The Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs is one of the longest surviving parliamentary factions in British political history, and one of the last institutional legacies of Labour’s ‘new left’, which rose to prominence in the 1970s and 80s. Headed by the iconic left-winger Tony Benn, the Campaign Group was both the product of a bitter factional split, as well as a concerted attempt to establish a ‘socialist identity in parliament’, with a fundamentally different attitude than previous groupings both to Britain’s parliamentary system, and the role of Labour MPs as part of a wider movement.
This paper traces the activity and outlook of the Campaign Group, from its inception to the election of its longest serving member, Jeremy Corbyn, as party leader in 2015. In so doing, it considers both its activity in the Commons chamber, both parliamentary and disruptive, and outside of it, as supportive auxiliaries to what were largely extra-parliamentary movements and struggles. Finally, in the context of Labour Party factionalism, this paper considers the Campaign Group’s central role as organisers for the Labour left, and as an essential base of support from which the left could participate in, and eventually win, party leadership elections.
Alfie Steer is a historian of modern and contemporary Britain, currently finishing a DPhil at the University of Oxford, specialising in the history of the Labour Left from the 1980s to 2015. He has published articles and book reviews in academic journals such as Contemporary British History, Modern British History and The English Historical Review as well as in popular outlets such as Tribune. Since June 2024 he has also been working at the History of Parliament Trust.
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