Revolutionary Communist League (UK)

For the Maoist group, see the Revolutionary Communist League of Britain.

The Revolutionary Communist League was a small Trotskyist political group in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1970[1] by two small groups, one expelled from the International Marxist Group for wanting focus on entryist work in the Labour Party, and one from the Militant tendency.

The League promoted the Socialist Charter initiative of various Tribunite left-wing Labour MPs, as well as publishing the Chartist paper, and were consequently nicknamed "The Chartists". They took over this initiative, and based their work around the Charter on a conception of transitional politics taken from Leon Trotsky. In pursuit of this political approach, they were also active around The Soldiers' Charter, the only attempt in recent years on the part of socialists in Britain to subvert the armed forces.

By 1973 most of the group were moving to the right, while others (including Al Richardson) had left. A split developed and the Right of the group kept the journal,[1] which developed a politics influenced by Euro-Communism and were close to the Labour Co-ordinating Committee. The minority became involved in the launch of London Labour Briefing. Labour Briefing still exists but the "Chartist Minority" has long since dissolved itself.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Andrew Hosken (2008), Ken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone, Arcadia Books