{"id":49567,"date":"2026-10-10T11:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T03:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?p=49567"},"modified":"2026-10-10T11:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T03:11:21","slug":"how-militant-intervened-in-britains-labour-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/","title":{"rendered":"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 31, 2026 Interview with Mike Forster and Cormac Kelly<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article was originally published in early June 2026, in issue #3 of International Marxism, the international political journal of International Socialist Alternative.\u00a0Click here to subscribe or to buy a copy of the full issue.<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u201cMilitant Tendency\u201d\u2014a Marxist tendency within the British Labour Party in the 20th century, is an important predecessor of ISA. We discussed Militant\u2019s legacy with Mike Forster and Cormac Kelly, two former members of Militant, today members of Socialist Alternative in England, Wales and Scotland.<\/p>\n

First of all\u2014what was Militant?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

Militant was actually the name of our newspaper, but as the organization grew we became known as \u201cthe Militant.\u201d But in reality, those people who joined the \u201cMilitant Tendency\u201d were joining a Marxist organization called the Revolutionary Socialist League (RSL).<\/p>\n

The basis of our work in the early days was to develop a small cadre of integrated and educated members. So, in the early days, we were a small organization with the perspective of becoming a mass force.<\/p>\n

We developed a program that we would take into the wider movement. Militant was known as \u201cThe Marxist Paper for Labour and Youth\u201d\u2014our orientation was toward mainly young people and to the working class, who were grouped around what were then much bigger mass trade unions, and also the Labour Party.<\/p>\n

Cormac:<\/p>\n

I remember discussions about what we meant by \u201ctendency.\u201d We didn\u2019t call ourselves a party because we were actively involved in pursuing a tactic of \u201centrism\u201d in the Labour Party. The forces of Trotskyism after the end of the Second World War were really quite weak. It would have been arrogant and incorrect to call ourselves a party. We were a tendency of thought attempting to influence the labor movement, trade unions, and the Labour Party with our ideas, and build our forces at the same time. We had the aim of building a party which could have an objective effect on the class struggle.<\/p>\n

Why was Militant involved in the Labour Party?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

Well, originally the followers of the RSL around Ted Grant, and later Peter Taaffe, were a very small force in British politics, based mainly at the University of Sussex and in Liverpool. Those comrades had to reevaluate how we could grow from a small organization into a much bigger force. That meant working out a perspective for how struggles could develop, and where Marxists could play a role. And the conclusion was drawn, despite the fact that the Labour Party at that stage was dominated by right-wing leadership, that future surges in struggle would find their expression through Labour, which at that time had a mass, working-class base.<\/p>\n

After WWII, reformism was in a very strong position, and because of the economic upswing after the war, could claim that it was able to \u201cdeliver the goods.\u201d We knew that upswing wouldn\u2019t last forever, and big struggles would break out\u2014but they would first come about through the \u201ctraditional party\u201d of the working class. So by working within the Labour Party we would be able to reach a wider audience with our Marxist ideas.<\/p>\n

Now, it may seem strange today to imagine that radical youth and workers would turn toward the Labour Party, but in fact, that is where they used to go. So there was a ready reception, especially among a more radical layer of youth, for our ideas. And it was mainly working in the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS) that we had the greatest echo for our ideas.<\/p>\n

Cormac:<\/p>\n

I suppose the other side of it was a real determination to ensure that we kept the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky alive. Particularly in the \u201860s, there were other groups looking at forces like peasants in the neocolonial world, or students in the West, to lead the struggle for socialism. We saw the working class as the key force to change society, so we had to connect to the organized working class. At that time, this included Labour Party work, but also work inside the trade union movement.<\/p>\n

What was the situation in society like when you joined?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cormac:<\/p>\n

I sort of started getting involved in politics around 1970. I joined the tendency in 1971, and there was a lot kicking off at the time. The biggest struggle at that time was from the Upper Clyde shipbuilders in Scotland, who were fighting against job losses\u2014they staged a sit-in and occupied their shipyard. This was the beginning, really, of the process that was later known as deindustrialization. They got support and sympathy in various forms from the labor movement at the time, and it had a huge knock-on effect. There was a big rise in trade union militancy around that time, as well as struggles around youth unemployment.<\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

In 1970, Edward Heath came to power promising to deal with the trade union movement. He was one of the many right-wing politicians who thought that they could deal a blow to the working class. So he unleashed a war\u2014both of attrition and legislation against the trade unions, which was largely unsuccessful. What instead resulted was a huge wave of industrial action\u2014part of which were the miners\u2019 strikes of \u201872 and \u201874. The building workers also came out on strike, and dockers, railway workers, and steel workers\u2014all of what we referred to as the \u201cheavy battalions\u201d of the working class. And always in times of struggle, revolutionary ideas can find an echo, particularly among the most combative elements.<\/p>\n

From the middle of the \u201870s onwards, we started to attract some important leading industrial militants who gave weight to our organization, and who in turn were able to exercise dramatic influence inside the Labour Party.<\/p>\n

Then in 1974, Labour won a (very small) majority in the national elections. At first, we saw a lull, where the workers were waiting for Labour to exercise some policies that were in favor of the working class. There were significant pay rises and concessions that were made by Labour at a time when capitalism could afford it. But despite a lull at first, big struggles would break out toward the end of the decade. By 1978, Labour had embraced \u201cmonetarism,\u201d and was attacking the living standards of the working class, cutting public services, and was dominated by the ideas and the actions of the International Monetary Fund. This laid the seeds for the \u201cwinter of discontent\u201d which ended up bringing down the Labour government.<\/p>\n

But of course, in 1979, the victory of Thatcher ushered in a completely different period. Throughout the beginning of the \u201880s, there were massive anti-Thatcher demos, right up until the Falklands War. There was mass hatred for Thatcher, and had there been an election prior to the Falklands War, she would have been booted out, but the war gave her a new lease on life, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

But our most rapid growth was during the 1980s, and in particular, around two key moments in the \u201880s, which were the third miners\u2019 strike of \u201884-85, and of course the struggle of the Liverpool City Council.<\/p>\n

So as Militant grew, how did it relate to discussions taking place in Labour, and in the workers\u2019 movement more widely?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

As Ted Grant would say, the key to our success was \u201cevents, events, events.\u201d The events of the late \u201870s and early \u201880s were full of struggle. But in particular, because of the defeat of Labour in the 1979 general election, the left inside the Labour Party, organized around something called the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, was saying, \u201cnever again will we allow a leader of the Labour Party to take us in the direction of counter-reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, inside the Labour Party, a huge struggle took place. It was around 1981 that the left-wing MP Tony Benn pitched his bid to become deputy leader of the Labour Party. Benn was a reformist, and we had comradely debate and disagreement with him and others in the party about program and tactics. But our first criticism was always directed at the right. A Benn victory would have opened the road to a much more fundamental shift in the balance of forces within the party. Unfortunately, he narrowly missed out on the position by a few votes.<\/p>\n

But we would characterize the period of the early \u201880s as the rise of the left. Despite the fact that we had Thatcher in power, there were other events that were objectively as important\u2014if not more important.<\/p>\n

That includes the third miners\u2019 strike of \u201884\/85, in which we intervened energetically. We would send full-time organizers into most of the coal fields. We recruited over 400 miners to the organization, many of whom were encouraged to attend the conferences of the LPYS (which at this time was led by supporters of Militant), which used to take place annually.<\/p>\n

Also of course, we played a key role in the struggle of Liverpool City Council\u2014a socialist-led council that was able to carry through dramatic changes. It saw the building of council housing, leisure centers, nurseries, and schools\u2014and they never lost an election. Actually, the majority for Labour, once we took control, continued to increase until the mid-80s, when Labour\u2019s then-leader Neil Kinnock carried out a witch hunt against the Militant.<\/p>\n

By that stage, we were too small to hide inside the Labour Party. If people approached us and said, \u201care you a member of the Revolutionary Socialist League?\u201d we said we\u2019d never heard of it\u2014we are just a tendency. In reality, we were no longer just a tendency, we were a highly organized and centralized political party, and the right wing of Labour knew that.<\/p>\n

The bigger we grew, the more of a threat we were to the Labour Party, and Kinnock launched a witch hunt against us, which ultimately saw those Liverpool councillors barred from public office by a High Court judge, and also expelled from the Labour Party. So yes, the 1980s were a period of tumultuous struggle, during which we reached the high point of our membership. We claimed a membership of 8,000, and a network of around 200 full-time organizers.<\/p>\n

Cormac:<\/p>\n

As Mike said, it\u2019s all about events, really\u2014but we were able to point a way forward in those events. The right really never had clear slogans and demands, whereas we were using slogans such as \u201cLabour to Power on a Socialist Programme,\u201d we were campaigning against racism, campaigning for workers in struggle, and so on. As time went on, we were able to gain an echo\u2014we were the people that seemed to have some answers, we were able to analyze what was going on, and also we had the ability to organize\u2014and so people began to look toward us.<\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine really how much of a household name the Militant was at that time.<\/p>\n

We could stand on the street with copies of Militant and sell between 20 and 30 newspapers because people had heard of it, and we were always on the news. We became a mass phenomenon, and, we would argue, probably the most successful Marxist organization in Europe at the time.<\/p>\n

What changed to allow the right to regain the upper hand?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

The defeat of the miners\u2019 strike had a huge impact on the movement. With the defeat of the miners, Thatcher saw her opportunity and took on one section of the working class after another, emaciating the trade unions. Trade union membership dropped in the back end of the \u201880s from 13 million at its height to just six million, and inevitably that found its political reflection inside the Labour Party.<\/p>\n

But I would argue that a much bigger event took place in 1990-1, which was the collapse of Stalinism. What that collapse signified was that Stalinism had ideologically and organizationally failed, and capitalism was declaring itself as the victor. That had a huge effect, which we still feel today in the movement.<\/p>\n

Only the Trotskyists were able to really explain what went wrong, but it had its effect even inside our organization. And those two events: the defeat of the miners, and the collapse of Stalinism, meant that the Labour Party was hollowed out in terms of its active left membership, paving the way for Tony Blair to become the leader of the Labour Party, to get rid of the socialist clause in the Constitution in the Labour Party, etc.* We went from a position where we might turn up at Labour Party meetings and find tens of people, to one where you would find a handful of older members who were no longer interested in the class struggle and were intolerant of us, and were encouraged to move against us. Although the most high-profile expulsions took place against the Liverpool comrades, hundreds of us were expelled, including myself, in the early \u201890s for our allegiance to Militant.<\/p>\n

But, of course, in that period as well, Thatcher herself overreached and introduced the hated poll tax. That was a tax upon every adult regardless of income and on every member of a household rather than by household. It meant that millions were liable to pay a tax that they couldn\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n

Militant turned from the work that we were doing in and around the Labour Party toward the mass of the working class by building up anti-poll tax unions on every estate, in every workplace, and in local communities, and those unions were set up to organize a mass campaign of non-payment of the tax.<\/p>\n

Some people said it would never work, but we said this was the only way that Thatcher could be defeated, and we sensed in the ranks of the working class a burning hatred for Thatcher. Of course, history is written, and we were successful, starting in Scotland, where it was introduced first, and then in England and Wales. A year later, there was a huge army of over seventeen million non-payers, and there were big demonstrations that took place in Scotland and London when they tried to introduce the poll tax there, leading to the poll tax riots. But what defeated Thatcher and the poll tax was the mass non-payment campaign that had been built. And Militant once again became a household name.<\/p>\n

*Clause IV of the Labour Party\u2019s constitution: \u201cTo secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.\u201d This clause was added in 1918 under the pressure of a mass revolutionary upsurge in Europe, and removed in 1995 by Tony Blair\u2019s right-wing Labour leadership.<\/p>\n

I suppose this points toward Militant\u2019s turn away from entrism and toward independent, open work\u2014what lay behind that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cormac:<\/p>\n

The nature of the Labour Party itself had changed. It was always a party that contained both a mass working class base, as well as representatives of the bourgeoisie at the top\u2014the party had its feet in both camps.<\/p>\n

But with the defeat of the working class in Britain, and also the events in Russia with the collapse of Stalinism, the right wing were able to impose their authority. The original working class membership of the party was simply decimated. Working class people didn\u2019t want to join the party anymore, and it became the kind of bourgeois party which it is today. The party was still getting votes from working-class people, because there was no alternative, but there was nothing to be gained for Marxists being in the Labour Party. That was why we took an \u201copen turn\u201d toward independent work under our own banner.<\/p>\n

Mike:<\/p>\n

The poll tax had demonstrated that the most active and fighting sections of workers and youth were not necessarily active in the \u201ctraditional organizations\u201d any more.<\/p>\n

To the people that we reached that were very sympathetic to our ideas during the poll tax struggle, we\u2019d say, \u201cwell, will you come along to the next Labour Party meeting?\u201d And they just laughed at us. \u201cWhy would we want to join the Labour Party?\u201d So there was an alienation of what we might call the advanced layers of the working class toward the Labour Party. I think that is how a lot of people feel today about many of those former workers\u2019 parties, and that\u2019s why we have seen, not just in this country but across Europe, and to a lesser extent across the world, new, more radical left parties being formed.Clearly those can benefit from the involvement of Marxists today. But it would be a mistake for us to join these parties as clandestine \u201centrists,\u201d such as we were forced to do in the Labour Party in the past. I think from the outset, we have to be clear that we\u2019re an organized faction or party or organization, that we have a distinct program, but that we would work in these organizations in order to build them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 31, 2026 Interview with Mike Forster and Cormac Kelly This article was originally published in early June 2026, in issue #3 of International Marxism, the international political journal of International Socialist Alternative.\u00a0Click here to subscribe or to buy a copy of the full issue. The \u201cMilitant Tendency\u201d\u2014a Marxist tendency within the British Labour Party […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":49561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[404,407],"tags":[4643,37929,38628,197],"class_list":["post-49567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-features","category-history","tag-labour-party","tag-militant-tendency","tag-ted-grant","tag-thatcher"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party - China Worker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party - China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 31, 2026 Interview with Mike Forster and Cormac Kelly This article was originally published in early June 2026, in issue #3 of International Marxism, the international political journal of International Socialist Alternative.\u00a0Click here to subscribe or to buy a copy of the full issue. The \u201cMilitant Tendency\u201d\u2014a Marxist tendency within the British Labour Party […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-10T03:11:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-10T03:11:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2026\/10\/liverpool.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"793\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"566\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"-\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"-\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"-\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d04f65d784347c9071efdf48f7338c4f\"},\"headline\":\"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-10T03:11:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-10T03:11:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2872,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/liverpool.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"labour party\",\"Militant Tendency\",\"Ted Grant\",\"Thatcher\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Features\",\"History\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party - China Worker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/liverpool.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-10T03:11:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-10T03:11:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/liverpool.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/liverpool.jpg\",\"width\":793,\"height\":566},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/10\\\/49567\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9801\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u793e\u6703\u4e3b\u7fa9\u884c\u52d5\",\"description\":\"Solidarity, Struggle, Socialism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Chinaworker.info\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/logo-sa.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/logo-sa.png\",\"width\":120,\"height\":126,\"caption\":\"Chinaworker.info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SocialistAction\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/socialistactionhk\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d04f65d784347c9071efdf48f7338c4f\",\"name\":\"-\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/35c1e6925e0d620d80515f466191216adb533dcf3fa7d66aa80493d3356b403a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/35c1e6925e0d620d80515f466191216adb533dcf3fa7d66aa80493d3356b403a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/35c1e6925e0d620d80515f466191216adb533dcf3fa7d66aa80493d3356b403a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"-\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/author\\\/nathan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party - China Worker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party - China Worker","og_description":"August 31, 2026 Interview with Mike Forster and Cormac Kelly This article was originally published in early June 2026, in issue #3 of International Marxism, the international political journal of International Socialist Alternative.\u00a0Click here to subscribe or to buy a copy of the full issue. The \u201cMilitant Tendency\u201d\u2014a Marxist tendency within the British Labour Party […]","og_url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/","og_site_name":"China Worker","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction","article_published_time":"2026-10-10T03:11:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-10T03:11:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":793,"height":566,"url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2026\/10\/liverpool.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"-","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"-","Est. reading time":"14 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/"},"author":{"name":"-","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/d04f65d784347c9071efdf48f7338c4f"},"headline":"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party","datePublished":"2026-10-10T03:11:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-10T03:11:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/"},"wordCount":2872,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2026\/10\/liverpool.jpg","keywords":["labour party","Militant Tendency","Ted Grant","Thatcher"],"articleSection":["Features","History"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/","name":"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party - China Worker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2026\/10\/liverpool.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-10T03:11:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-10T03:11:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2026\/10\/liverpool.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2026\/10\/liverpool.jpg","width":793,"height":566},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2026\/10\/10\/49567\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9801","item":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Militant Intervened in Britain\u2019s Labour Party"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/","name":"\u793e\u6703\u4e3b\u7fa9\u884c\u52d5","description":"Solidarity, Struggle, Socialism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#organization","name":"Chinaworker.info","url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2021\/04\/logo-sa.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2021\/04\/logo-sa.png","width":120,"height":126,"caption":"Chinaworker.info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/socialistactionhk\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/d04f65d784347c9071efdf48f7338c4f","name":"-","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35c1e6925e0d620d80515f466191216adb533dcf3fa7d66aa80493d3356b403a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35c1e6925e0d620d80515f466191216adb533dcf3fa7d66aa80493d3356b403a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35c1e6925e0d620d80515f466191216adb533dcf3fa7d66aa80493d3356b403a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"-"},"url":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/author\/nathan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49568,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49567\/revisions\/49568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}