Socialist Alliance (England)

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The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England in existence between 1992 and 2005.

Partial image from the rear cover of the 2001 Election Manifesto "People Before Profit"

1 Origins
2 Contraction and dissolution
3 List of organisations which supported the Socialist Alliance
4 External links

[edit] Origins

The alliance grew out of local Socialist Alliances, many of which ran in elections as the United Socialists. These were formed by the Socialist Party of England and Wales, Alliance for Workers' Liberty, Independent Labour Network and independent socialists, from 1992 onwards. They gradually coalesced into the national Network of Socialist Alliances. The Welsh Socialist Alliance was closely allied to the SA but had separate origins.

The Socialist Alliance was named and expanded in 1999, when other Trotskyist groups including the Socialist Workers Party, the International Socialist Group and Workers Power joined, as did the formerly separate London Socialist Alliance. In the 2002 local elections, the alliance gained one councillor in Preston. The Socialist Alliance had fraternal relations with the Scottish Socialist Party.

[edit] Contraction and dissolution

The Socialist Alliance has been riven by feuds, mostly concerning the behaviour of the Socialist Workers Party, which was by far the largest group participating in the Alliance, and which many felt dominated it. The Socialist Party of England and Wales left the Alliance in 2001, while Workers Power left in 2003.

In 2003 the SWP, supported by the ISG, led the SA into an alliance with George Galloway and other figures involved in the Stop the War Coalition to form the Respect Coalition. A minority of the SA objected to the way this decision was carried out and argued that the SWP were using their block vote to push their line. Many of these dissidented object to Respect on principle, and all objected to the way the decision to join it was carried out, many forming the Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform.

In late 2004, some SA member organizations, which remained outside Respect, joined with the Socialist Party and the Alliance for Green Socialism to establish the Socialist Green Unity Coalition.

The SA was wound up in February 2005, having been moribund for about a year. In March, a few groups and former members of the SA, who did not join in the Respect Coalition, met as the Socialist Alliance (Provisional). On November 12, 2005, most but not all of the provisional grouping met again and claimed the name of the Socialist Alliance.