{{Infobox political party , country = the United Kingdom , name = Independent Socialist Party , ideology =

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

Social democracy Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

, position =

Left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, foundation = 1934 , dissolved = 1950s , newspaper = ''Labour's Northern Voice'' , general_secretary =

Tom Abbott Tom Abbott (born 7 December 1981 in London, England) is a broadcaster and sports commentator, best known for his work with The Golf Channel and NBC. He serves as a presenter and commentator for coverage of the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and European To ...

, chairman =

Elijah Sandham Elijah Sandham (1875 – 7 May 1944) was an English Independent Labour Party (ILP) politician from Lancashire. He sat in the House of Commons from 1929 to 1931 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kirkdale division of Liverpool, and in 1934 he le ...

, E. Stevenson , colours = The Independent Socialist Party (ISP) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the UK. It was formed in 1934 as a breakaway from the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP) in protest at the increasing power of the

Revolutionary Policy Committee {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Revolutionary Policy Committee (RPC) was a faction within the former British political party, the Independent Labour Party (ILP). The RPC was formed in 1931 by members of the ILP who were especially unhappy wit ...

within the ILP. The ISP was led by

, a former ILP MP who had been Chairman of the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Division of the ILP, and

, former Lancashire organiser for the party. The Lancashire ILP newspaper ''Labour's Northern Voice'' also supported the ISP. Outside Lancashire, the ISP was supported by the literary critic

John Middleton Murry John Middleton Murry (6 August 1889 – 12 March 1957) was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. ...

and his ''Adelphi'' magazine - and a small ISP based community was founded around his East Anglian home to show

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

as a living entity. The ISP was socialist and resolutely

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

, but was firmly

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

. It failed to gain substantial support after its formation. Several branches rejoined the ILP during World War II,"Article 1", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 9 January 1945, p.6 and, following the deaths of its founders (in 1944 and 1949) the party wound itself up in the early 1950s.

References

Gidon Cohen (2003) ''The Independent Socialist Party'' in Gildart, Howell and Kirk (eds) '' Dictionary of Labour Biography'' Political parties established in 1934 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom 1950s disestablishments in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in the 1950s Defunct socialist parties in the United Kingdom