Draft:Factions in the UK Labour Party

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Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (right) and his deputy Tom Watson (left) pictured together in 2016. Corbyn comes from the Labour left while Watson comes from the old Labour right.

The Labour Party of the United Kingdom has been described as a "broad church" political party with several competing factions and groups.[1]: 16  The four main factions in the Labour Party are the new Labour right represented by Progressive Britain, the old Labour right represented by Labour First, the soft left represented by Open Labour and the Labour left or "hard left" represented by Momentum.[2]: 116 

For much of its history, the Labour Party has suffered from factional infighting. Factionalism was particularly strong during the infighting between the hard left and old Labour right in the 1980s and in recent years has increased following Jeremy Corbyn's election as party leader in 2015.[2]: 117 

Overview[edit]

The Labour Party is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom.[3] It is typically placed on the centre-left of the political spectrum.[4] Labour has been described as a "broad church" party with several competing factions, groupings and political ideologies.[1]: 16  The broad church dates back to the founding of the Scottish Labour Party in 1888; Keir Hardie founded the party as a broad church of trade unionists, socialists and other political radicals as a means to emancipate the working class.[5] When Hardie founded the Labour Party in 1900, he expected its leaders to maintain this broad church and keep it united around a "socialistic" policy platform.[5] However, the United Kingdom's two-party system has made it difficult for Labour to keep itself and its broad church united, and has led to the emergence of Labour factions across the country and its different legislatures.[3] The first-past-the-post electoral system has forced the Labour Party to appeal to a broad spectrum of political ideologies to remain electable.[6][7] This has allowed for an ideologically diverse party membership, which has led to more factional divisions.[7][2]: 116  In other electoral systems such as the electoral system of Germany, many of the party's members would instead join other parties, for example green or socialist parties.[2]: 116 

Labour's ideologically diverse membership, as well as its broad church, has led to a factional and ideological split within the party between more moderate social democratic members who accept capitalism and favour compromise, electability and reforms to the system, and more ideological left-wing democratic socialist members who favour a fundamental change to society.[1][8][9]: 2  There are many other ideological positions that exist on this ideological spectrum.[9]: 2  Historically, Labour's ideological divisions led to the formation of two main rivalling "left" and "right" factions in the party;[10]: i  the Labour left is the left-wing of the Labour Party and the Labour right is the right-wing of the Labour Party.[11] The rivalry between the left and right can be traced as far back as the 1920s[12] and continues into the present day.[13] For a period in the 1980s and 1990s, the party's left–right split was replaced by a different factional divide between Labour's modernisers and traditionalists.[14] The left–right split had re-emerged by the early 2000s, with the Labour left and Labour right becoming the two main wings of the modern Labour Party.[15][16]

Factions in the modern Labour Party are typically based around the party's left–right split.[17]: 2  The modern party has, broadly speaking, four main factions which are spread across the party's left–right spectrum.[17]: 2  The Labour left itself is one of the main factions. Sometimes known as the hard left, it has been described as Labour's socialist or democratic socialist faction.[18][19] Another main faction is the soft left, described as a loosely-defined socialist or social democratic faction historically on the left of the party[20][21][22] but now generally thought to occupy the broad ideological space between the left and right[23][24][25] (otherwise known as the centre or middle-ground of the party).[26][27] The other main factions in the party are the old Labour right, described as taking a social democratic position, and the new Labour right, described as taking a more neoliberal position, which together form the modern Labour right.[2]: 116, 173  On the national left–right political spectrum, the hard left has been described as taking a left-wing to far-left[28] (but not ultra-left)[18] position, the soft left as taking a centre-left to left-wing position, and the old and new right as taking a centre-left to centrist position.

Disputed terminology[edit]

The term "hard left" can be considered pejorative.[29] While the term did reflect a genuine divide between the two historical factions on the Labour left, the other being the soft left,[30] the term has since become synonymous with the Labour left as a whole.[29][31][32] It has been said that "hard left" can carry negative connotations which can suggest a more uncompromising approach to socialism.[33] Historically, supporters of this faction have preferred the term "outside left".[34] Similarly, the term "soft left" has also been said to carry negative connotations which can suggest a less enthusiastic approach to socialism.[33] However, members of this faction have used the term as a self-descriptor to distance themselves from the "hard left".[35] Soft left MP Lisa Nandy wants a "better name" for the soft left and said the term "sounds a bit like you’ve sort of collapsed into a jellyfish".[36] Open Labour, the main organisation representing the soft left,[24] has preferred to use the term "open left".[25] Historically, the soft left was also called the "Tribunite left"[37][38] and, to contrast it with the hard left, the "inside left".[39] The term "right-wing" as a descriptor for groups and members of what can be considered a left-wing party can also be problematic as it usually has pejorative connotations. Most members of the Labour right do not openly describe themselves as such unless they are about to leave the party.[40]: 2, 4  Other names for the right of the party include the Labour "moderates" or "centre-right".[2]: 173 

For the purposes of this article, the terms "soft left" and "Labour right" will be used. The term "hard left" will be used to describe the faction on the Labour left which emerged in the 1970s and the 1980s while the term "Labour left" will be used to describe the modern left of the party, also known as the "hard left", to avoid pejorative connotations.

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Williams, Ben; Hickson, Kevin (24 February 2021). "Factions and Splits in British Politics". Political Insight. 12 (1): 16–19. doi:10.1177/20419058211000997. eISSN 2041-9066. ISSN 2041-9058. S2CID 232050474. Retrieved 11 June 2023 – via SAGE Journals.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Davies, Luke John (March 2020). The role of youth and student wings in shaping Social Democratic Parliamentarians in Germany and Great Britain (PDF) (PhD). Aston University. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b Bennett, Anthony J.; Tuck, David; Lemieux, Simon; Magee, Eric (21 June 2021). Pearson Edexcel A Level US Government and Politics. Hodder Education. pp. 545–547. ISBN 978-1-3983-1118-3. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  4. ^ Ward, Bradley; Guglielmo, Marco (2021). "Pop-socialism: A new radical left politics? Evaluating the rise and fall of the British and Italian left in the anti-austerity age" (PDF). British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 24 (4). University of Birmingham: 6. doi:10.1177/13691481211044643. S2CID 244171596 – via SAGE Journals.
  5. ^ a b Reid, Fred (2019) [1978]. Keir Hardie: The Making of a Socialist. Routledge. Preface. ISBN 978-1-138-32435-0.
  6. ^ Menz, Georg (30 September 2022). The Resistible Corrosion of Europe's Center-Left After 2008. Taylor & Francis. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-000-63453-2. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b "It's political suicide for Labour to ditch first past the post". New Statesman. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  8. ^ Brown, Kenneth D. (15 March 1998). Britain and Japan: A Comparative Economic and Social History Since 1900. Manchester University Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-7190-5291-0. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b Martell, Luke (1 December 2020). "Beyond factionalism to unity: Labour under Starmer". Renewal: A journal of social democracy. 28 (4). Lawrence and Wishart: 67–75. ISSN 0968-252X. Retrieved 24 July 2023 – via University of Sussex.
  10. ^ Seyd, Patrick (June 1986). The Labour Left (PhD). University of Sheffield. Retrieved 31 January 2023 – via White Rose University Consortium.
  11. ^ Miliband, Ralph (1961). Parliamentary Socialism: A Study in the Politics of Labour. George Allen & Unwin. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-85036-135-4. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  12. ^ Our Labour Correspondent (25 January 1924). "Britain's First Labour Government: A Happy Surprise to the Nation: Biographical Notes on Its Members with Some Estimates of Their Peculiarities". North-China Herald. Shanghai. p. 344. ProQuest 1369956964. Retrieved 11 April 2023 – via Proquest. A feature of the Labour Left is its pacifism ... In the eternal struggle that goes on in the Party between the Right and Left, both about evenly matched, each side is able to find points of agreement with MacDonald.
  13. ^ "Labour Party: John McDonnell 'does not recognise' faction fight claim". BBC News. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2023. It comes after leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy said that some of Mr Corbyn's team wanted to wage a 'factional war until the other side had been crushed'. Mr McDonnell said he disagreed, but added that there had always been 'a bit of a tussle' between left and right.
  14. ^ Quinn, T. (14 October 2004). Modernising the Labour Party: Organisational Change since 1983. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-50491-2. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  15. ^ Roskin, Michael G. (2001). Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, Culture. Prentice Hall. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-13-086758-2. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  16. ^ "A Profile of The Labour Party in the UK". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b Hardy, Jessica (November 2017). "Party factions in the UK". Politics Review. 27 (2). Hodder Education.
  18. ^ a b "Bennism without Benn: realignment on the Labour left". New Socialist. No. 23–33. Labour Party. May 1985. p. 5. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  19. ^ Hill, Dave; McLaren, Peter; Cole, Mike; Rikowski, Glenn (11 December 2002). Marxism Against Postmodernism in Educational Theory. Lexington Books. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7391-5755-8. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  20. ^ Zentner, Peter (1982). Social Democracy in Britain: Must Labour Lose?. J. Martin. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-906237-22-9. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  21. ^ Rose, Richard; McAllister, Ian (1990). The Loyalties of Voters. SAGE Publications. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-8039-8274-1. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  22. ^ Young, Ross (2001). The Labour Party and the Labour Left: Party Transformation and the Decline of Factionalism 1979–97 (PDF) (PhD). Oxford University Press. pp. 40–41. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  23. ^ Shaw, Eric (April 2020). "British Labour's Safe Pair of Hands". Inroads – The Canadian Journal of Opinion. No. 47. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  24. ^ a b Thompson, Paul; Pitts, Frederick Harry; Ingold, Jo (2020-11-30). "A Strategic Left? Starmerism, Pluralism and the Soft Left". The Political Quarterly. 92 (1). Wiley: 32–39. doi:10.1111/1467-923x.12940. ISSN 0032-3179. S2CID 229426961.
  25. ^ a b Rodgers, Sienna (26 September 2022). "Labour Party Jargon Buster: Use our glossary of terms at Conference '22". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  26. ^ Lovenduski, Joni; Randall, Vicky (1993). Contemporary Feminist Politics: Women and Power in Britain. Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-19-827738-5. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  27. ^ Ellison, Nick (November 2002). Egalitarian Thought and Labour Politics: Retreating Visions. Routledge. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-134-91368-8. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  28. ^ Ranney, Austin (1985). Britain at the Polls, 1983: A Study of the General Election. Duke University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-8223-0620-7. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  29. ^ a b Stone, Jon (5 January 2016). "Labour's left wing 'can't tolerate dissent', Labour MP Chris Leslie claims". The Independent. Retrieved 11 June 2023. The 'hard left' is a pejorative term that refers to the left wing of the Labour party. It is generally thought to include Mr Corbyn and his allies.
  30. ^ John Gyford; Steve Leach; Chris Game (1989). "Political change since Widdicombe". The changing politics of local government. Routledge. pp. 310–313. ISBN 9780044452997.
  31. ^ Eaton, George (23 September 2017). "How the Labour left triumphed: the inside story". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 June 2023. In parliament, the left, or 'hard left', assembled around the Socialist Campaign Group (founded in December 1982 by supporters of Benn), which McDonnell chaired.
  32. ^ Walker, Jonathan (24 September 2017). "Labour holds its annual conference in Brighton as the party has united around Jeremy Corbyn". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 11 June 2023. The left (or hard left as some people call them) became a fringe tendency within the Labour Party, tolerated and patronised by MPs from other traditions.
  33. ^ a b Crines, Andrew Scott (12 July 2011). Michael Foot and the Labour Leadership. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-4438-3239-7. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  34. ^ Hassan, Gerry (20 June 2012). Strange Death of Labour Scotland. Edinburgh University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7486-5557-1. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  35. ^ Gilbert, Jeremy (March 2016). "Corbynism and Its Futures" (PDF). Near Futures Online: Europe at a Crossroads. 1. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  36. ^ Sodha, Sonia; Helm, Toby (29 February 2020). "Lisa Nandy: 'If Labour got things broadly right, how did we lose so badly?'". The Observer. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  37. ^ Hosken, Andrew (2008). Ken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone. Arcadia. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-905147-72-4. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  38. ^ Paterson, William E.; Thomas, Alastair H. (1986). The Future of Social Democracy: Problems and Prospects of Social Democratic Parties in Western Europe. Clarendon Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-19-876168-6. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  39. ^ Alderman, Geoffrey (1989). Britain: A One Party State?. Christopher Helm. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7470-0004-4. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  40. ^ Meredith, Stephen (2019). "'Divided Within Itself': The Parliamentary Labour 'Right' and the Demise of Postwar Revisionist Social Democracy in the 1970s" (PDF). Parliamentary History. 38 (2): 244–261. doi:10.1111/1750-0206.12446. S2CID 158636595. Retrieved 11 June 2023 – via University of Central Lancashire.
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