The Left List, later renamed the Left Alternative, 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 ...
active in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
between 2008 and 2010. A
minor party
A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great ...
, it never had any of its candidates elected at any level of UK government although it inherited several local councillors who had defected to it from the
Respect Party
The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left, socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...
.
The Left List arose from a schism in the left-wing Respect Party in 2007. Various Respect members had been affiliated with the
Socialist Workers Party (SWP), a far-left,
Marxist
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 ...
group, and this had proved a cause for concern among other party members. In 2008 the SWP-affiliated members split and formed the Left List. The new party took part in the
2008 London mayoral election
The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative Party (UK), Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Party (UK), Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone. It was the th ...
s and
London Assembly elections
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
, where it received under 1% of the vote. Its mayoral candidate,
Lindsey German
Lindsey Ann German
''Evening Standard'' (This is London), 14 May 2004 (born 1951) is a ...
, came seventh. The party then adopted the name "Left Alternative" although several of its councillors defected either to the
Labour Party or
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. It deregistered with the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
in 2010.
History
Respect was created in January 2004,
[BBC News]
/ref> using the issue of the war in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
Other armed conflicts involving Iraq
* Wars during Mandatory Iraq
** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921
* Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
to mobilise its vote. Beyond this issue, it attempted to have a broad socialist
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 ...
agenda. Respect allows its members to hold membership of other political organisations and notably included the SWP. Respect's most high-profile figure has been George Galloway
George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who is currently leader of the Workers Party of Britain, serving since 2019. Between 1987 and 2010, and then between 2012 and 2015, Galloway was a Member o ...
, then Respect
Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for Bethnal Green and Bow
Bethnal Green and Bow is a constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Rushanara Ali of the Labour Party.
Boundaries
Since the 2014 boundary changes, the constituency has contained the ...
, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 for "bringing the party into disrepute".
The crisis in Respect
In September 2007, Galloway wrote a letter to Respect's national council members saying that the party was "too disorganised" and "faced oblivion" unless it reformed its internal party management. The letter also criticised the amount of money spent on the Organising for Fighting Unions conference and on an intervention at the Pride London LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
rights event.
The letter was the opening shot in a dispute in Respect initially between Galloway and his supporters (including founding member Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob (formally Jacob) (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council.
She led the Birming ...
) on one side, and supporters of the SWP on the other. However, the arguments later began to affect all of the membership including those not in the SWP or close to Galloway or Yaqoob. In particular, Galloway called for the appointment of a National Organiser, who would support the National Secretary, John Rees (then an SWP member). The SWP perceived this to be an attempt to undermine John Rees who was the dominant voice for the SWP within Respect's leadership. A letter from their Central Committee stated: "The SWP believed that the post was created to undermine Respect National Secretary John Rees."
In the course of the dispute, the SWP expelled three members who sided with Galloway: Kevin Ovenden and Rob Hoveman, who both worked for George Galloway, and Nick Wrack, who was nominated for the position of National Organiser.
On 3 November 2007, Galloway's side announced plans to hold a "Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition, a UK political party.
Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed ...
" conference on 17 November, the same day as the planned national conference of Respect. The Respect Renewal conference was an open event and organisers claim 350 people attended. This figure was disputed by Chris Harman
Chris Harman (8 November 1942 – 7 November 2009) was a British journalist and political activist, and a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Workers Party (UK), Socialist Workers Party. He was an editor of ''International Soc ...
in ''International Socialism
Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...
''. The Respect national conference, which went ahead on the same day was attended by 270 delegates from 49 local branches and 17 student groups, as well as 90 observers.
Linda Smith, Respect's national chair at the time of the split, has claimed: "The sectarianism and 'control freak' methods of the SWP have led us to a situation where Respect is irretrievably split." The SWP has attributed the split to a shift to the right by George Galloway and his allies, motivated by electoralism (placing election-winning above other principles). This, say the SWP leadership, led to attacks on the SWP as the most prominent left group in Respect.
Left List emerges
The Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
refused to take a side in the split and therefore continued to recognise Linda Smith as the Nominating Officer for Respect. This means that her signature is required for candidates wishing to use the electoral label "Respect" (and similar registered names) on ballot papers in UK elections. A letter from the Electoral Commission to Linda Smith on 23 January 2008, set out its position on the split, following confusion on the matter from both sides.
Following the split, the side that included the SWP (but not Galloway or Linda Smith) nominated candidates in two district council by-elections. They could not use the name "Respect" on ballot papers without the signature of the nominating officer. Instead, both had no label on the ballot papers.
This side in the Respect split announced that in the London mayoral elections
The London mayoral election for the office of mayor of London takes place every four years. The first election was held in May 2000, and five subsequent elections have taken place. The latest mayoral election took place in 2021; it was initially ...
planned for 1 May 2008 it would stand Lindsey German
Lindsey Ann German
''Evening Standard'' (This is London), 14 May 2004 (born 1951) is a ...
for mayor (Respect's candidate in 2004 and chosen as Respect's candidate in 2007 prior to the schism) and candidates for the London Assembly, elected on the same date. It announced that its candidates would contest these elections under a new electoral label, the Left List, since Linda Smith had not allowed them to be listed on ballot papers as Respect candidates.
The Left List contested every constituency and stood on the London-wide proportional representation list.
At the council elections on 1 May 2008, the Left List also contested seats as the Left List or the Left Party, Maxine Bowler in Burngreave, Sheffield. Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition, a UK political party.
Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed ...
stood in the City and East London constituency as well as contesting the London-wide list. George Galloway headed the London-wide party list, and Respect Renewal candidates stood under the name Respect (George Galloway).
Both factions of Respect suffered as a result and together failed to reach the previous number of votes.
Left Alternative
The organisation's website began to display the title Left Alternative in late June 2008. On 10 September 2008 John Rees and Lindsey German resigned from the Left Alternative National Committee.[SWP dumps John Rees](_blank)
Most elected councillors who had joined Left List at the time of the split from Respect subsequently defected to other parties, mainly Labour, over the course of 2008. In 2008, one Left List councillor defected to the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. In June of that year, the three remaining Left List councillors in Tower Hamlets, including the Chair and Nominating Officer of the Left List, defected to the Labour Party as did one Respect Renewal councillor.
The organisation's website ceased operation in mid-2009. The party deregistered from the Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
Register of Political Parties in April 2010.
See also
*Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars.
The Coalition has c ...
*Respect Coalition
The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left, socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...
*Socialist Workers Party (UK)
The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a far-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Socialist Review Group by supporters of Tony Cliff in 1950, it became the International Socialists in 1962 and the SWP in 1977. The party cons ...
*Lindsey German
Lindsey Ann German
''Evening Standard'' (This is London), 14 May 2004 (born 1951) is a ...
* John Rees
References
{{SWP
Political parties established in 2007
Defunct socialist parties in the United Kingdom
Respect Party
Political schisms
Political parties disestablished in 2010