour, Conservative, Liberal and the SDP) in the early to mid 1980s. "Until then Militant was always able to count on the support of most of the broad coalition on the left of the party, though privately many left-wingers were very critical of Militant's tactics and politics". In 1983, two Militant supporters were elected as MPs: Terry Fields in Liverpool Broadgreen and Dave Nellist, in Coventry South East. However, Crick points out that while Militant continued to dominate the agenda of the Labour Party's National Executive meetings, expulsions spread around the constituencies: Blackburn CLP was the first local party to expel a Militant activist, in 1983, and the constituency MP Jack Straw was of the opinion that dealing with the group was necessary if the party was to win the next general election. Militant's membership kept growing though, at least until 1986, when it reached 8,100 plus, according to Crick, who cites internal figures, but adds a caveat that this figure may be inflated. Militant's public fund raising peaked in 1986. In 1964, it set a target of £500 in funds. In 1980 it raised £94,000. In 1985 and 1986 its Fighting Fund, together with two special appeals raised a total of £281,528 and £283,818 respectively. In the years 1987 to 1989 the figure was around £200,000, and in 1990, £182,677, in 1991, £154,801. Militant's public events continued to grow even after its membership and fund raising had peaked. Its largest indoor event was a rally in the Alexandra Palace in 1988 attended by almost 8,000. Position on feminism and gay rights Militant has been cited as an example of opposition to gay rights initiatives within the Labour movement in the early 1980s, specifically within the context of reaction to the financial support given to gay rights groups by the Greater London Council under the leadership of Ken Livingstone. However, while Militant was present in Labour Party Women's sections, claiming forty delegates attended the Labour Party Women's conference in 1981, and claiming to be to the fore on women's issues, it opposed "bourgeois feminism" which blamed men for women's oppression. The Militant newspaper published a back page issue supporting the June 1990 Pride march with the banner headline "Stop The Attacks". == Poll tax ==

In 1988, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher began preparations for a Community Charge to replace the council rates. Instead of one payment per household based on rateable value of the property, the poll tax was to be paid by all people who were 18 or over. While the Labour Party conference, in the autumn of 1988, had rejected a campaign of non-payment, Militant argued for a strategy of non-payment and supporting Anti-Poll Tax Unions, beginning in Scotland. Grant had opposed this option, arguing that Militant's MPs should pay the poll tax, partly for the group's self-protection, but was overruled. and central government began to consider the community charge unworkable. The poll tax was swiftly abandoned by the new Prime Minister John Major. Thatcher called the victory "One of the greatest victories for these people ever conceded by a Conservative Government." The last issue of Militant, 31 January 1997, claimed that the Anti-Poll Tax movement brought down Thatcher herself. Taaffe claimed in The Rise of Militant that "It was the 18 million non-payers of the poll tax who were decisive in her [Thatcher's] downfall. Facing electoral massacre if she remained, Tory MPs brought her down after eleven years in power." Militant MP Terry Fields was criticised by the Labour leader Neil Kinnock for the non-payment of his poll-tax when Fields was imprisoned for 60 days in July 1991 for refusing to pay his £373 poll tax bill. Kinnock said at the time: "Law makers must not be law breakers. I have always made that clear". According to Militant, 219 members had been expelled from the Labour Party by August 1991, but by now most Militant members were drawing the conclusion that their way forward was blocked in the Labour Party. == Open turn ==

In April 1991, Militant decided to support the setting up of Scottish Militant Labour, an independent organisation in Scotland. At the same time, it decided to support independent Broad Left candidates in Liverpool standing against the official Labour Party. All five Broad Left candidates won in the May 1991 local elections. Eric Heffer, MP for Liverpool Walton died in May 1991, and the Broad Left decided to stand Militant supporter Lesley Mahmood as the candidate of "Real Labour" at the subsequent by-election. Militant endorsed the decision, but the Militant executive Ted Grant and Rob Sewell opposed it. Mahmood came third, just saving her deposit. It was the group's first electoral step outside the Labour Party. Majority and Minority resolutions were presented to the Militant National Editorial Board meeting of 14–16 July 1991 on the question of this "open turn", and a faction formed around Ted Grant's Minority position. The National Editorial Board comprised representatives from all regions and areas of work of Militant, and functioned as a National Executive Committee. The Majority resolution, in support of the open work, was agreed by 46 votes to 3, whilst the Minority one was defeated 3 to 43 at the 14–16 July 1991 meeting. Documents from each faction were subsequently circulated. The Minority argued that this turn from work in the Labour Party was a "threat to 40 years work", and that "only about 250" supporters had been expelled, out of a membership which in the late 1980s had numbered 8,000. They argued that it was irresponsible to endanger this work in view of an anticipated swing to the left in the Labour Party. "The classical conditions for entrism will undoubtedly arise during the next epoch – two, three, five or even ten years – as the crisis of world capitalism, and especially British capitalism, unfolds." The Majority did not dispute the numbers expelled. It argued "we face a profoundly changed situation". The Labour leadership's policies and methods "have led to a severe decline in the level of activity within the [Labour] party...Marxists are tolerated within the party only where they do not pose a threat at the moment". The Labour Party Young Socialists had been closed: At a special conference of Militant in October 1991, after a lengthy period of debate and discussion, 93% of delegates voted to support the "Scottish turn". They supported the view that because there was "a blockage within the Labour Party, created by the Kinnock leadership at the present time, we have to continue to develop independent work and not allow our distinct political identity to be submerged through fear of expulsions." In Scotland, it supported "a bold, open detour in order to strengthen our forces." Subsequent events In 1991, Militant tendency left the Labour Party and changed its name to Militant Labour. Ted Grant and Alan Woods of the Minority, were expelled, although Militant asserted they had set up an alternative organisation and so had departed, noting: "We regret that Ted Grant has split in this way. He made a vital contribution in upholding the genuine ideas of Marxism". Pat Wall MP died in 1990. Terry Fields was expelled from the Labour Party in December 1991, Meanwhile, in Glasgow Tommy Sheridan the leader of the Scottish Anti-Poll Tax Federation had been sentenced to six months in prison for being present at, and helping to prevent, a Warrant Sale (public sale of a debtor's possessions by Sheriff Officers) after a court order had been issued prohibiting his attendance. While incarcerated, Sheridan stood at the 1992 General Election as a Scottish Militant Labour candidate for the Pollok constituency, and came second with 6,287 votes (19.3%). A month later, in the Scottish local elections he was elected to the City of Glasgow District Council while in prison, being elected for the Pollok ward. In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party of England and Wales, and the Militant newspaper was renamed The Socialist. Between 1998 and January 2001 the Scottish section of the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI), Scottish Militant Labour, proposed the formation of the Scottish Socialist Party with a number of other groups, together with a change in the political character of the Scottish section. They remain a section of the CWI. The minority faction from the 1991 split in Militant organised around the magazine Socialist Appeal (now The Communist) edited by Alan Woods, then Rob Sewell. The magazine later became a tabloid monthly newspaper, then a fortnightly. The group is affiliated to the Revolutionary Communist International, which claims sections in more than 40 countries. == Analysis ==

Historical significance Scholarly analysis identifies Militant as "the most successful entrist faction in Labour's history" and describes it as "effectively Britain's fifth most important political party" during the 1980s. Academic research emphasises that despite "inauspicious beginnings", Militant achieved unprecedented success in implementing Trotskyist entryism tactics within a major democratic socialist party. The movement's growth trajectory demonstrates the potential for organised factions within democratic parties: membership expanded from 100 in 1965 to 1,621 in 1979, reaching approximately 8,100 by 1986. Historians note that by the 1970s, "the Militant Tendency's pursuit of entrism began to bear some fruit with the group taking effective control of the Labour Party Young Socialists in 1970 and over constituency politics in Liverpool by the early 1980s". Militant's success in Liverpool represents a unique case study in radical municipal politics. The council's Urban Regeneration Strategy, which built 5,000 houses and created 1,000 jobs while opposing central government cuts, demonstrated how far-left groups could implement policy at the local level. Political scientist Eric Shaw argues that Liverpool showed both the potential and limitations of confrontational municipal socialism in the Thatcher era. Contemporary scholarly perspectives Recent academic work has reframed understanding of Militant's expulsion from the Labour Party. Rather than simply viewing it as organisational housekeeping, scholars now analyse it as "primarily a battle of metaphor and semantics", involving "the successful construction of Militant as Labour's unwanted and malignant 'other'". This research identifies five central discursive strategies used to justify exclusion: medical, sub-human, emotional, ideological, and historical frameworks for "othering". Intelligence historians have revealed that Militant became the first Trotskyist organisation considered a serious subversive threat by MI5. Research using newly released National Archives files shows that between the late 1970s and early 1980s, security services viewed Militant as potentially more dangerous than the Communist Party of Great Britain. This reflects Militant's unique success in penetrating mainstream political institutions compared to other far-left groups. Contemporary analysis also emphasises Militant's role in broader patterns of party modernisation. Political historian Martin Pugh argues that the campaign against Militant was part of Labour's transformation from a "broad church" coalition to a more disciplined, professionalised party. Some scholars contend that the methods used against Militant provided a template for later factional conflicts within Labour, including during the Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn eras. The international dimension of Militant's influence has received increased scholarly attention. Research shows that through the Committee for a Workers' International, Militant's tactical innovations influenced Trotskyist parties across Europe and beyond, making it "one of the most significant Trotskyist organisations of the late twentieth century". Critical perspectives Some critics have argued that Militant's significance was exaggerated and that the group served as a convenient target for Labour Party modernisation efforts. Tribune magazine has suggested that Militant became the "favourite punching bag of the press" and that Neil Kinnock's attacks on the group were strategically motivated to demonstrate his commitment to modernising Labour by publicly distancing himself from radical left elements. This view contends that the focus on Militant may have been disproportionate to their actual political threat. Critics point to Militant's ultimate failures, particularly in Liverpool, where their control of the city council resulted in the issuing of redundancy notices to 30,000 workers and what Kinnock famously described as "grotesque chaos". The Liverpool experience arguably damaged Labour's electoral prospects and provided ammunition for Conservative attacks on the party's competence in local government. == See also ==