Communist Party of Britain

The Communist Party of Britain was established in April 1988 by a disaffected section of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). This section sought to preserve the Communist Party, saving it from its forthcoming dissolution under a revisionist, Eurocommunist leadership.

In the period leading up to 1988, the Communist Party of Great Britain was in turmoil as the leadership fought the Marxist-Leninist tendencies inside the party. The rupture was made publicly visible in August/September 1982 after the CPGB's theoretical journal Marxism Today published a feature article by Tony Lane which was critical of the labour movement. The CPGB-affiliated Morning Star newspaper responded with a front page article by the party's Industrial Organiser Mick Costello criticising the Marxism Today article. The CPGB's Executive Committee was flooded with communication from party branches over the affair.{{cite book |last1=Pimlott |first1=H. F. |title=Wars of position? Marxism today, cultural politics and the remaking of the left press, 1979–90 |date=16 December 2022 |publisher=Brill |series=Historical Materialism Book Series |volume=248 |isbn=978-90-04-50343-4 |pages=75–76 |chapter=Marxism Today's Story}} The party did not withdraw support for Marxism Today, but the editorial board did introduce a disclaimer that 'the views expressed by authors are personal and not necessarily those of the editor or editorial board', marking the journal's deviation from the party line.

Both publications came to characterise separate visions for the future of the party; the internal opposition rallied around the Morning Star and the reformist leadership around Marxism Today.{{cite journal |last1=Hudson |first1=Kate |title=Communist and former communist organizations in Britain |journal=Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics |date=December 1994 |volume=10 |issue=4 |page=98 |doi=10.1080/13523279408415274 |issn=2159-9165}} These early signs of trouble attracted international attention, notably from the East German SED which was concerned about the Eurocommunist tendency in the CPGB.{{cite book |last1=Berger |first1=Stefan |last2=LaPorte |first2=Norman |title=Friendly Enemies |date=May 2010 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-84545-827-0 |page=238}}

At the CPGB's 38th congress in November 1983, Tony Chater the editor of the Morning Star, as well as the assistant editor David Whitfield, were both removed from their positions on the party's executive. However, they were able to keep their positions at the paper, as it is owned and managed separately by the People's Press Printing Society co-operative. The following year at the PPPS Annual General Meeting in June 1984, a majority of delegates re-elected Chater and Whitfield to the management committee of the newspaper, against the wishes of the CPGB leadership. In November 1984, the North-West District Congress elected an opposition majority to its District Committee, to which the leadership responded by declaring the district election illegitimate.{{cite journal |last1=Callaghan |first1=John |title=The Long Drift of the Communist Party of Great Britain |journal=Journal of Communist Studies |date=September 1985 |volume=1 |issue=3–4 |pages=171–172 |doi=10.1080/13523278508414788 |issn=2159-9165}} A similar movement was brewing in London, where the CPGB General Secretary Gordon McLennan pre-emptively dissolved the London District Congress and 11 members of the District Committee were suspended. In Scotland, 20 branches were brought under disciplinary sanctions.{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Willie |title=Scottish Communism 1962–91: from re-growth to extinction – a view from the inside |journal=Twentieth Century Communism |date=21 June 2013 |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=217–219 |doi=10.3898/175864313807052811 |issn=1758-6437}} The CPGB Executive Committee then brought the dispute to a special congress on 18–20 May 1985, with a draft resolution condemning the Morning Star and the group around it. Over 650 amendments were submitted to the resolution, which was eventually passed after a long debate, and followed up by the expulsion of eighteen members.{{cite book |last1=Dorfman |first1=Gerald |editor1-last=Gann |editor1-first=Lewis H |editor2-last=Drachkovitch |editor2-first=Milorad M |title=Yearbook on International Communist Affairs |date=1986 |publisher=Hoover Institution |location=Stanford |pages=504–505 |isbn=978-0-8179-8321-5 |volume=20}}

In June 1985, dissident and expelled members of the CPGB formed the Communist Campaign Group. This group declared itself loyal to the party programme, and stated its aim was to prevent the liquidation of the party.{{cite book |title=The crisis in the Communist Party and the way forward |date=November 1985 |url=https://archive.org/details/CCGCrisis/ |publisher=Communist Campaign Group}} The Campaign Group was provided an office within the premises of the Morning Star.{{cite book |last1=Berger |first1=Stefan |last2=LaPorte |first2=Norman |editor1-last=Di Palma |editor1-first=Francesco |title=Perestroika and the Party: national and transnational perspectives on European communist parties in the era of Soviet reform |date=2019 |publisher=Berghahn Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1-78920-021-8 |page=224 |chapter=A Dialogue of the Deaf: The CPGB and the SED during the Gorbachev Era (1985-1990)}} The first post-congress meeting of the new CPGB Executive Committee in July 1985 dropped the commitment for party members to support the Morning Star; it concluded with the dissolution of more branches and further disciplinary measures, such as the expulsion of Ken Gill.{{cite journal |last1=Pitcairn |first1=Lee |title=Crisis in British Communism: An Insider's View |journal=New Left Review |date=September–October 1985 |issue=153 |page=105 |url=https://newleftreview.org/issues/i153/articles/lee-pitcairn-crisis-in-british-communism-an-insider-s-view |issn=0028-6060}}

For two years, the Campaign Group organised within the CPGB to defend the party's Marxist-Leninist principles. However, at the 1987 party congress the Campaign Group failed to shift the leadership, and the direction of the CPGB diverted towards transformation into a social-democratic party. Kevin Halpin was invited to Moscow to discuss the possibility that the CPGB would break apart, he was advised by the CPSU that the Campaign Group should continue working within the existing party structures.{{cite book |last1=Halpin |first1=Kevin |title=Memoirs of a Militant |date=2012 |publisher=Praxis Press |location=Glasgow |isbn=978-1-899155-05-7 |pages=178–179}} On 8 January 1988 the Campaign Group called a press conference to announce the formation of the Communist Party.{{cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Lawrence |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Evan |editor2-last=Worley |editor2-first=Matthew |title=Waiting for the revolution: the British far left from 1956 |date=2017 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-1-5261-1365-8 |page=262 |chapter=Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain}} The re-establishment congress took place over the weekend of 23–24 April 1988, where one of the prominent leaders of the Campaign Group, Mike Hicks, was elected to the position of General Secretary.{{cite book |last1=Keith |first1=Laybourn |author-link = Keith Laybourn |title=Marxism in Britain |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-32287-1 |page=136}} Chater emphasised the continuity with the CPGB at the congress, explaining at the time:

{{Blockquote

|text="We are not creating a new Party. We are re-establishing the Party on the basis of {{sic|i|ts'}} rules and programme."{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=Emily |title=New times, new politics: History and memory during the final years of the CPGB |journal=British Politics |date=December 2011 |volume=6 |issue=4 |page=460 |doi=10.1057/bp.2011.24 |publisher=Palgrave |s2cid=154943163 |issn=1746-9198|url=http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/48327/1/New_Times_New_Politics_AAM.pdf }}

}}

The first party card was issued to Andrew Rothstein, who had also been one of the founding members of the CPGB. The following year the leaders of the CPGB formally declared that they had abandoned its programme, The British Road to Socialism. Many members perceived this as the party turning its back on socialism. The CPGB dissolved itself in 1991 and reformed as the Democratic Left.{{cite AV media |date=22 November 1991 |title=The End of the Party |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilwwnJ56EVc |time=4:22}} Many members of the Straight Left faction who had stayed in the CPGB formed a group called "Communist Liaison" which later opted to join the CPB. Others remained in the Democratic Left or joined the Labour Party.

The party still has members who were active in the CPGB, some of whom were active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement{{cite book |title=London recruits: the secret war against apartheid |publisher=Merlin Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-85036-655-6 |date=February 2012 |url=http://www.merlinpress.co.uk/acatalog/LONDON_RECRUITS.html |editor=Ken Keable |access-date=23 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401133036/http://www.merlinpress.co.uk/acatalog/LONDON_RECRUITS.html |archive-date=1 April 2012}}{{cite AV media |people=Ken Keable |year=2012 |title=London Recruits: the secret war against apartheid |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NR_uxZYDas&t=1m37s |access-date=23 February 2013 |time=1:37 |publisher=Communist Party of Scotland |quote=the main body of the London recruits were members of the British Young Communist League... a few of them in the Communist Party as well}}{{cite journal |author-link=Mary Chamberlain |last=Chamberlain |first=Mary |date=13 February 2013 |title=The ANC's London Recruits: a Personal Story |journal=History Workshop Journal |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=75 |issue=1 |page=149 |doi=10.1093/hwj/dbs050 |issn=1363-3554}} and trade union disputes such as the Upper Clyde work-in or the miners' strike of 1984–1985.{{cite AV media |people=Robert Griffiths and Ben Stevenson |year=2010 |title=90 years of struggle, for the Working Class and Humanity |medium=video |publisher=Platform Films |location=London}}

In 1998, Hicks was ousted as such in a 17–13 vote moved by John Haylett (who was also editor of the Morning Star) at a meeting of the party's executive committee. Hicks' supporters on the Management Committee of the Morning Star responded by suspending and then sacking Haylett, which led to a prolonged strike at the Morning Star, ending in victory for Haylett and his reinstatement.{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Martin |title=The Crisis at the Morning Star |url=http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Back/Wnext7/Star.html |work=What Next? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927005927/http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Back/Wnext7/Star.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 |location=London |year=1997}} Some of Hicks' supporters were expelled and others resigned in protest. They formed a discussion group called Marxist Forum, which is now{{when|date=November 2019}} defunct.

Andrew Murray was a Communist Party member until late 2016.{{cite news |last=Boffey |first=Daniel |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/10/unite-leaders-aide-andrew-murray-leaves-communist-party-to-join-labour |title=Unite leader's aide leaves Communist party to join Labour |work=The Observer |date=10 December 2016 |access-date=10 December 2016}} Prior to the formation of the Respect – The Unity Coalition, with the support of the Socialist Workers Party, the party engaged in a debate about whether to join an electoral alliance with Respect and George Galloway.{{cite news |title=We Can't Just Wish and Hope: Why the New "Unity" Coalition Must Be Considered |first=John |last=Haylett |url=http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Politics/Haylett.html |newspaper=Morning Star |date=20 December 2003 |page=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728131042/http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Politics/Haylett.html |archive-date=28 July 2012}} Those in favour, including general secretary Rob Griffiths, Andrew Murray and Morning Star editor John Haylett, were, however, defeated at a Special Congress in 2004.{{cite news |title=Why the Communists Won't Join in Respect |url=http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Politics/Cpb.html |newspaper=Morning Star |date=22 January 2004 |page=8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728131037/http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Politics/Cpb.html |archive-date=28 July 2012}}

In 2009, the party was one of the founder organisations of the No2EU electoral alliance alongside the RMT and a number of other left parties. The alliance stood in the 2009 and 2014 European Parliament elections on a platform of opposition to the European Union, which it considers undemocratic and neo-liberal. In 2010, the party was part of "Unity for Peace and Socialism".{{cite web | url=http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/89524 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114000025/http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/89524 | archive-date=14 November 2010 | title=Advocating the socialist project / Features / Home – Morning Star}} Later the party went on to lead a Left Leave Campaign (which was chaired by the party's General Secretary Robert Griffiths) along with the Socialist Workers Party, advocating the progressive case for a leave vote in the 2016 referendum on EU membership.{{cite journal |last1=Tranmer |first1=Jeremy |editor1-last=Bory |editor1-first=Stéphanie |editor2-last=Simpkins |editor2-first=Fiona |title=The Far Left, Scottish Independence and Brexit |journal=Revue française de civilisation britannique |date=15 June 2022 |volume=XXVII |issue=2 |doi=10.4000/rfcb.9520 |issn=2429-4373|doi-access=free}}

The party was a founding member of the People's Assembly Against Austerity in 2013, along with a number of other political and campaign groups, to create a broad organisation in opposition to austerity policies of the major political parties of Britain and of the European Union. The People's Charter, which the Communist Party had helped create several years earlier, was subsequently voted to be incorporated into the People's Assembly.

At the 2017 general election, the party fielded no candidates and gave its support to the Labour Party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. The CPB said it was the first election at which neither it nor the CPGB had fielded any candidates.{{cite news |last=Cowburn |first=Ashley |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/general-election-uk-communist-party-no-candidates-jeremy-corbyn-labour-support-first-1920-a7699761.html |title=General election: British Communist party will not field any candidates and throws support behind Jeremy Corbyn |work=The Independent |date=24 April 2017 |access-date=24 April 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Francis |last2=Sanderson |first2=Daniel |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/ill-take-on-the-establishment-to-fix-rigged-system-vows-corbyn-3xtnf58hw |title=Communists back Corbyn's crusade against 'rigged system' |work=The Times |date=24 April 2017 |access-date=24 April 2017}} {{subscription required}} In March 2018, Susan Michie, a leading member of the CPB, said that the party would no longer stand against Labour in general elections. CPB members should be "working full tilt" for the election of Corbyn as prime minister, she said.{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=John |date=5 March 2018 |title=EXCL Communist Party members to work 'full tilt' to make Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister |work=Politics Home |url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/jeremy-corbyn/news/93351/excl-communist-party-members-work |access-date=12 March 2018}}{{cite news |last=Baxter |first=Sarah |author-link=Sarah Baxter |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/article/a-red-hot-civil-war-is-raging-for-control-of-jeremy-corbyns-no-10-rmb7gh2xv |title=A red-hot civil war is raging for control of Jeremy Corbyn's No 10 |work=The Sunday Times |date=11 March 2018 |access-date=11 March 2018}} {{subscription required}} In the 2019 general election, the party again fielded no candidates and gave its support to the Labour Party.{{Cite web|url=https://www.communist-party.org.uk/britain/2557-communists-for-labour-victory-and-mass-campaigning.html|title=Communists for Labour victory and mass campaigning|website=communist-party.org.uk|access-date=5 November 2019|archive-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105151456/https://www.communist-party.org.uk/britain/2557-communists-for-labour-victory-and-mass-campaigning.html}}

However following the resignation of Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party and the election of Keir Starmer as his successor, the CPB again decided to field candidates in elections. In February 2021, the party's executive committee decided to mount one of the biggest electoral campaigns since the early 1980s.

In 2021, the party contested parliamentary seats in the Scottish parliamentary election, all regional lists in the Welsh Senedd election and seats across England in the May local elections.{{Cite web|date=2021-02-03|title=Communist Party plans biggest electoral campaign since 1983|url=https://challenge-magazine.org/2021/02/03/communist-party-plans-biggest-electoral-campaign-since-1983/|access-date=2021-02-03|website=Challenge|language=en}}

The party briefly had a Councillor on Barrow Borough Council, after he left the Labour Party in February 2023,{{Cite web |title='Tory tribute' – Councillor says he's leaving Labour in swipe at Keir Starmer |url=https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/23350276.barrow-councillor-says-leaving-labour-swipe-keir-starmer/ |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=The Mail |date=28 February 2023 |language=en}} until the council was abolished in April the same year.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-12 |title=Councillor details – Cllr Iain Mooney |url=https://democracy.barrowbc.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=270 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601163037/https://democracy.barrowbc.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=270 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 June 2023 |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=democracy.barrowbc.gov.uk |language=en }}

In 2024, the party contested 14 parliamentary seats at the general election, the most it has fought since its formation in 1988.{{Cite web |last=Katz {{!}} |first=Phil |title=Communists Party announces first Candidates for 4 July General Election |url=https://www.communistparty.org.uk/communists-party-announces-first-candidates-for-4-july-general-election/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Communist Party of Britain |date=24 May 2024 |language=en-GB}} In the 1987 election the CPGB, its predecessor, fielded candidates in 19 seats, and the CPB split from it the year after.{{Citation |title=Communist Party of Great Britain election results |date=2024-04-01 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Communist_Party_of_Great_Britain_election_results&oldid=1216727730 |access-date=2024-05-29 |language=en}} It won none of the 14 seats fought in 2024 but won 2,622 votes, its best result at a general election.{{Cite web |title=UK election results 2024 {{!}} Constituency map |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/results |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

{{Main|Britain's Road to Socialism}}

The party's ideology is Marxism–Leninism. It is anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, pro-trade union and supports "progressive federalism".{{cite web | url=https://www.communistparty.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Communist-Party-Progressive-federalism-4.pdf | title=Communist Party of Britain - Website of the Communist Party of Britain }}{{cite web | url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/progressive-federalism-working-peoples-britain | title=Progressive federalism for the working peoples of Britain | date=25 October 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.communistreview.org.uk/progressive-federalisms-role-in-alliances-policy-and-communist-party-growth/ | title=Progressive federalism's role in alliances, policy and Communist Party growth – Communist Review | date=10 September 2024 }} Its programme is called Britain's Road to Socialism.

The party takes the traditional Marxist approach to capitalism, saying that it is at fault for wars, climate change, and corruption. It claims that 'capitalism must be overthrown in the interests of the working class and humanity.'{{Cite book |title=Britain's Road to Socialism |isbn=978-1-907464-43-0 |page=3}}

The party believes that the First World War was a war between imperialists, caused by competition between monopolies.

{{Blockquote|text=As monopolisation and the over-accumulation of capital began to depress profitability, the finance capitalists increasingly turned to potential sources of super-profits abroad.

Thus, capitalism expanded into its imperialist stage in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As competition intensified between rival monopolies backed by their respective states, so the scene was set for the inter-imperialist 'Great War' of 1914–18.|title=The development of capitalism and imperialism}}

They criticise US imperialism, and US involvement in regime change. They also hold that the World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and European Union work to push a neoliberal, imperialist agenda.

{{Blockquote|text=New and existing international agencies and mechanisms such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), GATT, the IMF, the World Bank and bilateral so called free trade and investment agreements are utilised to enforce neoliberal policies. The European Union (EU) has played a leading role in this process, confirming its character as an alliance led by the most powerful state-monopoly capitalist powers. It strives to overcome internal contradictions and transform itself into an imperialist 'United States of Europe', complete with its own foreign and military policies aligned with NATO.|title=The development of capitalism and imperialism}}

The party claims that inequality in the UK can be traced back to capitalism, with workers providing the country with goods and not being properly paid for it, with workers' pay coming under pressure in the recent decades.

{{Blockquote|text=As exploitation intensified, so the gap between working people and the superrich has widened enormously. In Britain today, the richest 10 per cent of the population own around half of all declared personal wealth, while the poorer 50 per cent of the population own less than one-tenth of it.

Moreover, capitalism has always utilised differences of sex, ethnicity, education, skill, employment status and mental and physical disability to divide the labour force and drive down wage levels.|title=Social inequality and oppression}}

The party's attitude towards the Soviet Union is positive, with criticism of Nikolai Yezhov's actions during the late 1930s as 'violations of socialist democracy'. Both the party and the Morning Star approved of perestroika and processes of reform in the late 1980s, believing that these would pave the way to a more humane socialism.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Evan |editor1-last=Polonska-Kimunguyi |editor1-first=Eva |editor2-last=Patrick |editor2-first=Kimunguyi |title=Transitions revisited: Central and Eastern Europe twenty years after the Soviet Union |date=2012 |publisher=Scholar Publishing House |location=Warsaw |isbn=978-83-7383-544-3 |pages=159–163 |chapter=Did 1989 Matter? British Marxists and the Collapse of the Eastern Bloc}} The final assessment of the Soviet Union is summed up in Britain's Road to Socialism:

{{Blockquote|Russia and the other countries of the Soviet Union were transformed from semi-feudal, semi-capitalist monarchist dictatorships into modern societies with near-full employment, universally free education and healthcare, affordable housing for all, extensive and cheap public transport, impressive scientific and cultural facilities, rights for women and degrees of self-government for formerly oppressed nationalities. This was achieved through a world historic break with capitalist ownership and social relations, on the basis of social ownership of industry and centralised economic planning.

|Socialism – the lessons so far{{cite book |title=Britain's Road to Socialism |publisher=Communist Party |isbn=978-1-908315-05-2 |oclc=793083894 |pages=16–17 |chapter-url=http://issuu.com/communist_party/docs/brs/16 |edition=8 |chapter=socialism – the lessons so far |date=31 October 2011}}}}

The Communist Party of Britain and Workers' Party of Korea are both members of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, and so have positive relations. Thus, the Young Communist League has fraternal relations with the Socialist Patriotic Youth League. Challenge, the magazine of the YCL, have published articles in support of the DPRK.{{Cite web |title= Instagram|url=https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/p/CeD7o_ZI_wY/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Instagram}}{{unreliable source?|date=March 2024}}{{Cite web |title=North Korea: the struggle against imperialism and the lessons of socialist construction today |url=https://challenge-magazine.org/2021/06/18/north-korea-the-struggle-against-imperialism-and-the-lessons-of-socialist-construction-today/ |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=YCL |language=en-GB |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521052108/https://challenge-magazine.org/2021/06/18/north-korea-the-struggle-against-imperialism-and-the-lessons-of-socialist-construction-today/ |url-status=dead }}{{primary source inline|date=July 2024}}

The party states that it supports transgender rights, stating that "The Communist Party supports the right of trans people to live free from discrimination and prejudice", and that "Communists are clear that efforts must continue to improve the resourcing of the current system for transgender people to access services and to transition legally, not just in Scotland but across Britain. Together with the defence and improvement of women's sex-based services and facilities, this is part of the broader struggle for democratic rights, social justice and socialism."{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2023 |title=The Gender Recognition Bill and Equality Law |url=https://www.communistparty.org.uk/the-gender-recognition-bill-and-equality-law/}}

In a March 2023 statement opposing the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill, the party stated that

{{blockquote|"The Communist Party is the only political party with a coherent political analysis of sex and gender. Gender as an ideological construct should not be confused or conflated with the material reality of biological sex. Gender is the vehicle through which misogyny is enacted and normalised. Gender identity ideology is well-suited to the needs of the capitalist class, focusing as it does on individual as opposed to collective rights, enabling and supporting the super-exploitation of women."{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2023 |title=The Gender Recognition Bill and Equality Law |url=https://www.communistparty.org.uk/the-gender-recognition-bill-and-equality-law/}}}}

During the 2024 United Kingdom general election, J. K. Rowling endorsed the party for its views on transgender issues,{{cite web |title=JK Rowling encourages Britons to vote for Communist Party |url=https://unherd.com/newsroom/jk-rowling-encourages-britons-to-vote-for-communist-party/ |website=UnHerd |access-date=25 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624010658/https://unherd.com/newsroom/jk-rowling-encourages-britons-to-vote-for-communist-party/ |archive-date=24 June 2024 |date=24 June 2024 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} but the endorsement was rejected by the Communist Party of Britain, due to the party's opposition to transphobia.{{cite tweet|user=CPBRitain|number=1805010605973049684|date=24 June 2024|title=Concern has been expressed about a tweet issued by 'For Women for Scotland' on 22 June 2024 and re-tweeted by J.K. Rowling...|access-date=25 June 2024}}

The Communist Party describes itself as a "disciplined and democratic organisation" and operates on a model of democratic centralism.

The basic party body is the branch. These are normally localities (towns or counties, for example), although workplace branches also exist. In England, branches are grouped into coherent geographical areas and send delegates to a biennial District Congress which elects a District Committee for its area. Similarly, the Welsh and Scottish branches send delegates to their own national congresses where each elects an executive committee. These congresses also decide the broad perspectives for party activity within their districts and nations.

The all-Britain national congress is also held biennially. Delegates from districts, nations and branches themselves decide the party's policy as a whole and elect an executive committee (EC) that carries out a presidium-like function, including decision-making and policy-formation whilst congress is not in session.{{cite book|first=Phil|last=Katz|title=What We Stand For|chapter=a Disciplined & Democratic Organisation|publisher=Communist Party|pages=10–11|url=http://communist-party.org.uk/files/What%20We%20Stand%20For.pdf#page=10|date=18 August 2009|access-date=7 January 2014|archive-date=22 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622074053/http://www.communist-party.org.uk/files/What%20We%20Stand%20For.pdf#page=10}}

The EC also elects a Political Committee (PC) to provide leadership when the EC is not meeting. Advisory Committees also exist to provide in-depth information on an array of subjects, including committees dedicated to women, industrial workers, pensions, public services, education workers, economics, housing, rails, science technology and the environment, transport, Marxist-Leninist education, LGBT rights, anti-racism, anti-fascism, civil service and international affairs.

{{Main|Young Communist League (Great Britain)|l1 = Young Communist League}}

File:Young Communist League Britain logo 2022.svg

The YCL is the autonomous youth group of the Communist Party, with its own internal organisation. It carries out work alongside the party, while maintaining its own branches, activities, and events such as an annual summer camp. Young members of the party are automatically enrolled into the youth wing, however membership of both organisations is not synonymous, as it is possible to independently join the YCL without joining the party. The league, like its party, operates on a model of democratic centralism.

The Coordinating Committee is a bureau within the Communist Party which meets with communist parties that have significant memberships in Britain. These include parties from Bangladesh, Britain, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Guyana, India, Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Sudan.{{cite web |author=Michael |title=October Revolution celebrated at the Cypriot Community Centre |url=https://www.parikiaki.com/2017/11/october-revolution-celebrated-at-the-cypriot-community-centre/ |website=Parikiaki |date=11 November 2017}}{{cite web |title=Communists Discuss Middle East Future: No Peace without Palestine |url=https://maki.org.il/en/?p=24835 |website=Communist Party of Israel |date=24 September 2020}}

{{See also|Communist Party of Britain election results}}

File:Cpblogo2022.png

Under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998, which regulated the use of symbols on ballot slips and electoral material, the Communist Party is the only British political party entitled to use a stand-alone hammer and sickle in such cases. The party tends to use the hammer and dove{{cite thesis |last=Spierings |first=Tessa |date=July 2021 |title=The power of symbols in visual propaganda |pages=103–104 |publisher=Escola Superior de Artes e Design |location=Matosinhos |hdl=10400.26/37056}} (adopted when the party was re-established in 1988) in conjunction with the hammer and sickle in publications and on other material, with the hammer and dove normally taking primacy.

Former members include Bob Crow of the RMT union, Ken Gill of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance (MSF) union and Kate Hudson of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Current members include Susan Michie, a member of the UK Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and Independent SAGE advising on behavioural science measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2006 to 2014, the party held a membership of over 900 members. In 2015, this figure dropped to below 800 members, although it has since recovered with growth in the Young Communist League. In 2018, there were 915 members of the CPB and YCL combined, and by 2019 it had increased to 1,011 members,https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/21737 {{bare URL inline|date=February 2024}} At the 56th party congress in 2021 it was reported that the party had grown to over 1,200 members.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-10 |title=Communist Party of Britain celebrates substantial growth and influence |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/communist-party-of-britain-celebrates-substantial-growth-and-influence |access-date=2021-11-10 |website=Morning Star |language=en}} As of 2022, the party maintains branches in most major cities. General Secretary, Robert Griffiths said in 2017 that CPB is organised in "just about every part of Britain".{{Citation |title=Far-left fringe parties support Corbyn | date=2 June 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDe-Kvk9KtE |access-date=2022-06-02 |language=en}}

By December 2023 the party had grown to 1,308 members, along with 500 members of the YCL (some of whom also hold party membership).{{Cite web |title=View statement of accounts |url=https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/25494 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=The Electoral Commission}} In July 2023, the party claimed via Twitter that it had a membership number not seen since the 1980s.{{Cite web |title=@CPBritain |url=https://twitter.com/CPBritain/status/1677276977441415168 |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Twitter |language=en}}

The statement of accounts submitted to the Electoral Commission in 2023 reported a total annual income of {{Currency|171755|GBP}}.{{Cite web |title=View statement of accounts – The Electoral Commission |url=https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Accounts/ST0026679 |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=search.electoralcommission.org.uk}}

In order to join the party, applicants must pay a registration fee of £6. After this they will be contacted by the membership officer of their local branch to arrange an interview. Applicants must be 16 or over.

The party publishes a wide variety of literature and material.

; Communist Review

: A theoretical and discussion journal published on a quarterly basis.{{cite web|title=Communist Review website|url=http://www.communistreview.org.uk/|access-date=23 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719131247/http://www.communistreview.org.uk/|archive-date=19 July 2012}} It takes its name from the old journal published by the CPGB{{cite web|url=https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/sections/britain/periodicals/communist_review/|title=Communist Review|publisher=Communist Party of Great Britain|access-date=15 April 2013}} and is edited by Martin Levy. The content of the journal covers book reviews, feature articles, letters and sometimes poetry.

File:CR106-Winter-2022-23.jpg

; Challenge

; {{Main|Challenge (Communist journal)}}

: The magazine of the Young Communist League. It mainly covers news, feature articles and political reports. Each issue typically features 'Back 2 Basics', a series which explains the basic foundations of Marxism-Leninism in an accessible way. Occasionally it publishes music, film or video game reviews alongside other light content such as comic strips. It is aimed at young people and so is intended to be easier to read than Communist Review.

; Communist Women

: The bulletin of the Women's Commission, edited by the Women's Officer of the party. It features some content from SISTERS – the quarterly journal of the National Assembly of Women.

; Communist News & Views

: An irregular email bulletin which summarises the party's recent statements, resolutions, reports and policies. It also brings attention to campaigns and events being promoted by the party. The name is a reference to World News & Views – the internal newsletter of the CPGB.

; Country Standard

: A newspaper for rural communities, produced since March 1936.{{cite book |last1=Griffiths |first1=Clare |title=Labour and the Countryside |date=May 2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-928743-7 |page=68}} It is run by an editorial collective of Communist and Labour members, environmentalists and trade unionists. The paper supports the Countryside Charter. It is published annually, often to coincide with distribution at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival. Otherwise it appears as an insert in the Morning Star.

; Manifesto Press

: The party publishes books under the Manifesto Press imprint.{{cite web|title=Manifesto Press category in the Communist Party publications section|url=http://communist-party.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=102&Itemid=127|access-date=23 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121125717/http://www.communist-party.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=102&Itemid=127|archive-date=21 January 2013}}{{cite web|title=Manifesto Press website|url=http://www.manifestopress.org.uk/|access-date=23 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629102239/http://www.manifestopress.org.uk/|archive-date=29 June 2012}} {{As of|2019|06|post=,}} it has a total catalogue of 25 titles and also sells 2 titles which are published separately by Hetherington Press. The books cover historical, political and social topics and are edited by Nick Wright.{{cite news |title=a chance for left books to press ahead |first=Nick |last=Wright |url=http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/82644 |newspaper=Morning Star |location=London |date=1 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416104432/http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/82644 |archive-date=16 April 2013}} The party maintains another book publisher in Scotland called Praxis Press, which operates out of the Unity Books office in Glasgow.

; Unity! and Solidarity

: Unity! is a short booklet focused around labour issues and often distributed for free at trade union events. Solidarity is a bulletin published by the international department of the party, it covers the party's foreign policy and the activities of the Co-ordinating Committee of Communist Parties in Britain.{{cite web |url=http://www.communist-party.org.uk/downloads/InternationalBulletin05a.pdf |title=Solidarity |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060723125825/http://www.communist-party.org.uk/downloads/InternationalBulletin05a.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2006}} The editor is Anita Halpin.

In addition to this the party publishes many pamphlets under its own name.{{cite web|title=pamphlets sold by the Communist Party|url=http://communist-party.org.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=178|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624051622/http://www.communist-party.org.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=178|archive-date=24 June 2012}} The Classics of Communism series are reprints of classic works such as The Communist Manifesto or "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder. The Our History series aims to re-tell 'history from below' and covers historical events from a working class perspective. This series is a continuation of the work of the Communist Party Historians Group The party also publishes congress reports, the party programme, briefing notes and other documents.

At the beginning of November 2004, the party and its youth organisation, the YCL, moved out of its temporary headquarters in Camden, North London after receiving notice to quit because of redevelopment. The building was owned by AKEL, the Cypriot communist party. Ruskin House in Croydon was chosen as the new party headquarters, with its long history in the progressive movement as centre of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and also local Labour Party and co-operative groups. The party rents the top floor of four offices at Ruskin House which also allows it plenty of room to hold its congresses and other important meetings, including an annual industrial cadre school and the Communist University of Britain. In Scotland, the party also makes use of an office in Glasgow.

File:Communist Party of Britain, Tolpuddle Rally 2016.jpg]]

The party holds a biennial congress with delegates from districts, nations and branches. The last congress as the Communist Party of Great Britain was the 43rd congress and was held in 1991. The 44th congress, as the Communist Party of Britain, was held in 1997. Since 2000 the congress has been held every two years apart from a special congress held in February 2004. The 29 member governing Executive Committee (EC) of the party is elected at congress.

In November 2004 the party organised Communist University events in Wales and England, these were further developed to form a national three-day event which ran annually from 2005 to 2010. This was accompanied by regional weekend universities in Wales,{{cite web|title=Communist university of Wales: A programme of debate, discussion and entertainment|url=http://www.welshcommunists.org/index.php?id=484&PHPSESSID=1655e0279d18f1eb2e6a417b8b1baae0|access-date=25 February 2013|date=6 December 2012}} Scotland and the Midlands. Among the speakers at the Communist University at Ruskin House in November 2006 were Labour MP John McDonnell, RMT general secretary Bob Crow, CND chair Kate Hudson, Communist Party USA vice-president Jarvis Tyner, French Communist Party economist Paul Boccara and Palestine Liberation Organization ambassador Dr Noha Khalef.

In 2011, the national Communist University event was renamed to "21st Century Marxism" and the format was changed slightly from a festival to a conference. The style of the event has changed widely over the years as the organisers experiment with different venues and speakers.

The party's political education strategy also includes trade union and political cadre schools, party-building schools and dayschools.

• Susan Michie (1955), clinical psychologist, and professor of health psychology{{cite news |last1=Whipple |first1=Tom |last2=Ellery |first2=Ben |title=Loyalty to Dominic Cummings will cost lives, says scientist |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/loyalty-to-dominic-cummings-will-cost-lives-says-scientist-lpxncb0ld |work=The Times |language=en |date=25 May 2020 |url-access=subscription}}
• George Michael (1963–2016), English singer, songwriter and record producer and one of the best-selling musicians of all time was a member of the Young Communist League in the 1980s{{Cite news |last=Webster |first=Lexi |date=2023-07-18 |title=Strippers, communists and cha-cha-cha: the real Club Tropicana |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/18/real-club-tropicana-wham-soho |access-date=2024-03-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
• Bob Crow (1961–2014), former General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT){{Cite web |date=2014-03-11 |title=Bob Crow death: RMT Union leader dies of massive heart attack aged 52 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bob-crow-dies-rmt-union-leader-dead-at-52-9183607.html |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=The Independent |language=en}}
• Anita Halpin (1944), former President of the National Union of Journalists{{Cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Paul |last2=Higgins |first2=Charlotte |date=2006-11-10 |title=Communist Party chair nets £20m in painting sale |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/10/otherparties.topstories3 |access-date=2024-03-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
• Graham Stevenson (1950–2020), former National secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union{{Cite news |date=2020-05-01 |title=Britain's communists pay tribute to Graham Stevenson |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/britain-communists-pay-tribute-to-graham-stevenson |access-date=2024-03-11 |newspaper=Morning Star |language=en}}
• Gawain Little (1980), current General-Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions{{Cite web |last=Socialist Party |date=6 October 2021 |title=NEU: National executive agrees campaign on pay |url=https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/33107/06-10-2021/neu-national-executive-agrees-campaign-on-pay/ }}{{Cite web |last=events |date=2023-01-25 |title=New GFTU General Secretary Appointed |url=https://gftu.org.uk/new-gftu-general-secretary-appointed/ |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=GFTU |language=en-GB}}
• Paul Cockshott (1952) Economist
• Maxine Peake (1974), actor and narrator was both a member of the Young Communist League and of the Communist Party in her youth{{cite news |date=4 January 2012 |title=Maxine Peake – My lovely Lancashire home |url=http://lancashire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/maxine-peake--my-lovely-lancashire-home-38257 |access-date=13 October 2012 |work=Lancashire Life |quote=When I was much younger I used to be a member of the Communist Party although nowadays I don't really have a political affiliation to any party.}}

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://www.communistparty.org.uk/ CP Britain]
• [http://www.northerncommunists.org.uk/ CP Northern]
• [http://www.southwestcommunists.org.uk/ CP South West and Cornwall]
• [https://www.communistparty.org.uk/scotland/ CP Scotland]
• [http://www.welshcommunists.org/ CP Wales]

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Category:Communist parties in the United Kingdom

Category:International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties

{{Communist Party of Britain}}