''Red Pepper'' is an independent "
radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
" magazine based in the United Kingdom.
[("This month sees the fifth birthday of Red Pepper, the radical red and green magazine that has defied all predictions by surviving in a market...)] For the first half of its history it appeared monthly, but relaunched as a bi-monthly during 2007.
Origins
''Red Pepper'' was founded by the
Socialist Movement
The history of socialism has its origins in the 1789 French Revolution and the changes which it brought, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. ''The Communist Manifesto'' was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847-4 ...
– an independent left-wing grouping that grew out of a series of large conferences held in
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
in 1987 and 1988 after the defeat of Britain's
miners' strike
Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions.
See also
* List of strikes
References
{{Reflist
Miners
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...
of the mid-1980s. The Socialist Movement set up a campaigning, fortnightly newspaper called ''Socialist''
in autumn 1991. It lasted through September 1992.
Supporters of ''The Socialist'' were convinced that there was a demand for a regular green-left publication, published independently of any political party. After a fundraising drive, which raised an initial £135,000, ''Red Pepper'' launched as a monthly in May 1995.
Its first editor was Denise Searle, who had also edited ''Socialist''.
But for most of its history, it has been edited by socialist and
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
Hilary Wainwright
Hilary Wainwright (born 1949) is a British sociologist, political activist and socialist feminist, best known for being a co-editor of ''Red Pepper (magazine), Red Pepper'' magazine.
Early life and education
Wainwright's father was the Libera ...
best known as the co-author of ''Beyond the Fragments''. From 2004, she became co-editor alongside Oscar Reyes. In July 2009, Reyes stepped down and James O'Nions and Michael Calderbank replaced him, with Emma Hughes and Sarah-Jayne Clifton joining the editorial team in 2010. Now more of an editorial collective, the magazine today is edited by Wainwright, Calderbank and Ruth Potts. Prominent journalists involved with the publication at some point include
Laurie Penny
Laurie Penny (born Laura Barnett, 28 September 1986) is a British journalist and writer. Penny has written articles for publications including ''The Guardian,'' ''The New York Times'' and ''Salon''. Penny is a contributing editor at the ''New ...
,
Gary Younge
Gary Andrew Younge , (born January 1969) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and academic. He was editor-at-large for ''The Guardian'' newspaper, which he joined in 1993. In November 2019, it was announced that Younge had been appointe ...
and Barbara Gunnell.
The magazine's reported circulation in November 1995 was 13,000 copies.
In 2004, it was reportedly 7,000 copies.
Politics
''Red Peppers editorial charter commits it to 'Internationalism; sustainable, socially useful production; welfare not warfare; and self-determination and democracy.’
This charter claims it as: "a magazine of political rebellion and dissent. Influenced by socialism, feminism and
green politics
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...
, it is a resource for all those who imagine and work to create another world – a world based on
equality
Equality may refer to:
Society
* Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing
** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...
, solidarity, and democracy".
The magazine is unusual for the UK left, insofar as it is independent of any political party. ''Red Pepper'' has also collaborated in 'Eurotopia', a network of left and progressive European magazines which publishes a multilingual supplement. The magazine sees itself as closely aligned with the
global justice movement
The global justice movement is a network of globalized social movements demanding global justice by opposing what is often known as the “ corporate globalization” and promoting equal distribution of economic resources.
Movement of movements
...
and has taken part in the organising for the
European Social Forum
The European Social Forum (ESF) was a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement (also known as the Global Justice Movement). In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but late ...
.
More recently it has supported Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
and Momentum festival
The World Transformed
The World Transformed (or TWT) is a political festival which takes place in September, at the same time as the Labour Party Conference (UK), Labour Party conference. Beginning in 2016, organisers describe its purpose as "to create a space in whi ...
.
References
External links
''Red Pepper'' websiteBBC Israel to expel detained BritonTam Dalyell, Blair, the war criminal ''The Guardian'' (27 March 2003) (shortened version of article run in Red Pepper)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Pepper (magazine)
1995 establishments in the United Kingdom
Alternative magazines
Bi-monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom
Eco-socialism
Left-wing politics in the United Kingdom
Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom
Political magazines published in the United Kingdom
Magazines published in London
Magazines established in 1995
Socialist magazines