Campaign for a New Workers' Party
Encyclopedia
Socialist Party (England and Wales)
The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist party active in England and Wales.It publishes the weekly newspaper The Socialist and the monthly magazine Socialism Today...
that argues for the establishment of a new mass workers' party
Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by a number of political parties throughout the world. While the name has been used by both left-wing and right-wing organizations, it is currently used by left-wing followers of Communism, Maoism, Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, Social Democracy, Socialism and...
, involving trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activists, socialists, anti-capitalists, and community, anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
and environmental activists. It was launched at the party's annual Socialism event in November 2005. There are more than 4000 signatories to the campaign's founding declaration, many of whom are trade unionists. Some left parties have claimed that the CNWP is a front for the Socialist Party.
Like the Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
in the early 1990s, the CNWP is joining local electoral fronts, such as Save Huddersfield NHS
Save Huddersfield NHS
Save Huddersfield NHS is a minor British political party registered in 2006. The party campaigns against a proposed reorganisation of National Health Service facilities in the Huddersfield area and is led by Dr. Jackie Grunsell, a local general practitioner and member of the Socialist Party...
, which has a CNWP supporter and SP member as a councillor. The CNWP is supporting the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is a socialist electoral alliance launched in Britain for the 2010 General Election.The coalition was negotiated between groups which had taken part in the No2EU coalition that fought the June 2009 European elections...
in the 2010 General Election.
Founding
The campaign stemmed from the dissolution of the Socialist Alliance in 2004 when Respect - The Unity Coalition was founded. A conference in Liverpool in March 2004 called for a 'Campaign for a Mass Party of the Working Class'. The first formal conference was in London on 19 March 2006, chaired by Dave NellistDave Nellist
David John Nellist is a British Trotskyist activist and former Labour Member of Parliament for the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East...
, a former Labour MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and current Socialist Party councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in Coventry. The conference debated nine resolutions about the future shape of the campaign, and elected officers and a steering committee. Policies included a "living minimum wage", full trade union rights and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Delegates argued that due to what they saw as previous false starts in trying to establish a party to represent working people — such as Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill is a British politician who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1982 to 2002, leading the union through the 1984–85 miners' strike, a key event in British labour and political history...
's Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK)
The Socialist Labour Party is a far left socialist political party in the United Kingdom. The party is led by former trade union leader Arthur Scargill, who established it in 1996 as a breakaway from the Labour Party...
— any new party would have to be democratic, open and inclusive, taking a federal
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
approach, to bring in as many supportive organisations and groups as possible, with no one group or individual dominating.
Delegates came from the refounded Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
, the Alliance for Workers' Liberty
Alliance for Workers' Liberty
The Alliance for Workers' Liberty , also known as Workers' Liberty, is a Trotskyist group in Britain. The group has a complex history but has always been identified with the theorist Sean Matgamna...
, the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, the Socialist Unity Network
Socialist Unity Network
The Socialist Unity Network is a small network of the British left which is not affiliated with any single political party. It grew out of the Socialist Alliance in England, and was originally initiated by several non-aligned members of the SA executive in March 2004.Members of the Network are ...
, the United Socialist Party, and Walsall's Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (UK)
The Democratic Labour Party is a small British left-wing political party in Walsall, sometimes known as the Walsall Democratic Labour Party...
. Over 300 of the delegates at the conference were active trade unionists, including members of trade union national executive committees. The campaign allows trade unions to affiliate to it and over half of the new steering committee were elected by trade union commissions.
2007 conference
The second national conference of the campaign took place on 12 May 2007 at the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Speakers included Chris Baugh (Public and Commercial Services Union
Public and Commercial Services Union
The Public and Commercial Services Union is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in government departments and other public bodies although some work for private companies.- Membership and organisation :...
Assistant Secretary) and Dave Nellist
Dave Nellist
David John Nellist is a British Trotskyist activist and former Labour Member of Parliament for the now abolished constituency of Coventry South East...
(Socialist Party councillor) as well as a video address from Ricky Tomlinson
Ricky Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
. The conference discussed and debated the adoption of a charter and some of the issues likely to be central to the campaign.
The 2008 conference took place on Sunday 22 June.
See also
- Campaign for a Marxist PartyCampaign for a Marxist PartyThe Campaign for a Marxist Party was a campaign of several organisations on the British left for a political party with explicitly Marxist goals as part of a rebuilt workers' international .-Principles:...
- Convention of the LeftConvention of the LeftThe Convention of the Left is an annual conference of British left, socialist, progressive and green parties and organisations, first held in Manchester in September 2008. The format of the conference was that it 'shadowed' the Labour Party's 2008 Annual Conference, also being held in the city...
- Labour Representation Committee (2004)Labour Representation Committee (2004)The Labour Representation Committee is a British socialist pressure group within the Labour Party and wider labour movement. It is often seen as representing the most left wing members of the Labour Party.-Overview:...
- Socialist Green Unity CoalitionSocialist Green Unity CoalitionThe Socialist Green Unity Coalition is an electoral alliance formed by leftist parties and political organisations in Great Britain prior to 2005 parliamentary election after the Respect Unity Coalition rejected requests to discuss an electoral arrangement to avoid clashes in...
- Welsh Socialist AllianceWelsh Socialist AllianceThe Welsh Socialist Alliance was a socialist political organisation in Wales. It was closely related to, but separate from the Socialist Alliance.It was founded by the Socialist Party of England and Wales and Cymru Goch and some independents...
External links
- Campaign for a new workers' party official website.
- Campaign for a New Workers Party launched in England and Wales. Declaration of the founding convention. Indymedia Ireland. Retrieved April 4, 2006.
- "Campaign for a New Workers Party conference report". Jim Jepps. Socialist Unity NetworkSocialist Unity NetworkThe Socialist Unity Network is a small network of the British left which is not affiliated with any single political party. It grew out of the Socialist Alliance in England, and was originally initiated by several non-aligned members of the SA executive in March 2004.Members of the Network are ...
. Retrieved April 4, 2006.