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 in November 2007. Its supporters included George Galloway,

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

Victoria Brittain Victoria Brittain (born 1942) is a British journalist and author who lived and worked for many years in Africa, the US, and Asia, including 20 years at ''The Guardian'', where she eventually became associate foreign editor. In the 1980s, she wor ...

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 ...

and Nick Wrack.

History

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. This was the beginning of a dispute within Respect between Galloway and his supporters and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) on the other side. On 3 November 2007, Galloway's camp announced plans to hold the Respect Renewal 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, comparable with the Respect national conference, although the 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. He was an editor of ''International Socialism'' and ''Socialist Work ...

in the SWP's ''

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 ...

''. This split continued with both Respect Renewal and the SWP-led faction claiming to be the real Respect. Respect Renewal, through Linda Smith, had control over the use of the Respect name in elections, while the SWP-led faction used the electoral label

Left List The Left List, later renamed the Left Alternative, was a political party active in the United Kingdom between 2008 and 2010. A minor party, it never had any of its candidates elected at any level of UK government although it inherited several lo ...

, but did control the original Respect website. Both the Respect Renewal faction, as 'Respect (George Galloway)', and Left List stood in the 2008 London Assembly elections. Neither party won a seat or did as well as Respect did in the 2004 elections, but 'Respect (George Galloway)' outpolled Left List. The split was finally resolved in October 2008, when the Left List ended its claim on the Respect name.

Criticisms of Respect Renewal

The SWP has attributed the split within Respect to a shift to the right by George Galloway and his allies, motivated by electoralism (placing election-winning above other principles). This, according to the SWP leadership, led to attacks on the SWP as the most prominent left group in Respect. This interpretation of events is countered by Respect Renewal, which criticises the SWP for opportunism and lack of democracy.

References

External links

*
Respect website
controlled by the opposing

faction of Respect {{George Galloway 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct socialist parties in the United Kingdom Respect Party Political schisms Political party factions in the United Kingdom