ABSTRACT

8 9The fate of the Left-wing of the Labour Party is to sit between the Labour Right and the Marxist Left in British politics. For the Labour Right, moderation is necessary in order to get into power. Without holding the reins of political power there is no prospect of social justice (however that term is defined). In contrast, the Marxist Left in British politics argues that the Labour Party is an inadequate vehicle for the attainment of socialist transformation. 1 The Labour Left seek to show that both are incorrect: that Labour can win elections on a radical manifesto and can implement socialism through the existing parliamentary system. Generally, their record has been one of failure. The subject of this chapter is the ‘Old Left’ which existed from roughly 1945 through to 1964, therefore unlike the other positional chapters in this volume the emphasis here is very much historical. That is not to say that the Old Left does not have lessons and policy positions which are not relevant to this day, for as Nick Thomas-Symonds shows in his corresponding commentary in the final section of this book there are certain policy emphases which are relevant such as public ownership. Following Harold Wilson’s defeat in 1970 there emerged a ‘New Left’, which sought to build on what it perceived as the self-inflicted failures of the Old Left. By 1983 this position had also failed with the general election outcome being blamed on its divisive tactics and radical policies. The ‘third wave’ of the Labour Left comes with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Leader in 2015. At the time of writing it remains a distinct possibility that for the first time since 1945 the Labour Left may triumph at a general election and thus disprove the arguments of both the Labour Right and the radical Left critics outside of the Labour Party.