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Peter Taaffe

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Peter Taaffe
Taaffe in 2006
General Secretary of the Socialist Party
In office
1997–2020
DeputyHannah Sell
Succeeded byHannah Sell
General Secretary of Militant Labour
In office
1992–1997
General Secretary of Militant
In office
1964–1992
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born(1942-04-07)7 April 1942
Birkenhead, Cheshire, England
Died23 April 2025(2025-04-23) (aged 83)
Political partySocialist Party
Other political
affiliations		Labour (until 1983)

Peter Taaffe (7 April 1942 – 23 April 2025)[1] was a British Trotskyist political activist. From 1964 to 2020, he was the General Secretary of the Militant entryist group in the Labour Party and its successor organisation, the Socialist Party.[2] Taaffe was expelled from the Labour Party in 1983, along with four other members of Militants editorial board.[3][4][5] Taaffe was influential in the policy decisions of Liverpool City Council of 1983–1987, according to the council's deputy leader Derek Hatton,[6] and in the formation of the Militant tendency's policy regarding the Poll Tax in 1988–1991.[7]

Early life

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Taaffe was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, one of six children of a sheet metal worker.[8] Influenced by the South African Trotskyist Ted Grant, Taaffe joined the Revolutionary Socialist League in 1960, a Trotskyist group within the Labour Party that pursued a policy of left-wing entryism.[5] Taaffe rose through the ranks of the Walton branch of the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS).

General Secretary of Militant (1964–1991)

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Taaffe was one of the co-founders of Militant, a Trotskyist newspaper that served as a platform for Marxist politics within the Labour Party. A community of left-wing activists crystallised around the paper, and Taaffe was soon appointed General Secretary, with Grant as the Political Secretary. In his inaugural editorial in 1964, Taaffe outlined the aims of the Militant movement. "On all the important issues, we will endeavour to mobilise the left-wing workers in the Young Socialists, the trade unions, the wards and GMCs of the Labour Party and the Co-operative bodies."[9]

Under Taaffe's leadership, support for the Militant tendency grew throughout the Sixties and Seventies, particularly amongst younger members of the Labour Party. By 1972, Militant supporters had a majority on the National Committee of the LPYS.[10] Between 1979 and 1982, the group's membership had doubled in size.[11] Under pressure from centrists within the party,[12] the left-wing Labour leader Michael Foot conducted an internal inquiry into Militant's activities. The Hayward-Hughes inquiry of 1982 found Militant guilty of breaking the Labour Party constitution. Within a year, Taaffe and the rest of Militant's editorial board were expelled from the Labour Party. While Taaffe held Foot's abilities as a public speaker in high regard, he accused him of acting as a "gateman" for the destruction of the Labour left. "He was a powerful orator who could rouse labour movement meetings by his passion, sometimes seemingly to fever pitch, but examine his ideas in the cold light of day and there was little of substance."[13]

Following Foot's landslide defeat to Margaret Thatcher in the 1983 election, he was succeeded as Labour leader by Neil Kinnock, who initiated a purge of Taaffe's followers from the Labour Party throughout his leadership in an attempt to bring the party closer to the centre. In a speech at the 1985 Labour Party Conference, Kinnock accused the Militant-controlled Liverpool council of sticking to a "rigid dogma" that was irrelevant to the needs of British citizens. Throughout the 1980s, Militant activists were expelled from Labour constituencies across the country.[14] Taaffe blamed Kinnock for "initiating a vicious witch-hunt against Militant" and laying the ground for the party's rightwards shift under Tony Blair.[13] In 1987, Kinnock lost the general election to Margaret Thatcher. Labour's two Militant MPs, Terry Fields of Liverpool Broadgreen and Dave Nellist of Coventry South East, both increased their majorities, and a third Militant member, Pat Wall, was elected as the Labour MP of Bradford North. In an article for Militant, Taaffe highlighted Militant's success as proof of the Labour right's failure to connect with the working class. "There is not a crumb of comfort to be found in the general election results for the [Labour] right wing. They reinforce in a quite crushing and massive fashion that only if the labour movement adopts a clear socialist programme will it mobilise working people."[15]

Taaffe campaigned to abolish the poll tax, an unpopular system of flat taxation introduced by the Conservatives in 1988. In contrast to Kinnock, who ruled out a non-payment campaign at the 1988 Labour Party Conference,[16] Taaffe encouraged members of the public to refuse to pay the poll tax. Militant organised a successful series of "bill strikes" against the poll tax, leading to the announcement of its abolition in 1991.[17] The public's mobilisation against the poll tax, of which Taaffe played a major role in organising, has been cited as a pivotal moment in the collapse of Thatcher's premiership in 1990.[18] In a 2010 article for Socialism Today, Taaffe highlighted the poll tax strike as one of the defining moments of the labour movement in 20th century Britain. "With the poll tax, Thatcher achieved what the Labour and trade union leaders had failed to do in the previous nine years: she had united and generalised the struggles of the working class against her government."[19]

General Secretary of Militant Labour (1991—1997)

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While Taaffe's goal of abolishing the poll tax through non-payment was a success, it would hasten the collapse of Militant's influence within the Labour Party. By 1992, more than 200 Militant members,[20] including Fields[21] and Nellist,[22] had been expelled from Labour. Ideological tensions had also surfaced between Taaffe and Grant. According to Taaffe, Grant had expressed doubts over Militant's policy of non-payment.[23] Recognising Militant's lack of influence in the Labour party apparatus, Taaffe approved the creation of Scottish Militant Labour in April 1991 and supported independent candidates in Liverpool standing against the Labour Party in local elections.

This "open turn" away from entryism lead to a schism within the Militant tendency. The "Majority" faction, led by Taaffe, argued for Militant to distance itself from Labour, and that it was "naïve to expect that a Marxist party or organisation in Scotland would be capable of breaking the electoral grip of Labour, either now or in the foreseeable future."[24] The "Minority" faction, associated with Grant, Alan Woods, and Rob Sewell, called the party's split from Labour "a turn in the direction of an ultra-left, sectarian policy, which we are convinced would have disastrous effects on our organisation."[20]

In October 1991, the positions of the Majority and Minority factions were put to congress. The Majority faction, which won 93% of the vote, disaffiliated from the Labour Party and changed its name to Militant Labour. After the Minority faction's defeat, Grant, Woods, and Sewell were expelled, leading to the creation of a new entryist group, Socialist Appeal.

General Secretary of the Socialist Party (1997–2020)

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In 1997, Militant Labour changed its name to the Socialist Party. Rob Sewell of Socialist Appeal called the rebranding "an act of sheer stupidity. The name of the Militant was known not just in Britain but also all over the world. But nobody has heard of the paper of the “Socialist Party”. Even the bourgeois understands that a successful brand name ought not to be abandoned."[25]

In 2010, the Socialist Party joined the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), an electoral alliance for left-wing political parties. Taaffe hailed TUSC as "a vital necessity if the ground is going to be prepared for a new mass workers’ party in Britain."[26]

In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party. While Taaffe was supportive of Corbyn himself,[27] he was critical of Momentum, a pro-Corbyn grassroots organisation that supported the compulsory reselection of Labour MPs, including those on the right of the party. "What is the point of Jeremy Corbyn without the right to remove the Blairites, who are an enormous drag on the progress of the Labour Party?"[28]

In 2016, Taaffe and several other members of the Socialist Party attempted to re-join the Labour Party.[28][29][28] As Taaffe was a member of a party that had stood candidates against the Labour Party, his attempt was rejected. A 2019 article published by the Revolutionary Communist International accused Taaffe of only attempting to re-join Labour as a publicity stunt.[30]

In 2019, the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI), an international association of Trotskyist political parties, was dissolved following a split over identity politics. Taaffe's faction accused members of the Irish Socialist Party of "capitulating to petit bourgeois identity politics" at the expense of forming links with trade unions and members of the working class. The opposing faction, which went on to form the International Socialist Alternative, accused Taaffe of showing "a tendency to bend to the consciousness of a small, more backward layer of the working class. Socialists oppose all forms of prejudice, oppression and bigotry. We fight to achieve the immediate aims and demands of movements fighting for liberation."[31]

Post-leadership

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In a unanimous vote at the Socialist Party National Congress in 2020, the executive committee appointed Hannah Sell as Taaffe's successor as General Secretary.[32] Taaffe remained on the executive committee as Political Secretary until his death.

On 23 April 2025, Taaffe died aged 83 after an extended period of poor health. In an obituary published by the International Secretariat of the CWI, Taaffe was praised as "an inspiration, especially to those not from an academic or petty bourgeois background themselves – he demonstrated what those from a working class background can be capable of theoretically and culturally."[1]

Criticism

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Taaffe has faced criticism from members of the Minority faction following the 1991 split. Rob Sewell, a former member of the editorial board that split with Grant and Woods, was deeply critical of Taaffe's leadership in the wake of the poll tax campaign. Sewell accused Taaffe and his followers of living in "an ultra-left dreamworld" and of squandering the gains made by the Militant Tendency in the 1980s. "Peter Taaffe has earned his place in the history books, but not in the way he had hoped. He will be remembered as the man who destroyed the Militant."[25]

In a response to Sewell's "continual sniping" at the Socialist Party, Taaffe accused Grant and his followers of dogmatism. "The only solution to be offered by Grant and Woods is to quiescently sit on their haunches and wait for a future illusory move into the Labour Party. [...] It is painful to read the same old phrases, the warmed-up ideas and stale language which have not changed for decades."[23]

In the wake of the 2019 split of CWI, the Revolutionary Communist International published an open letter attributing the split to Taaffe's sectarianism and arrogance. "Taaffe cannot stand criticism of any sort, and if he finds himself in a minority, he will not hesitate to bully and browbeat any comrade who disagrees with him."[30]

Personal life

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In 1966, Taaffe married Linda Driscoll. She worked as a primary school teacher, and was heavily involved in a Trotskyist faction of the National Union of Teachers.[33] Taaffe's daughter, Nancy, has repeatedly stood as a TUSC candidate in local elections.[34] In his youth, Taaffe was a keen footballer, and he was a life-long supporter of Everton Football Club.

References

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  1. ^ a b International Secretariat of the CWI (23 April 2025). "Obituary: Peter Taaffe – International Trotskyist theoretician and fighter for socialism". Socialist Party. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  2. ^ Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (11 November 2016). "Socialist party leader submits application to rejoin Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  3. ^ Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (10 August 2016). "Leader of expelled leftwing group Militant expects readmission to Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Expelled Militant Labour members apply to rejoin party". BBC News. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b Wade, Bob (27 July 2006). "Ted Grant (obituary)". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  6. ^ Derek Hatton Inside left, p. 32
  7. ^ Tommy Sheridan A Time to Rage, p. 45
  8. ^ Andy McSmith Faces of Labour: The Inside Story, London: Verso, 1996, p. 100
  9. ^ Taaffe, Peter (1964). "Militant: About Ourselves". Militant. p. 3.
  10. ^ Taaffe, Peter (1995). The rise of Militant: Militant's 30 years. London: Militant Publications. ISBN 978-0-906582-47-3.
  11. ^ Thomas-Symonds, Nick (March 2005). "A Reinterpretation of Michael Foot's Handling of the Militant Tendency". Contemporary British History. 19 (1): 27–51. doi:10.1080/1361946042000303846. ISSN 1361-9462.
  12. ^ Jones, Mervyn (1994). Michael Foot. London: Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-575-05933-7.
  13. ^ a b Archivist (5 March 2010). "Michael Foot - the end of an era". Socialist Party. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  14. ^ Crick, Michael (1986). The march of Militant. London ; Boston: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-14643-7.
  15. ^ Taaffe, Peter (26 June 1987). "Labour right fail election test". Militant. p. 5.
  16. ^ Andy McSmith, Faces of Labour: The Inside Story, London: Verso, 1996, p. 114.
  17. ^ "ON THIS DAY | 1991: Heseltine unveils new property tax". BBC News. 21 March 1960. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  18. ^ Crick, Michael; Van Klaveren, Adrian (December 1991). "Mrs Thatcher's greatest blunder". Contemporary Record. 5 (3): 397–416. doi:10.1080/13619469108581185. ISSN 0950-9224.
  19. ^ "Socialism Today - The great anti-poll tax victory". socialismtoday.org. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  20. ^ a b "Marxists and the British Labour Party". www.marxist.net. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  21. ^ "1991: Anti-poll tax MP jailed". 11 July 1991. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  22. ^ "1992 General Election". web.archive.org. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Militant's Real History: In Reply to Ted Grant and Rob Sewell". www.marxist.net. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Marxists and the British Labour Party". www.marxist.net. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  25. ^ a b Communist, The (17 August 2016). "History and lessons of the Militant Tendency - part two". The Communist. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  26. ^ Taaffe, Peter (24 November 2010). "Britain: Just the Beginning — 50,000-Strong Student March an Example to Workers’ Movement". Socialist Alternative. Retrieved 23 April 2025. {{cite web}}: C1 control character in |title= at position 80 (help)
  27. ^ Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (10 August 2016). "Leader of expelled leftwing group Militant expects readmission to Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  28. ^ a b c Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (11 November 2016). "Socialist party leader submits application to rejoin Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  29. ^ Association, Press (28 September 2018). "Derek Hatton claims to have rejoined Labour decades after Kinnock expulsion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  30. ^ a b Marxism, In Defence of (25 March 2019). "Open letter to the members and former members of the CWI". In Defence of Marxism. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  31. ^ Alternative, Socialist (1 August 2019). "Issue 1 feature: A new chapter for revolutionary socialism in Britain". Socialist Alternative. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  32. ^ Archivist (11 March 2020). "Socialist Party executive committee positions". Socialist Party. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  33. ^ "The six key militants". The Standard. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  34. ^ "Nancy Taaffe for North East in the London Assembly elections (Constituencies)". whocanivotefor.co.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
[edit]
Media offices
Preceded by
New position
 Editor of Militant
1964–1994 		Succeeded by
Nick Wrack
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