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| Militant (Trotskyist) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Militant |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Dissolved | 1991 (as open tendency) |
| Ideology | Trotskyism |
| Position | Far-left |
| International | Fourth International (sympathiser links) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Militant (Trotskyist) was a British Trotskyist grouping that operated as a political tendency within the Labour Party and as an independent organisation associated with the Committee for a Workers' International tradition. It combined entryist activity inside Labour, open work in trade unions such as the National Union of Public Employees, and electoral campaigns in local government and the Liverpool City Council. Militant influenced debates involving figures and institutions including Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, Ken Livingstone, Arthur Scargill, and Len McCluskey while engaging with international movements linked to the Fourth International and the Socialist Workers Party.
Militant emerged from the Revolutionary Socialist League and the tendency around the journal Militant edited by activists linked to the Trotskyist tradition associated with James P. Cannon, Leon Trotsky, and later currents from the Fourth International. Its origins trace to debates after the World War II realignments involving the Labour Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain, and postwar socialist currents around Ernest Bevin and Clement Attlee. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Militant developed organisational bases in cities such as Liverpool, London, Birmingham, and Glasgow and placed cadres into trade unions including the National Union of Mineworkers, the Transport and General Workers' Union, and the National Union of Public Employees.
Militant adhered to a Trotskyist interpretation of revolutionary socialism influenced by texts and figures like Leon Trotsky, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and debates within the Fourth International. It advocated for nationalisation of key industries as practised in programmes referencing the Clause IV tradition within Labour and promoted public ownership models similar to policies associated with the Labour left under Tony Benn and John McDonnell. The tendency opposed policies promoted by leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and supported militant trade unionism exemplified by campaigns involving Arthur Scargill and the National Union of Mineworkers during the 1980s. Militant also engaged with international solidarity struggles including opposition to Apartheid in South Africa, support for movements in Nicaragua and criticism of states allied to the Soviet Union.
Militant organised through local branches, district organisers, and a central editorial team around the journal Militant newspaper and a leadership cadre including activists such as Ted Grant, Graham Bash, Simon Hannah, and later figures like John McDonnell and Phil Hearse. Its internal structure combined democratic centralism practices with entryist cells operating inside institutions such as Labour constituency parties, trade union branches, and student bodies like the National Union of Students. Militant cadres held elected posts in bodies from ward councils to the Liverpool City Council and contested selections within Labour alongside MPs and councillors including Ken Livingstone and numerous local leaders.
Militant led and participated in campaigns on housing, anti-cuts mobilisation, and welfare defence involving local assemblies, tenants' unions, and union strike committees influenced by events like the 1984–85 UK miners' strike and the Poll Tax Riots. It ran electoral campaigns for council control in areas such as Liverpool and contested by-elections and local selections within Labour, deploying leaflets, rallies, and trade union meetings in coordination with organisations such as the Transport and General Workers' Union and the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions. Militant also engaged in international solidarity actions supporting forces in Nicaragua, opposing South African apartheid, and aligning with sections of the Fourth International on anti-imperialist initiatives.
Militant's entryist relationship with the Labour Party produced tensions with party leaders including Denis Healey, Neil Kinnock, and others who pursued discipline actions and expulsions during the 1980s; clashes included public disputes on funding, selections, and party rule changes associated with national conferences such as those at Blackpool and Brighton. The tendency also competed and cooperated with groups like the Socialist Workers Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain, the Social Democratic Party splinters, and left figures including Tony Benn and Ken Livingstone over strategy, coalition building, and electoral tactics. High-profile interventions culminated in expulsions and public controversies involving media outlets such as The Guardian, The Times, and parliamentary debates in the House of Commons.
Militant produced a sustained press including the weekly Militant newspaper, pamphlets, and books authored by leading cadres and sympathisers engaging with theorists like Rosa Luxemburg and Antonio Gramsci. The tendency utilised trade union journals, local council newsletters, and campaigning leaflets alongside coverage in national newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent, and The Daily Telegraph where disputes over entryism and expulsions were publicised. Militant also maintained international links through publications circulated to sympathisers in organisations connected to the Fourth International and to movements in Europe and Latin America.
Following sustained expulsions and the Labour leadership's drive under Neil Kinnock and subsequent reforms, Militant moved from clandestine entryism to open political organisation by the early 1990s, leading to splits and successor groups such as the Socialist Party (England and Wales), the Independent Labour Network, and smaller formations that traced heritage to Ted Grant and the Committee for a Workers' International. Its legacy influenced debates involving New Labour, Tony Blair, John McDonnell, and contemporary organisations in trade unions and municipal politics, and remains referenced in academic studies at institutions like the London School of Economics and in histories of the British left.
Category:Trotskyist organisations in the United Kingdom Category:Entryist organisations