Workers' International League (1985)
Encyclopedia
The Workers' International League (WIL) was a British Trotskyist organisation that split in early 1987 from the Workers' Revolutionary Party
(WRP) which had been led by Sheila Torrance.
The League soon started to publish Workers' News as its monthly publication. Initially, the group around leading WRP adherents Richard Price and Ian Harrison defended the Healyite
tradition, albeit in a critical way. However, during and after a nine month faction struggle against a minority section in the organisation who supported the idea of joining David North
's ICFI
, the group began to abandon the Healyite tradition and came to the conclusion that the Fourth International had degenerated by the late 1940s, needing to be rebuilt afresh.
Due to a physical altercation between a leading member of the WIL, then in Torrance's WRP, with a leading member of the Workers Press faction of the WRP
during the 1986 printers' dispute in Wapping
, east London, there was great hostility between the two groups, which did not help in its fledgling steps into the wider labour movement
. Even so, two years after its formation, the WIL had recruited Bob Pitt, who was originally a supporter of the Workers Press faction of the WRP.
The League also began to have discussions with other small groups, particularly Workers Power and the Revolutionary International League, and though these discussions did not amount to a merger of these groups, they did help the organisation to mature politically. At around the same time, the WIL began making firm links with small groups around the international circuit, in an attempt to start the reforging of the Fourth International
.
In 1997 the League evolved into a group around the magazine Workers Action, which was produced quarterly until 2004 and bi-annually since then.
Workers' Revolutionary Party (UK)
The Workers Revolutionary Party is a minute Trotskyist group in Britain. In the mid-1980s, it split several ways.-The Club:The WRP grew out of the faction Gerry Healy and John Lawrence led in the Revolutionary Communist Party which urged that the RCP enter the Labour Party. This policy was also...
(WRP) which had been led by Sheila Torrance.
The League soon started to publish Workers' News as its monthly publication. Initially, the group around leading WRP adherents Richard Price and Ian Harrison defended the Healyite
Gerry Healy
Thomas Gerard Healy, known as Gerry Healy , was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International, and, according to former prominent U.S. supporter David North, the leader of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain between 1950 – 1985...
tradition, albeit in a critical way. However, during and after a nine month faction struggle against a minority section in the organisation who supported the idea of joining David North
David North (Socialist)
David North is an American Trotskyist. He is the national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party in the United States , formerly the Workers League. He served as the national secretary of the SEP until the party's congress in 2008...
's ICFI
International Committee of the Fourth International
The International Committee of the Fourth International is the name of two Trotskyist internationals; one with sections named Socialist Equality Party which publishes the World Socialist Web Site and another linked to the Workers Revolutionary Party in Britain.-Foundation:The International...
, the group began to abandon the Healyite tradition and came to the conclusion that the Fourth International had degenerated by the late 1940s, needing to be rebuilt afresh.
Due to a physical altercation between a leading member of the WIL, then in Torrance's WRP, with a leading member of the Workers Press faction of the WRP
Movement for Socialism (Britain)
The Movement for Socialism is a socialist group in the United Kingdom, led by Cliff Slaughter. It originated as one half of the major split in the Workers Revolutionary Party of 1985, following allegations about Gerry Healy's sexual activities...
during the 1986 printers' dispute in Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
, east London, there was great hostility between the two groups, which did not help in its fledgling steps into the wider labour movement
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...
. Even so, two years after its formation, the WIL had recruited Bob Pitt, who was originally a supporter of the Workers Press faction of the WRP.
The League also began to have discussions with other small groups, particularly Workers Power and the Revolutionary International League, and though these discussions did not amount to a merger of these groups, they did help the organisation to mature politically. At around the same time, the WIL began making firm links with small groups around the international circuit, in an attempt to start the reforging of the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
.
In 1997 the League evolved into a group around the magazine Workers Action, which was produced quarterly until 2004 and bi-annually since then.