Socialist Party (England and Wales)
The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist political party in England and Wales. Founded in 1997, it had formerly been Militant, an entryist group in the Labour Party from 1964 to 1991, which became Militant Labour from 1991 until 1997. It is a member of the refounded Committee for a Workers' International, and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
History
The Socialist Party was formerly the Militant group, which practised entryism in the Labour Party. In the 1980s, Militant supporters Dave Nellist, Pat Wall and Terry Fields were elected to the House of Commons as Labour MPs. In 1982, Liverpool District Labour Party adopted Militant's policies for Liverpool City Council in its battle against cuts in the rate support grant from government, and came into conflict with the Conservative government.In 1991, there was a debate within Militant as to whether to continue working within the Labour Party, centred around whether they could still effectively operate in the party following the expulsions. The group became Militant Labour in 1991, after leaving the Labour Party. In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party, and the Militant newspaper was renamed The Socialist.
In March 2009, the Socialist Party was invited to participate in No to EU – Yes to Democracy, a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition by the RMT union leader Bob Crow, for the 2009 European Parliament elections. This alliance later developed into the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, of which the party is a member.
During Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party, members of the Socialist Party attempted to join the former, with then leader of the Socialist Party, Peter Taaffe, stating they hoped to be able to affiliate to the Labour Party and stand joint candidates at future general elections. Labour Party sources however distanced themselves from such attempts, highlighting the rules preventing active members of other parties joining the Labour Party.
In 2018 and 2019, the party was involved in a dispute within the predecessor Committee for a Workers' International (1974) around the questions of socialism and identity politics. The Socialist Party, as part of the “In Defence of a Working Class and Trotskyist CWI” faction, would go on to re-establish a revived Committee for a Workers' International in 2019 that considers itself a continuance of the original CWI.
Youth and student campaigning
The SP founded Young Socialists, which is organised as a caucus as a 'youth group' within the party.Socialist Students is another organisation founded by members of the Socialist Party. Although not considered the student faction of the party, they operate independently to ensure inclusivity of political belief between its members to control the freedom of discourse and discussion. Socialist Students are affiliated and co-affiliated with university and college societies around the UK.
The SP have helped Socialist Students in past campaigns by promoting them in their newspaper The Socialist and sharing them with its members, such as their 'Funding Not Fees' campaign in February 2025 after the Leicester Socialist Students Conference.