The Leveller


The Leveller was a British political magazine, collectively produced in London from 1976 to 1983 by a shifting coalition of radicals, socialists, Marxists, feminists, and others of the British left and progressive movements. It was published during the years of the Labour government of James Callaghan and the beginning of the era of the Conservative administration of Margaret Thatcher. This period was also noted for punk rock, Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League.
The Leveller was involved in a well-recorded contempt of court case in 1979, which concerned identifying Colonel B, an unnamed witness who had previously testified in a case involving British intelligence agencies and whose name the magazine published in its January and March 1978 issues. Convictions under the Official Secrets Act 1911 were quashed on appeal to the House of Lords.

A statement frequently appearing in the magazine, which for most of its life appeared monthly, described it as "An independent monthly socialist magazine produced by the Leveller Collective. Owned by its Supporting Subscribers through the Leveller Magazine Ltd, a society whose AGM controls the magazine."
Members, who met for collective meetings initially in the Euston and Kings Cross areas of north London, and later in Brixton, included: Roger Andersen, Nick Anning, Julia Bard, Imogen Bloor, Dave Clark, Andy Curry, Brian Deer, Tim Gopsill, Cheryl Hicks, Terry Ilott, Phil Kelly, H. O. Nazareth, Mike Prest, Jane Root, Rose Shapiro, Russell Southwood, Dave Taylor, Adam Thompson, John Verner, Ian Walker. Steve Bell, the cartoonist, was a contributor. The logo was designed by Bill Kocher, who lived in the same house as Dave Clark, and was asked to help with the first issue.
A report on an annual general meeting of 21 July 1979, published in the September issue of that year, stated: "Differences within the collective – for which we had hoped to look to the meeting for answers – remained unresolved. The basic difference is over the impact that writing personally about politics should have on the news, political analysis, and so on, that we print. The collective is still discussing it." That year a company, Leveller Magazine Limited, had been incorporated on 25 May 1979 to operate the magazine.
Initially, the magazine was typeset by Bread 'n Roses Typesetters, who allowed Leveller workers to use their IBM Composers and trained them in typesetting. When The Leveller bought a photosetting machine, Bread 'n Roses arranged to use it, bringing their floppy discs to the premises in Acre Lane, and later in Coldharbour Lane. After the magazine ceased publication, a few of the collective members formed Leveller Graphics, a community printshop offering typesetting and design. During its operational life, Leveller Graphics put some of its income towards paying off the debts of the magazine, including payments to printers and to Bread 'n Roses.

Editions

The Leveller was noted on the British left for an eclectic design and visual style, particularly in its cover stories, representing the values and decisions of an open collective, rather than those of traditionally-designated editors, copy editors and writers and reporters. Cover stories during the magazine's life included:
  • Pilot issue "Insurgency and the British State"
  • No 1 "The rise of the ultra-right"
  • No 2 "Cuts, Capital and the crisis"
  • No 3 "Fingering a spook – the CIA in Britain"
  • No 4 "The Dirty Books business"
  • No 5 "NUSS The classroom revolt"
  • No 6 "Ex-SAS torturer speaks out"
  • No 7 "Music for socialism"
  • No 8 "The politics of contraception"
  • No 12 "Killer watts"
  • No 19 "The Music Biz – Rock and Sexuality"
  • No 20 "Had a Lovely Time in China"
  • No 22 "Gays Coming Out"
  • No 21 "First World War latest"
  • No 23 "The Family – A Pack of Lives"
  • No 24 "Crifif, Crifif, Whar fuckin' Crifif"
  • No 25 "Rape"
  • No 26 "The People's Choice"
  • No 27 "Under New Management"
  • No 29 "Spoil Sports... Women in Rock"
  • No 30 "Men in Women's Clothes?"
  • No 35 "Bringing it all back home"
  • No 38 "At home with nuclear power"
  • No 42 "Start-rong – Learnin' kids to conform"
  • No 46 "The Ghost of Welfare Past"
  • No 51 "Youth Opportunities Programme"
  • No 54 "Rebellion in Brixton"