Socialist Labour Party (UK)
Socialist Labour Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Arthur Scargill |
| President | John Tyrrell |
| Vice-President | Kathrine Jones |
| General Secretary | Kim Bryan |
| Treasurer | Robert J Hawkins |
| Founded | 1996 (1996) |
| Split from | Labour Party |
| Headquarters | PO Box 193, Liverpool. L38 0WX. |
| Ideology | Socialism Hard Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Colours | Red |
| Website | |
http://www.socialist-labour-party.org.uk/ | |
| |
The Socialist Labour Party (SLP) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. The party was established in 1996 and is led by Arthur Scargill, a former Labour Party member and the former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. The party's name highlights its commitment to socialism and acknowledges Clause IV of the Labour Party's former constitution, as fundamental to the party's identity.
The SLP advocates economic localism, Britain's exit from the European Union and is in favour of reopening the mines.[1]
In February 2014, The Guardian newspaper reported that the SLP had only 300 members, which it attributed to the ageing Scargill's withdrawal from public life.[2] According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission for the year 2014, the Socialist Labour Party had 385 members excluding affiliates. It had an income of around £9,362 and an expenditure of £11,386.[3]
Contents
1 History
1.1 Formation
1.2 Brexit and Europe
2 Electoral performance
3 Election results
3.1 House of Commons
3.2 United Kingdom general election, 2010
3.3 Scottish Parliament general election, 2011
3.4 National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
3.5 UK Local Elections 2014
3.6 UK General Elections 2015 and 2017
3.7 UK Local Elections 2018
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links
History
Formation
Arthur Scargill founded the Socialist Labour Party in 1996 as a reaction to Tony Blair's rewrite of Clause IV in the Labour Party's constitution a year earlier, seen as a final rejection of a commitment to socialism. The SLP advocates the public ownership of leading industries - which had been privatised under Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s, with the policy being maintained by her successor John Major and then advocated by Labour Party leader Tony Blair in his re-write of Clause IV.
In 2004, a purge of Marxist-Leninists from the SLP, over the issue of relations with North Korea, led to the formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist).[4]
The party attracted trade union figures such as Mick Rix and Bob Crow.[citation needed]
In early 2014, the SLP gained three Labour councillors in Barking and Dagenham through defection.[5] However, these members lost their seats in the 2014 UK local elections to the Labour Party.[6]
Brexit and Europe
The Socialist Labour Party campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. The party also advocated a unilateral withdrawal without invoking Article 50.[7]
Electoral performance
Election results
House of Commons
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won |
|---|---|---|---|
1997[8] | 52,109  | 0.2% | 0  |
2001[9] | 57,288 | 0.2% | 0 |
2005[10] | 20,167  | 0.1% | 0 |
2010[11] | 7,196 | 0.0% | 0 |
2015[12] | 3,481 | 0.0% | 0 |
2017[13] | 1,154 | 0.0% | 0 |
At the 2001 general election, the party took about 3% of the vote in seats where it stood candidates.
The party received its highest share of the vote in an individual constituency at the 2005 general election, when it gained 14.2% of the votes cast in Glasgow North East.
The Socialist Labour Party did not contest the 2004 European Parliament election, but fielded a full list of candidates for England, Scotland and Wales in the 2009 European Parliament election, where it took 173,115 votes, or 1.1% of the national vote.[14]
United Kingdom general election, 2010
The Socialist Labour Party ran 23 candidates in the 2010 general election, who received a total of 7,196 votes, less than 0.1% of the UK national vote. All lost their deposits. The best results were those of Kai Andersen in Liverpool West Derby (614 votes - 1.7%) and Ken Capstick in Barnsley East (601 votes - 1.6%). In the local elections held on the same day, Andersen also received 244 votes (4.2%) in the Croxteth ward of Liverpool and in 2012 received 410 votes (14.76%) coming second in the same ward.[15]
Scottish Parliament general election, 2011
The Socialist Labour Party contested all electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament in 2011, increasing its share of the vote from 0.7% in 2007 to 0.9%. Most other political parties saw a decrease in their vote share due to the landslide victory by the Scottish National Party (SNP). The SLP beat all other left-wing opposition for the first time, as well as parties like the British National Party (BNP).
National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
The Socialist Labour Party increased its share of the vote from 1.2% in 2007 to 2.4%, giving the SLP the second biggest percentage gain of the total votes cast in the election. It outperformed other small left-wing parties as well as the BNP. The SLP also received more votes than the Green Party in two of the five regions of Wales.[16]
At the local elections on the same day the SLPs Kenny Spain received 251 votes (27%) coming second in the Rossmore ward of Cheshire West and Chester.[17]
UK Local Elections 2014
Although the SLPs three councillors, defectors from Labour in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham, lost their seats, the party's vote in the local elections of 22 May showed an upward trend. Its highest votes were polled in Barnsley where Terry Robinson received 105 votes (8.5%) in Worsborough ward while Frank Watson received 178 (9%) in Stairfoot. Elsewhere, John Tyrrell received 392 votes (6.6%) in Birmingham's Handsworth Wood ward while Barbara Bryan received 129 (6.3%) in the Linacre ward of Sefton.
[18]
UK General Elections 2015 and 2017
In the General Election of 2015 the SLP stood seven candidates all in Wales. Its best result, with 697 votes (1.8%), was achieved in Torfaen by John Cox. In 2017 the best result from its three contests was won in Birmingham Perry Barr where Shangara Bhatoe received 592 votes (1.3%).
[19]
UK Local Elections 2018
The party fielded only three candidates, all in the North West of England. Its share of the vote ranged between 4% and 9%. Its best result was registered in the Appleton ward of Halton, where a former Independent, Vic Turton, obtained 9.3% of the vote (97 votes).
[20][21]
See also
- Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Notes
^ Martin Shipton (2010-03-25). "Reopen Welsh mines, says Scargill". Wales Online. Retrieved 2013-05-13..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Harris, John (28 February 2014). "In search of Arthur Scargill: 30 years after the miners' strike". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
^ http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/16333
^ "Formation of the CPGB-ML". Proletarian Online. August 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
^ Mark Shales (2 April 2014). "Third Labour councillor defects to Socialist Labour Party in Barking and Dagenham". Barking and Dagenham Post. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
^ "Barking and Dagenham: Vote 2014". BBC News. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
^ Press Release, "No Reason We Can’t Leave the EU Immediately, Says Scargill" SLP (27 March 2017)
^ Bryn Morgan. "General Election results, 1 May 1997" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 6. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ Bryn Morgan. "General Election results, 7 June 2001" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 11. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "2005 General election results". UK Political Info. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Election 2010 Results". BBC News. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
^ "UK 2015 general election results in full", The Guardian,
^ "UK 2015 general election results in full", The Guardian,
^ "European Election 2009: UK Results". BBC News. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
^ "General Election and Local Elect". Web.archive.org. 2010-08-17. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 2013-05-13.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
^ "Elections". Socialist Labour Party. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
^ "Elections". Borough of Cheshire West and Chester. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
^ "In Further News". Socialist Labour Party. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
^ "Torfaen (UK Parliament constituency)". Wikipedia. 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
^ "North West)". Socialist Labour Party. 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
^ "Election Results)". Halton Borough Council. 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
External links
- Socialist Labour Party
- Party Broadcast for the 2009 European Parliament Election
