Socialist Alternatives
group, magazine
| Socialist Alternatives link () | |
|---|---|
| File:Youthful Starmer.jpg Starmer in his youth | |
| Trotskyist group and magazine associated with Keir Starmer |
Socialist Alternatives was the British section of the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency (IRMT), a formerly Trotskyist Pabloite group based in Paris.[1] Socialist Alternatives' politics were defined by one of its later authors Andrew Coates as being "aligned to the European ‘alternative’ movements of the time which stood for ecology, feminism and self-management. These were forerunners of later radical green-left groups, Los Indignados, Podemos, the left of Labour and similar currents within social democratic parties."[2] It was described by the left wing magazine Chartist as "the human face of the hard left".[3] Peter Hitchens described Socialist Alternatives' "preoccupation with sexual politics and green issues" as presaging the politics of all today's major British politicians.[4]
The Magazine
Being a small group in the UK, it was best known for the eponymous Marxist magazine Socialist Alternatives founded in Oxford[5] by Benjamin Schoendorff[6] and partially edited by Keir Starmer from 1986 to 1987.[7][8][9][10] which was used by his supporters in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election] to show more left wing credentials.[11] The magazine is believed to have been produced by the Pabloist IRMT,[12][13] and advertised its events and publications, although one of the authors identified it as being an outgrowth of the Socialist Society connected with Ralph Miliband and Hilary Wainwright,[14] who both wrote for Socialist Alternatives. Paul Mason has called it a "Trotskyite front magazine",[15] although this is disputed and its ex-editor Ben Schoendorff called it "post-Trotskyist".[16] The French Trotskyist journalist Maurice Najman was also cited as a key supporter.
Magazine articles
Socialist Alternatives included articles by Michalis Raptis,[17][18][19][20] the leader of the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency and the left wing Labour MP Eric Heffer, Peter Tatchell, as well as an interview with Tony Benn.[21][22] There were also advertisements for Michael Raptis's "Self Management Lectures"[23] and IRMT publications.[24] Keir Starmer wrote articles on the Wapping strike,[25][26][27] the 1986 TUC conference,[28] criticising Labour leader Neil Kinnock's moves towards the market economy,[29] a book review of Eric Heffer's Labour's Future,[30] Trade Unions and pluralism,[31] an interview with Benn, and left-wing approaches to local government.[32]
Still publishing in 1989
Socialist Alternatives was still publishing in 1989,[33] and… Keir Starmer posted on the blog of Andrew Coates an author featured in that edition, and also in 1994.[34]
References
- ↑ "Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century"
- ↑ "Europe, Internationalism, Socialist Alternatives (Pabloism), and…Keir Starmer"
- ↑ "Starmer's Socialist Alternatives"
- ↑ "Letters: Labour's left vs left struggle"
- ↑ "Sir Keir Starmer: Bureaucrat first, politician second"
- ↑ "The Socialist Alternatives experiment - an 1980s attempt to search for a new revolutionary subject"
- ↑ "Starmer's old friend calls out links with the deep state"
- ↑ "Keir Starmer: Radical who attacked Kinnock in Marxist journal"
- ↑ "Interview with Keir Starmer: Fatboy Slim, open selections, Trotskyism and more"
- ↑ "Keir Starmer: The sensible radical"
- ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn's local Labour party backs Keir Starmer for leadership"
- ↑ An archive of Socialist Alternatives is here: https://web.archive.org/web/20200702133701/https://britishpabloism.wordpress.com/
- ↑ "Keir Starmer, Trotskyism and Pabloism"
- ↑ "Comrade Paul Mason Backs Keir Starmer"
- ↑ "Clive Lewis and Keir Starmer are the candidates who understand how Labour must change"
- ↑ "The Socialist Alternatives Project & Keir Starmer 1986-2024. The dialectic of timely historical research"
- ↑ "Keir Starmer has come a long way from the anti-capitalism of his youth"
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v1 no1 July August 1986"
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v1 no2 October November 1986"
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v2 no1 April May 1987"
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v2 no1 April May 1987"
- ↑ Interview with Keir Starmer talking about the Benn interview on Nick Robinson's Talking politics, linked here
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v1 no1 July August 1986", page 30
- ↑ Socialist Alternatives v1 no1 July August 1986", back page
- ↑ Socialist Alternatives v1 no1 July August 1986", pages 19 & 20
- ↑ "Keir Starmer: Radical who attacked Kinnock in Marxist journal"
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v2 no1 April May 1987", pages 7 and 8
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v1 no2 October November 1986, page 3, written with Alex Harvey
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v1 no1 July August 1986", page 31
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v1 no2 October November 1986", page 41
- ↑ Socialist Alternatives v1 no3 December 1986 January 1987, pages 25 to 27
- ↑ "Socialist Alternatives v2 no2 August September 1987", pages 15 and 16
- ↑ "Europe, Internationalism, Socialist Alternatives (Pabloism)"
- ↑ "Google Scholar"
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