The Movement for Socialism is an occasional grouping of socialists in the United Kingdom, meeting infrequently and operating as a highly discreet, almost invisible, email list of about 20 to 30 subscribers without any noticeable presence on the internet. It exists as an occasional discussion circle with contributors coming from various backgrounds but mainly ex-WRP members, some of whom were prominent or known to the WRP's national membership under the Healy regime. It originated as one half of the major split in the Workers Revolutionary Party of 1985, following allegations about Gerry Healy's sexual activities. Initially, both halves continued under the WRP name and both published a newspaper named News Line, but Cliff Slaughter's group later renamed the publication Workers Press.

Workers' Revolutionary Party (Workers Press)[edit] The group was initially led by Clff Slaughter and Michael Banda, but Banda left in 1986 to form the Communist Forum.[1] Another early split was the International Communist Party, which later became the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) which was led by David Hyland in Britain.[2] Hyland died in 2013 [3]

The post-Healy WRP (Workers Press) group entered into a period in which its press became the focus of debate on the history of the WRP/ICFI for the members of the WRP and other Trotskyists in Britain and abroad. It was also active in the Workers' Aid for Bosnia movement[4][5] and had close links with Searchlight South Africa [6] founded by Baruch Hirson and Paul Trewhela

Moves were made to organise an Open Conference of Trotskyists throughout the world, but this miscarried and in the end a minority of the WRP around veteran Bill Hunter and Martin Ralph formed the 'Bolshevik Faction' in August 1987. This splintered away from the WRP (Workers Press) in February 1988 to form the International Socialist League as a section of the International Workers League (LIT) led by Argentinian Trotskyist leader Nahuel Moreno.

In 1990, the WRP (WP), along with a few other Trotskyist groups, including the Group of Opposition and Continuity of the Fourth International (GOCFI), led by Michel Varga,(aka Balazs Nagy) formed the Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International.

Movement for Socialism[edit] In 1996 the decision was taken to abandon the name WRP, and the group renamed itself the Movement for Socialism. This later split again, with Cliff Slaughter's moiety continuing to use the name 'Movement For Socialism' (MFS) and the Bob Archer/Dot Gibson fragment adopting the name of the Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International (WIRFI). Dot Gibson is the current General Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention in the UK [7] and makes quite frequent appearances in the broadcasting media on questions and issues of pensioners' rights, struggles, living standards, etc [8]

The Movement for Socialism (MFS) should not be confused with the similarly named groups Movements for Socialism or Movement for a Socialist Future. The latter is influenced by the thoughts of the late leader of the Workers Revolutionary Party, Gerry Healy. Healy led the party up to its implosion and fragmentation in 1985. The MFS has no regular internal bulletin or 'external' publication for the perusal of non-associates of the grouping. Transcriptions of proceedings are produced subsequent to, and reporting the content of, any discussions at rarely convened meetings. They are then circulated internally to the MFS list for discussion via email. An ambient (and somewhat mysterious) element of 'security' mediates the activity of the grouping in regard to who can be included (or not as the case may be) on the email list. Applications to subscribe to the list or to attend occasional meetings are 'by invitation only'. Such applications are considered in email interchange/discussion by members and admittance/refusal is by general consent of those already subscribed to the list. The most prominent ex-WRP subscribers to the list deny that the MFS is a "sect" but rather prefer to refer to it as "a loose association".

References [1] Encyclopedia of British and Irish political organizations parties, groups By Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, p.170 [2] Encyclopedia of British and Irish political organizations parties, groups By Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, p.171 [3] http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/12/20/dave-d20.html [4] Encyclopedia of British and Irish political organizations parties, groups By Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, p.171 [5] Charlie Pottins "New links and old acquaintances" [6] https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/revhist/otherstu/srchlght.htm [7] http://npcuk.org/about-us/npc-officers [8] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17465319

References