Lesley Mahmood
Encyclopedia
Lesley Mahmood is an English
politician.
She was active in Militant Tendency
and Liverpool
politics along with her brother Roy Farrar in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mahmood was prominent in the Liverpool District Labour Party
's campaign for more money for the city from the government of Margaret Thatcher
, and was elected to the city council
as part of the 'Liverpool 29
' who replaced the 'Liverpool 47' when they were surcharged in 1986.http://www.liverpool47.org/
She was also prominent in the campaign against the Poll Tax
and was put forward to be the Labour candidate in the Liverpool Walton by-election
caused by the death of Eric Heffer
in 1991. Although she won a majority of 92 out of 140 Walton Labour Party members, once the union votes were counted, Peter Kilfoyle
became the official Labour Party
candidate. In the ensuing by-election, Kilfoyle won with 21,317 votes while Mahmood, standing as 'Walton Real Labour', came third with 2,613. The Walton by-election was a factor in the decision by Militant Tendency to leave the Labour Party, setting up first Militant Labour
and then the Socialist Party of England and Wales.
Mahmood was later active in support of the sacked Liverpool Dockers. She left the Socialist Party in 1998 in disputes over the Euro, trade unions, and the relevance of democratic centralism
to modern socialist politics and became a supporter of the Socialist Solidarity Network
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
politician.
She was active in Militant Tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
politics along with her brother Roy Farrar in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mahmood was prominent in the Liverpool District Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's campaign for more money for the city from the government of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, and was elected to the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
as part of the 'Liverpool 29
Liverpool 29
The Liverpool 29 councillors were 29 left-wing councillors on the Liverpool City Council who were suspended from the official Labour Party group on the council in 1990 for voting against rent rises, redundancies and implementation of the Poll Tax, in breach of the official party whip...
' who replaced the 'Liverpool 47' when they were surcharged in 1986.http://www.liverpool47.org/
She was also prominent in the campaign against the Poll Tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
and was put forward to be the Labour candidate in the Liverpool Walton by-election
Liverpool Walton by-election, 1991
The Liverpool Walton by-election was held on 4 July 1991, following the death of the Labour Party Member of Parliament Eric Heffer for Liverpool Walton, on 27 May.The constituency had become a safe Labour seat under Heffer, who was known as a left-wing MP...
caused by the death of Eric Heffer
Eric Heffer
Eric Samuel Heffer was a British socialist politician. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton from 1964 until his death. His working-class background and consciousness fed in to his left-wing politics, but to an extent disguised the depth of his knowledge: with 12,000 books in...
in 1991. Although she won a majority of 92 out of 140 Walton Labour Party members, once the union votes were counted, Peter Kilfoyle
Peter Kilfoyle
Peter Kilfoyle is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton from 1991 to 2010.-Early life:...
became the official Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate. In the ensuing by-election, Kilfoyle won with 21,317 votes while Mahmood, standing as 'Walton Real Labour', came third with 2,613. The Walton by-election was a factor in the decision by Militant Tendency to leave the Labour Party, setting up first Militant Labour
Militant Labour
Militant Labour was the name of the political party openly formed by members of the Militant Tendency when they abandoned the Trotskyist tactic of entryism in 1990....
and then the Socialist Party of England and Wales.
Mahmood was later active in support of the sacked Liverpool Dockers. She left the Socialist Party in 1998 in disputes over the Euro, trade unions, and the relevance of democratic centralism
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
to modern socialist politics and became a supporter of the Socialist Solidarity Network
Socialist Solidarity Network
The Socialist Solidarity Network is a grouping of socialists in the United Kingdom most of whom are former members of the Socialist Party of England and Wales...
.