Workers' Liberty

Report from The Convention of the Left, meeting in Manchester in parallel to Labour’s conference (20-24 September).

Though the organisers had successfully argued against a debate on links between the unions and Labour, the question of political perspectives for the unions ran through many of the contributions to the trade union session.

RMT members learned with great sadness of the untimely death on Sunday 6 April 2008 of Greg Tucker, secretary of RMT’s Waterloo branch since 1993 and of the union’s National Conference of Train Cr

SWP: bad times

Former Socialist Alliance activists give their views:

Pete McLaren was the secretary of the Socialist Alliance before the heavy involvement of the SWP in 2001-3, and is now secretary of the continuing Socialist Alliance group:

By Martin thomas

After 12 years as a coalition of the left the Socialist Alliance was shut down at a conference on Saturday 5 February.

By Martin Thomas

About 30 people attended a conference on 12 November aiming to “relaunch the Socialist Alliance”.

About 30 people attended a conference on 12 November aiming to "relaunch the Socialist Alliance".

Open Letter to Nick Wrack and Rob Hoveman, Chair and Secretary of the Socialist Alliance, from current and former national executive members and national office holders of the Socialist Alliance. 13 July 2005.

Statement by the officers of the provisional Socialist Alliance

On Saturday 9 April the new committee of the provisional Socialist Alliance elected its officers. At the subsequent meeting the SADP was formally closed down. This completes the first stage of rebuilding the SA, which began with the closure of the old SA at the February 2005 Socialist Alliance AGM.

Statement by the officers of the provisional Socialist Alliance

On Saturday 9 April the new committee of the provisional Socialist Alliance elected its officers. At the subsequent meeting the SADP was formally closed down. This completes the first stage of rebuilding the SA, which began with the closure of the old SA at the February 2005 Socialist Alliance AGM.

The Socialist Alliance meets for probably its last conference on 8 February, from 2pm at the University of London Union, Malet Street.

After twelve years as a coalition of the left, and five years after it became a coalition including almost all the activist left groups in England and Wales, the Socialist Alliance was shut down at a conference on Saturday 5 February 2005.

An AGM for the Socialist Alliance has been called for Saturday 5 February, 2pm, at ULU, Malet Street, London. If the SWP have their way it will be the last ever conference of the Socialist Alliance. They are proposing resolutions to wind up the Socialist Alliance and donate its remaining funds to Respect. Nine current or former members of the SA Executive have written a letter of protest.

Open to all who were Socialist Alliance members in 2003 and 2004.

The Socialist Alliance is holding a conference on Saturday 5 February, from 2pm at Room 101, University of London Union, Malet St, London WC1.

For the last 15 months, a number of left groups and individual members of the Socialist Alliance (SA) have grouped together under the Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform (SADP). Our main aim has been to maintain the SA as a major focus for left unity as part of the process of building a new workers’ socialist party, organisation or network as an alternative to New Labour.

From Pete McLaren, Convenor SADP

The Socalist Alliance Democracy Platform has called a conference on 12 March 2005 at the United Services Club, Gough Street, Birmingham.

The Socialist Alliance NEC, under the direction of the SWP leadership, have promised to organise an AGM of the Social ist Alliance on February 5th 2005. The SADP encourage all comrades who can, to attend this AGM of the Socialist Alliance.

Cathy Nugent on the Socialist Green Unity Coalition, the AWL-Socialist Party-Alliance for Green Socialist-SADP link-up for the 2005 general election.

A meeting in London on 6 November 2004 provided the only opportunity since the Socialist Alliance's special conference in March 2004 for SA members to challenge and question the SA Executive which has effectively shut the Alliance down.

The website of the Socialist Alliance, recently revived after some months offline, advertises an open meeting of the SA on 6 November.

The Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform (SADP) emailed and posted a letter to the National Committee of the SWP on 27 September concerning the future of the Socialist Alliance (SA).

There are two major semi-hidden disputes within the Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform (SADP). These differences underpin a number of recurring arguments in the SADP around RESPECT; around how we see the SA experience being possibly re-created; and about what our relationship should be with the LRC and the residual left within the Labour Party.

By Riki Lane and Janet Burstall

The Socialist Alliance (SA) began as an electoral alliance in early 2001 and has developed work in other areas, especially trade unions and anti-war campaigning. In local areas specific campaigns have also been taken up. Membership has grown, but the active membership core has not grown in proportion. The Alliance is changing as an organisation too, with a publication program, and organisational structures to include the affiliates and non-aligned members in Alliance decision making.

The Alliance for Workers' Liberty in Britain sends its best wishes to the Australian Socialist Alliance conference for further progress towards the development of an open, pluralist, multi-tendency socialist party.

By Martin Thomas

On our way to leaflet a new batch of streets for Alison Brown, the socialist candidate in Sheffield City Council's elections, we passed the Yemeni mosque.


A group of men were standing outside, so I gave them leaflets. "I'm supporting Respect", said one of them.

Alison Brown, standing for the Democratic Socialist Alliance (People before Profit) in Burngreave ward, Sheffield, tripled her vote by comparison with 2003 (which, in turn, was her best result up to then of the three times she had run in the ward).

For more Democratic Socialist Alliance results, click here.

By Riki Lane SA national co-convenor

The second National Conference of the Socialist Alliance in May voted to move towards a united multi-tendency socialist party. Most SA members expected a different situation and a different tempo for Socialist Alliance as a result. In fact, there has been more continuity than dramatic change in the two months since the Conference.

Martin Thomas moved the motion opposing Respect at the SA conference

Respect is not democratic, not inclusive, and not socialist. Its political platform is similar to the Greens. The Greens already exist. There is no point creating a second-rate replica. The ideas of common ownership, workers' control, workers' representatives on a worker' wage, or workers' representation of any sort, are missing from the platform.